First to say, I’m new here in this community so please be kind if I put this topic in the wrong category
At home I have got a first GEN Mycloud 4GB device (the white one) for a couple of years now.
I’m very happy with it and like to continue using WD clouds, although my GEN1 device will not be able to be upgraded to the new OS5.
I’m looking to buy a new OS 5 supported device, but now came up with an idea which I look to ask the community if this is possible or not.
On the internet you can buy used WD devives without ext. drives.
If I find a OS5 supported device type, will it still work when I take my current ext. drive out of my GEN 1 device and replace them in the OS5 supported device type?
I’m not sure if the OS3–>OS5 upgrade is possible or not because of the device type and/or because of the external drives which are in the device.
Off course it’s easier to replace my current ext. drives with all the data on it, instead of replacing all the data to new drives.
Beside that, it will be less costs if I buy an empty OS5 supported WD device
I hope I did explained my question well enough to receive an answer (English isn’t my native language to be honest)
Why? Before plunking down money on another WD My Cloud you should, if you haven’t done so already, research other manufacturer’s NAS units. There are a number of “diskless” models out there one can choose from (Synology, Qnap, etc.) that offer more/better features and possibly/likely better OS than the My Cloud line offers. One provides their own hard drive(s) for those diskless NAS units.
This is a question that comes up from time to time. One can find past discussions on this subject using the forum search feature (magnifying glass icon upper right) if they haven’t done so already.
Yes you can take the hard drive out of a first gen (v4.x firmware) single bay My Cloud and put it into another NAS box (WD or another manufacturer like Synology or Qnap). The hard drive in a single bay My Cloud is a SATA 3.5 inch WD (typically WD Red) hard drive. However, any drive one puts into a diskless NAS box will likely have to be partitioned and formatted by the NAS firmware resulting in loss of any user data on that drive. Backup any user data BEFORE removing the drive from it’s current My Cloud enclosure and inserting that drive into another NAS enclosure.
If you are taking a hard drive out of a first gen single bay My Cloud and putting it into a second gen single bay v2.x firmware/v5.x firmware My Cloud one will have to use one of the various unbricking methods for second gen v2.x firmware single bay My Clouds since the second gen uses different firmware and hardware than the first gen single bay My Cloud uses. Use the forum search feature to find many past discussions on “unbricking” or installing a new hard drive to a second gen v2.x firmware single bay My Cloud.
It should be noted that your first gen single bay My Cloud WILL continue to operate as it does now for local network access when WD terminates OS3 support next April. WD is terminating remote access using the MyCloud.com web portal and the OS3 My Cloud mobile app. The first gen single bay My Cloud has been end of software support for several years now.
Q: Will my device stop working if I can’t upgrade to My Cloud OS 5? Will I lose access to my data?
A: Once the services have been shut down, you will still be able to access the device on a local network. However, access through the My Cloud OS 3 mobile app or web app will not be possible. Email notifications also won’t be delivered. Devices that have auto-update enabled will receive a final firmware update to disable remote access and outbound traffic to cloud services. Then, support will end and you’ll have to use the local network to access the device.
Thanks for your answer, I just reply to the Part of my question I asked for.
Because I have all data saved in a Backup drive, I can format the old ones and place them in the new device.
I’m wondering why the first and only reply to my question got that much of negative feedback to WD in it.
Maybe I should do more research, as I mentioned in another topic, I have no negative experience with my WD device till now and therefore did not plan a change to another brand.
But his advice is sound. Bear in mind that wd really hasn’t really released new hardware in a long time. OS5 is new software; but far from cutting edge
My view is that the WD my cloud is a fairly old device. Are you SURE you want to repurpose the only component that has mechanical moving parts?
The My Cloud devices are what they are. For some they have no issues with it (or don’t realize they’re having issues with it). For others the device has a whole host of issues, limitations, and worst of all security vulnerabilities.
One could easily spend a lot of time typing up a very long response on the various issues and problems with the OS3 firmware (and other issues with the My Cloud devices). From (many) security vulnerabilities, to years out of date modules/services (beta Twonky for example), to poor/sloppy firmware coding, to the infamous “sleep” issue, to the infamous missing shutdown option in v2.x firmware, to the simple lack of a physical on/off button on the devices. Or one could just read through this and other subforums to see the many issues present with these devices.
While I’ve gotten many good years out of a first gen single bay My Cloud, I’ve had a lot of frustration, at times, with it. Honestly, the device is barely adequate for what it does and has a number of drawbacks. It was cheap at the time which is reflected in the many compromises WD has made in creating the device. As a very simple file serving NAS it works OK. For other features, media serving, remote access, Plex, etc. is where it struggles.
Personally, over time, I found I needed something more capable and less frustrating to deal with, so I looked around and ended up going with a Synology unit and relegated the single bay My Cloud unit to backup role/status.
If all one needs is a simple basic no frills NAS than there are a number of WD My Cloud units, like the EX2 Ultra, that fit the bill. However, the My Cloud Home is not one of those units. Many have discovered, after the fact, that the My Cloud Home is, in some respects, a step down from the My Cloud line. If one is thinking about a My Cloud Home for a home NAS… no, just no.
Before buying any WD My Cloud unit read through these support forum(s) for the device to see what issues, problems, etc. others are experiencing with it. Then compare that My Cloud unit to other products from other manufactures to make an informed decision on what works best for your needs.
