Hello there,
I just bought the WD MyCloud Home 4TB drive (wired networked) and my expectations went from somewhat high to mid-low, I can’t say I’m disappointed yet since I just got it and still learning ( I hope it’s a matter of learning curve) how to use it, but the lack of good or at least comprehensive documentation or that I could find… I decided to post my questions (or concerns) here, with hopes someone can give me some guidance.
First of All, I’ve been trying to figure this out for a few hours, and no, I am not venting my frustration for lack of knowledge or functionality as it is perhaps doing what it was supposed, to, I was actually able to configure it from the moment I opened the box til I saw the drive letter within two minutes, but then what? Here’s what I was expecting and perhaps someone can help me get to where the information is located or, confirm the features are simply not available, so here we go…
No easy way to customize: Well, you get a single drive containing all the free space at once. Maybe I’m old school but I was hoping to see a way to easily partition and create customizable partitions and then drives with customized space. Then, I discovered that to use the drive as a shared resource, the users have to log on to the cloud and use the drive, again, maybe a new concept but I wish I could repartition the damned thing without the risk of wiping out everything including the OS that supports the device.
Only WD Discovery available for the Home edition, are you kidding me? I was happy to see a good number of tools available, including ways to secure your files and stick drives, when I installed the applications they couldn’t find the device. I could only use the WD Discovery which, well, gives me access to the file system, no big deal. Then, I realized that those tools were ONLY available on the USB version which again, was disappointing. Iff someone can clarify this for me I’d appreciate it. And no, I am not looking for paid services or tools, thank you.
and
3. Missing Dashboard. Ok,that tools I mentioned on no. 2 are missing is one thing, but a Dashboard that has your drive stats and firmware update not available? What??? Maybe I just can’t seem to find it, have looked for it but can’t find a Dashboard sw to access via web or install locally.
That’s a lot of complaining I know and as a tech person I am usually not the one who complains too much, mainly when I recently get something, but I kind of had higher expectations with this one , not the cheapest device I was expecting better management feature &, tools. It seems easy to use if you just use it to dump all your files there but you can’t do much more than that, or can I?
Thank you!!
I am sure there is a full user manual for this thing at WD Support as there is for other WD products.
If you bought this expecting a NAS device, it is not; it is some sort of other animal which has been met with much displeasure in the forum posts here. I suggest you explore this forum for the many posts, and make up your own mind.
Thanks Mike27oct,
I just didn’t want to make this post way too long but I had a Seagate Goflex drive that I used as a shared drive several years ago until it crashed and made me swear I’d never buy a spin-plate drive again, but after a few years of waiting, technology and prices are not there yet so I decided to give another brand a shot as I still need the space and accessibility.
Thanks again for your answer.
regards,
oscar
hi kendebie,
well, for sure it’s not a full fledged NAS drive and maybe I expected something else but not saying it’s bad, I just thought I could do more with it.
Thanks
I think the general feeling on this forum is the MyCloud home falls a very long way short of what we were expecting it to be able to do.
It most certainly is a NAS but just doesn’t have the functionality most of its customers would rightly expect, especially those who have migrated to the mycloud home from other WD devices of this genre, the MyBook Live in my instance.
Inexcusable though is that WD offer no feedback to its customers concerns.
What bothers you that I post often? I have a lot of different WD products and I use, understand, and like them all. I have been an active member of this forum since 2011. I have been thanked for my help more than you ever will be.
A lot of people bought the My Cloud Home thinking it was an “upgrade” of their current My Cloud NAS and expressed here their disappointment with the Home products. As mentioned, it is NOT a NAS, (although the name indicates it is another WD NAS (BAD move, WD) -THIS is where the marketing of the Home fails) . It is not even like a Dropbox, because unlike a Dropbox which is actually in a Cloud, the Home device is home based in a metal box.
Obviously, you never had a genuine NAS, because if you did, you would dislike the Home as most of the others people do.
BTW, I have a genuine high end WD My Cloud NAS, (which also is not in the cloud, but also is in a metal box). I do not have a Home device and never ever will.
I, too, have some Seagate Goflex and WD portable drives. They are both fine drives. Drives wear out after a few years and why backup of them must be made frequently. SSD drives are still way too expensive, although I would think they cost less to make than the traditional ones with precision machined parts.
One additional comment regarding the Home products In some ways they are a NAS because unlike a drive, they can be connected to the home network, The Home falls between a (featureless) NAS and a plain hard drive. It’s pretty much a hybrid of the two.
In fact, one of my GoFlex drives is more like e a NAS than the Home, because it is a Wireless drive that can be on the home network and act like a full featured NAS for short periods of time, because it is not meant for 24/7 use. Doing so is mistreating it and it’s battery. (I also have a similar My Passport Wireless drive that can act the same, and I do not mistreat it either by using it as a NAS for very long either.
Anyway, a full fledged NAS is the way to go today. My NAS is basically a media server, not a backup device, although since all my media files are on it and copies of the original files it IS a backup of my media files.
I’m sorry dude, didn’t mean to attack you or anything. I do know what a real NAS is, got a couple of them at the office. What I’m trying to say that there are people like me who like what the Home does for personal use.
Maybe some people are looking at the My Cloud Home and the WD My Cloud as WD shows it under products.
Look at this link, Personal Cloud.
How do I look at it? Since mine is attached to my router and more than one PC/Device and person can use it then it is my Network Attached Storage (Home Network).
If it were attached straight to my PC and no one else was allowed to use it or other devices then it would be my Personal Cloud Storage.
