The market for portable hard drives is seeing a strong competition with cheap and affordable solutions.
Since you’re here, you must be confused on whether to buy the WD Easystore or My Passport – both of which show many similarities and differences.
WD Easystore is great for backing up data and My Passport is great for frequent file transfers. WD Easystore is more stable, but My Passport has better speed and support for encryption. You also receive six color-options with My Passport.
You get the same storage options with these portable drives, and they also work out of the box on Windows.
With a simple reformatting, you can get them to work on other operating systems as well. But some differences still remain, so carry on reading before you make a decision.
WD Easystore vs My Passport: Which is for Whom?
Although there are a lot of similarities between the two drives, you should still pick the one that is more suited to your specific needs.
Buy WD Easystore If-
Buy My Passport If-
WD Easystore vs My Passport: Head to Head Comparison
features | Wd easystore | my passport |
|---|---|---|
Size | 4.33 x 3.21 x 0.62 inches. | 4.22 x 2.95 x 0.44 inches. |
Color Options | Black. | Black, Blue, Red, White, Orange, Yellow. |
Storage Capacity | 1TB to 5TB. | 1TB to 5TB. |
Storage Encryption | N/A. | AES-256 encryption with password protection. |
Connectivity | USB 3.0, also backward compatible. | USB 3.2 gen 1, also backward compatible. |
Companion Cable | Standard USB cable. | SuperSpeed USB cable. |
Compatibility | Primarily Windows. Reformat for other systems. | Primarily Windows. Reformat for other systems. |
Software Support | WD Discovery, WD Backup. | WD Discovery, WD Security. |
Warranty | 2-years limited warranty. | 3-years limited warranty. |
Price |
Read more about WD Easystore:
Read more about WD My Passport:
User Experience Overview of WD My Passport vs Easystore
Many users have shared their experience on the performance, usefulness, and advantages of WD My Passport vs WD Easystore.. They have also pointed out the limitations and issues they have faced on either of these portable units.
WD Easystore
- Users are satisfied with the stability and performance of this drive, and many recommend using it for backing up files.
- One user has reported that the drive failed to be formatted for Mac several times. However, they also discovered a simple solution. In the Disk Utility, you need to select "View > Show All Devices" first, and then click "erase." This solves the issue and formats without any errors.
- A few users have reported the corruption of data on the drives after one or two years. In such cases, users had to format the drives and lose their previous data to make them usable again.
- Several users have complained that the drive can get very loud, enough to hear the sound from a distance.
- It is compatible with PlayStation after being formatted. Users do not feel any latency when playing games stored on this portable drive.
My Passport
- Most users are satisfied with the transfer speed and low noise. The SuperSpeed cable is especially well-received.
- Although the product can be used on the non-Windows operating system by reformatting, some users have reported that Mac's reformatting process can be tiring as the WD Disc utility can often crash without warning. If the format is successful, however, no further issues are faced.
- One user reported that they had to switch from one USB port to another a few times before Mac successfully formatted the drive, while others have had to call customer support.
- Several users have reported difficulty in ejecting the drive from their computers. Some of them couldn't find an eject option, while others repeatedly received a warning that the drive is in use.
- Some users have reported difficulty formatting the drive for PlayStation, while others have succeeded in doing so. Thus, some problems may be expected.
Common Features of WD Easystore vs My Passport
Before jumping into the distinct offerings of WD My Passport vs Easystore, you should first confirm the features that are common in both of them.
Storage Capacity
Both of these portable storage drives both offer the same storage capacity options, i.e. 1TB to 5TB. The models from 1TB to 3TB are less thick than the 4TB and 5TB models.
Compatibility
Both of these portable drives are primarily intended for Windows.
If you use another system like a Mac or a Linux distro, you need to reformat the drive to an eligible file system used on those computers.
They both also work well on PlayStation and other gaming consoles.
The recommended file system for each of these operating systems is– APFS on Mac, NTFS on Windows, and EXT4 on Linux.
You can also format to ExFAT for a more cross-platform experience, though your mileage may vary.
Dedicated Software
You will get WD Discovery with both of these drives. Additionally, you will get WD Backup with WD Easystore, and WD Security with My Passport.
Warranty
With WD Easystore, you receive 2-years of limited warranty, and with My Passport, it is 3-years of limited warranty.
Unique Features of WD Easystore vs My Passport
Now you can properly identify the distinct features offered by each of WD My Passport vs WD Easystore. This should help you decide on what you should buy.
WD Easystore:
Backup
WD Easystore is great for backing up your important data. WD Easystore comes with WD Backup, which tells you that Western Digital intended for these drives to be used for backing up data.
Hassle-free
Far fewer users have faced software difficulties while using WD Easystore than My Passport. Between these two, Easystore is the more stable and hassle-free portable drive.
My Passport:
Color Options
If you go with My Passport, you get up to 6 color options to choose from. These vibrant colors make your portable drive look fashionable and trendy.
Encryption
You will love the encryption support on My Passport if you care about your privacy and worry about data theft.
If you enable the encryption on this drive, it cannot be accessed without your designated password.
You can also set a custom message on the prompt that asks for the password, where you could add your contact info. This way, people can contact you if you ever lose the drive.
Noise-free
My Passport is almost entirely silent even though it has an HDD inside.
You cannot hear the drive's movement while running it, which makes it very suitable for quiet environments.
SuperSpeed
This portable drive supports USB 3.2 Gen 1. When used with the companion SuperSpeed USB cable that comes in the box and a compatible port on your computer, you can receive the highest speeds that easily surpass WD Easystore.
Common Pros & Cons of WD Easystore And My Passport
Pros
Cons
Unique Pros & Cons of WD Easystore
Pros
Cons
Unique Pros & Cons of My Passport
Pros
Cons
Price-Quality Ratio of WD Easystore vs My Passport
WD Easystore and My Passport are very closely priced. Given that My Passport has more features than Easystore, it is easily the better value-for-price product.
Also, you can find plenty of deals on My Passport if you’re purchasing on Amazon.
Parting words:
You should always pick the portable drive that better suits the needs that you have. Although the prices are nearly identical, the features offered by these drives are notably different.
So, please read up on the advantages and difficulties a drive comes with before buying it.
If you are a privacy lover and want to protect your data from prying eyes, you should go with My Passport.
Its encryption feature is compatible with multiple systems, and you can also use it without encryption if you want to.
The SuperSpeed and color options are also attractive features to look into.
If you want to move your data to separate storage and free up some space in your computer, go with WD Easystore.
It is great for backups and easier to format to other file systems. Hence, you get more stability.
Weigh your priorities and make a decision. No matter which one you buy, Western Digital offers you the ease of mind with product warranties.
Weigh your priorities and make a decision. No matter which one you buy, Western Digital offers you the ease of mind with product warranties.