WD "My Cloud" Mirror

My Cloud OS 3 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud Mirror
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I will be purchaseing a Personal Cloud.  My considerations are WD “My Cloud” Mirror 8TB or Seagate dual Personal Cloud 8TB.  Can anyone provide a clear comparison between these two??  Any information that you may have regarding the pros andd cons of both is most appreciated.  Let me know what your choice would be.  Thanks!  I work with a Windows 8.1 system with a google chome browser.  I like the fact that the WD has two USB ports whereas the Seagate does not apprear to have that function.  Let me know your thoughts.  Thanks!!

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To be perfectly frank, I don’t think it likely that anyone here has experience with both devices. I would be happy to tell you my pros and cons of the WD MyCloudMirror (I have the 8TB version as well)

Pros:

  1. Simple to install, configure and use. It took only a couple minutes to connect, and install the management software on my computer. It was intuitive and has help built into each screen (just pass your cursor over the (i) icon and a help box pops up.)

  2. Reconfiguring the drive is simple - I opted to span the drives for maximum storage.

  3. Creating Public and Private Shares, Groups and Users is quite easy.

  4. Good security for cloud devices - you generate a 12-digit code on the Mirror and enter it on the Cloud Device (IOS, Android or Windows device) and you have access. You can just as easily delete access to the Mirror on the Cloud Device menu…just select the user and delete the device you no longer desire to have access. Gone.

  5. It has built in media servers for iTunes and DLNA - and you can choose which shares are streamable (if that’s a word).

  6. All of these and more are accessible from the same dashboard.

Cons

I have been frustrated in several ways. I cannot confirm that these are problems with the WD device, but I am working with Support to resolve each issue. Support has been wonderfil so far.

  1. Although I have set up the iTunes server and can access the Mirror from iTunes on all my desktop computers, I cannot access the Mirror server using iTunes from either my iPhone or my iPad. However, I can use the WD mobile cloud app to access the music folders and play music from the Mirror that way - I just din’t have access to my iTunes Playlists.

  2. The desktop Mirror app seems to act erratically on some shares. For example, I created a Family share and a Family group, addes users to the group and gave them read access. I gave the Admins Group (myself) read/write access. Even after rebooting the Mirror and my computer, the Family share does not display in the Mirror desktop app.

  3. I have had frequent lockups while playing large video files via my network (1Gbos wired/300 Mbps wireless) and via the cloud (3 Gbps upload). This usually requires that I reboot the Mirror to resolve. Once the device locks up on one cloud device, it seems to affect all my cloud devices (4 iPhones, 1 iPad and 1 Anroid tablet)

Generally speaking, I am pretty happy with the MyCloudMirror. I would rate it a 4 of 5 (7 of 10). It is my belief that Western Digita Support will continue to work with me to resolve my ‘Cons’. I still highly recomment the product. Note that I didn’t mention the SmartWare, TimeMachineBackup or USB features as I have not used them thus far.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions.

2 Likes
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Rex,

Thanks so  much for your detailed reply!  The jury is still out as you are the 1st to respond.  Your response is much appreciated.  It’s particulary good to know that Customer Service is good to work with.  Thanks again!!

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Note sure if this addition will make any difference to you, but just so you know…

the iTunes server in the MyCloudMirror (MCM) does not work with IOS portable devices. It does work with Mac and PC desktop and laptops. There are also apps for mobile devoces (Remote for IOS and Retune for Android) that will allow you to control iTunes on a remote desktop or laptop. A neat feature to be sure, but does not solve the problem I have as I wanted to be able to drag my monster tower and tablet to the shop, the beach, the back yard, etc. and play miusic off my MCM. Maybe if I added bluetooth to my desktop in the shop or put a computer in the back yard…no that won’t work.

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Thanks for the response Rex!  Wish I could help you with the itunes issue but I really havn’t found a need for itunes (even though I’ve tried it).  The best info that I can share about outside music is that I’ve placed a couple of wireless speakers outside at my pool.  When turned on they pick up a wireless signal from my Smart TV in the house that plays Pandora.  It works great for me.  The truth is my geographic scope in which I use music is small so I’m not the best to offer info on it.  Hope you find somthing that works for you.  Thanks again for the response!

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Only thing i can provide is the WD drives are proven to be better and more reliable than the Seagates.   Apple still places Seagate drives in all their computers and even the Apple Time Capsule.   WD is now placing RED drives in their NAS devices, an excellent choice.  

If your not running an iTunes server (i dont either), the My Cloud and WD2GO applications/software is very user friendly.  The WD software allows you to place one MyCloud at a location, and a secondary WD MyCloud (My Cloud Mirror) at another site to do remote backups of the original.  If you want even more protection of your data.   Seagate doesnt come close to offering this.

My original MyBook Live (pre MyCloud) is still running strong, never skipped a beat, given an issue or had a drive failure.  Get the WD  youll be much happier in the long run.

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Thanks so much for your response mazdaboi!  Much appreciated!