I set up my My Cloud 2TB NAS on my local network in my Las Vegas home a few weeks ago and installed the My Cloud desktop software. I then moved it to my brother’s house in Maryland during a recent visit. The idea is to have an off-site backup. I can access it just fine via the My Cloud website, and via the My Cloud software I installed while the NAS was on my own network.
The problem is that when I try to install My Cloud on a second computer in my home, since the NAS is not on my local network, the installation cannot proceed. Is there a way to install the My Cloud software with the NAS not on the local network?
Hello, you just need to download and install the WD My Cloud desktop and install it on your computer, as you already have a www.mycloud.com account you should be able to use your email and password to acces the drive remotely.
The installation process does not give me the option to use my email and password because the installation stops when it cannot find my drive on the local network.
There should be an option during the installation of the WD My Cloud Desktop program, or post install when the program is first run to select the option to log in using your MyCloud.com account. This option allows one to install the software so they can connect to a remote My Cloud. Sometimes this login option is not prominently displayed on the screen and may be a simple small text link on the page.
After installing the Desktop program, upon first run the software should show the following screen (or a similar screen) where the user has the option (lower right) to “Connect to devices with WDMyCloud.com Login”.
If one selects “Connect to devices with WDMyCloud.com Login” they should see the following screen where they can enter in their My Cloud login information created on the Remote My Cloud. Once signed in, the program should list the available My Cloud devices one has access to via their MyCloud.com online account.
If one can also add remote My Cloud units from the main window portion of the My Cloud Desktop program by selecting the drop down box upper left in the program window that lists the current My Cloud device one is connected to with the WD My Cloud Desktop program, then select Add Device. They should see a screen similar to the first screen capture above where they can select “Connect to devices with WDMyCloud.com login”.
Two more screen captures. If there is no My Cloud on the local network (or its either off or cannot be reached) below is the screen one should see (on a Windows PC) when the My Cloud Desktop program is first run after being installed. If one enters their MyCloud.com user/password information the user should be presented with a screen listing the devices they can connected to (second screen capture below). One would simply click “Connect” on that screen to add and connect that remote My Cloud to the WD My Cloud Desktop program.
Bennor, your suggestions are all fine if the software is already installed. My problem is that I cannot complete the installation of the My Cloud software. When it does not detect the drive on my local network, installation cannot proceed. In the screenshot below, please note that the Next button is greyed out, preventing me from proceeding.
That doesn’t appear to be the WD Desktop App. That looks more like the WD Setup program, which has to talk to the MyCloud locally. Note how different it looks to the screenshots Bennor posted.
You have already run the MyCloud setup program at home, have you not? So all you need to do is install the Desktop app, NOT re-run the entire Setup program. Which is what Iluna said a few days ago…
it should be noted that the screen captures taken above were on a virtual Windows 10 PC that never had the WD My Cloud Desktop software installed Those screen captures were from the first launching of the WD My Cloud Desktop software at first run post install.
Based on the screen capture you provided what software are you trying to install and on which OS (Mac or Windows)? That does not appear to be the My Cloud Desktop software install screen.
If you are trying to install the WD My Cloud Setup program then yes you will get an error if no My Cloud is found on the local network as the WD My Cloud Setup program is designed for setting up the My Cloud. From what I remember (I don’t use that software) it has nothing to do with remote accessing a My Cloud. That is what the My Cloud Desktop software is for (both local and remote access). The Setup program and the Desktop program are two different programs that each do different tasks.
For what ever reason WD has removed the WD My Cloud Desktop software link from their main WD Support page (http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx) and from the MyCloud.com user portal for the single bay My Cloud. The WD My Cloud Desktop software can be downloaded from the following locations:
Isn’t it nice that there’s a consistent user support portal…? And that the link on the page ‘Installing and Using the My Cloud Desktop App’ page points to a page that no longer contains the software in question… What is wrong with WD…?
The downloads section on the ‘WD Learning Centre’ still has a download link for the Desktop App.
Oh joy. I just tried to report the dead link on the page, only to have the feedback form fail:
A system error was encountered during your request. If you need to contact us, please make sure to report the error number below to us.
Error number: 26401431
After having read this topic, guys, you have me confused. The downloads page, you refer to, with the list of softwares, is only for our generic, non-product-specific software. So the My Cloud desktop software won’t be there.
Moreover, and if I’m understanding your posts correctly, you really don’t need the desktop software to get connected remotely to your drive. You can do that by going directly to MyCloud.com and registering your device there.
Furthermore, the WD Learning Center has a different purpose that the WD Support site. So, things may be set up differently between them.
Bill_S, in my case I’m talking about the link for the WD My Cloud Desktop program not being listed (it was at one time) on the product specific download pages like the two shown below. In both screen captures below the Desktop software is NOT found or listed.
It appears rwburnham issue wasn’t about registering their My Cloud it was they were trying to install some WD software for remote access to an offsite My Cloud. Rwburnham indicated they were apparently using the wrong software.
Well then I guess to be consistent, since the Desktop software can be used both locally and remotely, that means the WD Sync software should also be removed from the Support Download site and only listed on the MyCloud.com site as well. {shrugs and scratches head at the strange decisions made that confuse we end users}
We know that the best way to access the MyCloud locally is not to use any WD software, but map the drive into the native file system. That’s what we usually recommend.
But some people seemingly like to use the Desktop app, even for local access. There’s no accounting for taste… Actually, I’m sure there are people who prefer to use the Desktop app for remote access, rather than the web-based service. And why shouldn’t they?
Oh, and the Downloads page has three tabs: WD Software, Product Firmware and Download By Product.
In the latter category, there’s a drop-down menu to choose by product type. Therefore your Downloads page is NOT generic, it’s product-specific.
The reason you thought that we were pointing to a generic software page is because your support page structure has dynamic pages, so that you cannot specify the URL of one of those three tabs, and it always comes up defaulting the the ‘WD Software’ tab. That’s really not helpful when we’re trying to direct one of your customers to the most appropriate page. I’m sure it looked lovely in the web designer’s CV, having experience of dynamic page design, but it’s hopeless for direct referencing via URL.
Really, have a look around your Support resources, and get to know them. Try to look at them as a naive user might look at them.
A few more reasons for using the Desktop program locally…
For local access there is also the fact that while on their local network, to be able to create an email link or share a link to their local My Cloud for a remote user they can use the Desktop program (or use the MyCloud.com portal).
Further some use the Desktop program locally over Windows File Explorer is when moving files between a USB hard drive attached to the My Cloud and the My Cloud itself because it appears to copy the files faster than using Windows File Explorer (or possibly Mac Finder) on the local computer.
