WD My Passport 5TB Overheating?

WD External Drives WD Portable Drives
1

I recently purchased a new WD My Passport 5TB External Hard Drive.
It’s my first day of its use. I transferred around 1.5TB into it.
After the initial few minutes of transfer the hard disk temperature increased to a 57 degree celsius for the rest of the transfer time.
The Hard Disk felt very hot unlike my previous WD Elements 2TB which also got hot while usage but not this much. I checked the data sheet for the drive and it says,
Operating temperature: 5°C to 35°C
Non-op. temperature: -20°C to 65°C

Is this normal? I have attached a screenshot of the CrystalDiskInfo for the drive.

CrystalDiskInfo - WD My Passport 5TB
CrystalDiskInfo - WD My Passport 5TB842×864 141 KB

2

Whether it’s a flash drive, hard disk drive or any other storage device, all are electronic products and equally uncertain in life. Overheating of any storage drive is more severe than we think. Every storage drive has a minimum and maximum operating temperature. Any change in the internal or external temperature significantly affects the drive performance and life.

Anything below or above the ideal temperature can have a bad impact on the drive and can lead to the following issues:

  • Data loss
  • File corruption
  • Drive corruption
  • Increase in bad sectors
  • System crash
  • Frequent system freeze
  • Unexpected system shutdown
  • Constant screeching, clicking or whirring sound
  • Drive failure

To know more about the issue & how you can fix this, I suggest you to check out the below blog: https://www.stellarinfo.com/blog/how-to-fix-hard-drive-overheating-and-recover-data-in-windows-and-mac/

Hope it will help.

3

I would contact WD support as that is far too hot

4

I agree, that is far too hot.

5

So, I contacted WD support for the same and just as I expected, the guy I talked to gave me an answer just on the basis of the data sheet for the drive which says,
Operating temperature: 5°C to 35°C
Non-op. temperature: -20°C to 65°C

I was told that as per their policy (at least in India), they can offer me a replacement but only with a refurbished/used hard disk. Suggested me to return the product to the seller instead if I wanted a new one.

I tested the hard drive for a few more days and found that the excessive heat was now happening only for long sessions of data transfers (more than an hour or more) and it’s also start of the summer season here. It’s working fine nonetheless and hence, I have chosen to keep the drive…for better or for worse.

This will be my last WD product until this stupid policy of theirs is at place.

Just a friendly advice to all those in Indian region. Check with WD support about their policy details before buying any of their products.

1 Like
6

Bro! Whats current status of your hard disk, bcoz im also having same problem temp reached 56℃, don’t know what to do, bcoz i got a nice deal in offer. Should i return it ?
My one is my passport 2tb