WD My Passport SSD Review

Introduction

If you've been searching for portable storage that doesn't require you to babysit slow transfer speeds or sacrifice security for convenience, you've probably already bumped into the crowded external SSD market where Samsung's T7 has been flexing its dominance. Western Digital's My Passport SSD arrives as the company's answer to this universal frustration with portable hard drives—the maddening wait while gigabytes of photos, videos, and project files crawl from one location to another. Built around NVMe technology and USB 3.2 Gen 2 connectivity, which delivers theoretical speeds up to 1050 MB/s read and 1000 MB/s write, the My Passport SSD targets content creators, photographers, and mobile professionals who refuse to waste precious time watching progress bars inch across their screens. Available in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities across five color options including gold, silver, space gray, midnight blue, and red, this drive promises to deliver desktop-class performance in a package that disappears into your pocket.

Product Overview

The My Passport SSD is built around an M.2 NVMe SSD connected through an ASMedia ASM2362 bridge controller, which interfaces between the internal drive and your computer's USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. This isn't just any SATA drive slapped into an enclosure—it's specifically engineered with PCIe 3.0 x2 connectivity to unlock the bandwidth advantages that make NVMe technology worthwhile in a portable form factor. The drive measures a compact 100 x 55 x 9mm, roughly the size of a small smartphone and about as thick as two stacked credit cards. At just 45 to 54 grams depending on capacity, it weighs less than most key rings loaded with a week's worth of access cards.

Western Digital wraps this tiny powerhouse in a mixed-material design that pairs a metal top plate with a plastic bottom, creating a two-tone aesthetic with prominent ridges running the length of the casing. While the combination doesn't exude the premium feel of Samsung's all-metal T7 or the rugged confidence of SanDisk's Extreme Pro, the ridged design serves a practical purpose beyond visual differentiation—it provides grip when inserting or removing the drive while giving it a distinctive tactile identity at the bottom of your laptop bag. The metal top surface doubles as a heat spreader with multiple thermal contact points inside the enclosure, a thoughtful engineering decision that helps dissipate heat during sustained operations.

The package includes a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-A adapter for backward compatibility with older systems, though it's worth noting the cable measures only about 10cm long—fine for laptop users with immediate desk space but frustratingly short for desktop towers with rear-mounted ports. Western Digital includes WD Discovery software for Windows and Mac that provides access to WD Backup for scheduled backups, WD Security for password protection with 256-bit AES hardware encryption, and WD Drive Utilities for drive management. The drive comes formatted for Windows but works with Mac after reformatting, supports Apple Time Machine after initialization, and arrives ready to use straight out of the box. A five-year warranty backs the My Passport SSD, a confidence signal that Western Digital stands behind the drive's longevity even under regular professional use.

Performance & Real World Speed

Western Digital claims read speeds up to 1050 MB/s and write speeds up to 1000 MB/s for the My Passport SSD, numbers that position it squarely in the mainstream portable NVMe category alongside Samsung's T7 and ahead of older SATA-based portable drives that topped out around 540 MB/s. These specifications represent the theoretical maximum when connected to a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port capable of 10 Gbps throughput, but real-world performance always tells a more nuanced story.

In testing conducted by multiple reviewers using CrystalDiskMark on Windows systems, the My Passport SSD delivered sequential read speeds around 1033 MB/s and write speeds around 955 MB/s—impressive numbers that actually exceed some competing drives in practice even if they don't quite hit the claimed maximums. On Mac systems using Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, the drive clocked 909 MB/s read and 934 MB/s write, again outperforming the Samsung T7 Touch which managed 900 MB/s read and 860 MB/s write in the same testing environment. When you're moving a 50GB video project or a folder stuffed with RAW photo files, these speed advantages translate to tangible time savings—the difference between grabbing coffee while your backup completes versus standing there watching the progress bar.

The drive's performance characteristics shift when you examine sustained write operations. Like most consumer SSDs, the My Passport SSD implements an SLC cache that absorbs incoming data at full speed until the cache fills. For the 1TB model, this cache appears to handle roughly 30 to 40GB before write speeds drop to the native TLC flash performance around 400 to 500 MB/s. This behavior is typical for DRAM-less NVMe drives at this price point and won't impact most everyday use cases—copying your photo library or backing up project files happens well within the cache limits. However, if you're regularly transferring truly massive datasets like 100GB+ video archives, you'll notice the slowdown during the latter portion of long transfers.

Temperature management becomes relevant during extended operations. The metal top plate functions as a passive heat spreader, and reviewers measured surface temperatures reaching 40 to 45 degrees Celsius during sustained transfers—warm to the touch but not alarmingly hot. The drive doesn't include thermal throttling indicators visible to users, but the engineering appears sound enough to prevent performance degradation under normal operating conditions.

When connected to older USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 ports, performance naturally drops to match the interface capabilities—around 400 to 450 MB/s on USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports and roughly 40 MB/s on USB 2.0. If you're buying this drive specifically for its NVMe speed advantages, make absolutely certain your computer has USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports to take advantage of what you're paying for.

Build Quality & Durability

Western Digital's design approach for the My Passport SSD prioritizes portability and thermal performance over premium materials. The mixed metal and plastic construction feels functional rather than luxurious—pressing on the casing reveals slight flex that won't inspire the same confidence as Samsung's solid aluminum chassis or SanDisk's reinforced rubber designs. This is engineering aimed at hitting a price point rather than winning design awards, and it shows in the hand feel.

That said, the drive delivers where it matters most for portable storage: drop resistance and shock protection. Western Digital rates the My Passport SSD for drops up to 6.5 feet (1.98 meters) and includes shock and vibration resistance, specifications that suggest the drive can survive the typical hazards of mobile work—getting knocked off a desk, bouncing around in a backpack, or enduring the constant movement of field production. The lack of moving parts inherent to SSD technology provides an enormous advantage over traditional portable hard drives that remain vulnerable to physical shocks during operation.

One notable omission is an activity indicator LED. Unlike the Samsung T7's small blue light that blinks during data transfer, the My Passport SSD provides no visual feedback about drive activity. While this streamlines the design and eliminates another potential point of failure, it can leave you wondering whether the drive is actually working during particularly long operations or if your computer has simply frozen. It's a minor frustration that becomes more noticeable during critical backup operations when you'd prefer confirmation that something is actually happening.

The ridged texture running along the sides serves dual purposes—it looks distinctive enough to identify your drive in a pile of similar rectangles, and it provides actual grip when handling the device. This proves more useful than you might expect when you're trying to disconnect the drive from a tight USB-C port without yanking on the cable. The attention to these functional details suggests Western Digital understands how people actually use portable drives in daily workflows.

Western Digital's five-year warranty demonstrates appropriate confidence in the drive's reliability. While not the longest warranty in the portable SSD category, it substantially exceeds the typical three-year coverage on budget external drives and matches what you'll find on competing mainstream models. This warranty functions as insurance that Western Digital has designed this drive to survive regular professional use rather than treating it as disposable technology.

Compatibility

The My Passport SSD delivers universal compatibility across modern computing platforms. This is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C portable drive that works with Windows PCs, Macs, Linux systems, and even recent iPad Pro models with USB-C connectivity—essentially any device with a USB port can recognize and use this drive. The inclusion of both USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A connection options means you're covered whether you're plugging into a 2025 laptop with nothing but USB-C ports or a 2015 desktop still rocking rectangular USB-A connections.

For Mac users, the drive ships formatted with exFAT for cross-platform compatibility, but you'll want to reformat to APFS if you're using it exclusively with macOS, especially if you plan to leverage Time Machine for automated backups. Windows users can keep the factory formatting or switch to NTFS for better integration with Windows file systems. The reformatting process takes minutes and unlocks full platform optimization.

One compatibility consideration worth emphasizing: while this drive physically connects to nearly anything with a USB port, you need USB 3.2 Gen 2 (or USB 3.1 Gen 2 in older naming conventions) to unlock the performance you're paying for. Connecting to older USB 3.0 ports caps speeds around 400 to 450 MB/s, effectively wasting the NVMe advantages. Connecting to USB 2.0 drops performance to roughly 40 MB/s, which makes this expensive portable SSD perform worse than a cheap mechanical hard drive. Check your computer's specifications before purchasing if speed is your primary motivation—you might discover your laptop's USB-C port only supports USB 3.0 speeds despite looking identical to faster ports.

The My Passport SSD also works with iPhone 15 and later models equipped with USB-C ports, allowing direct file transfers through the Files app and even supporting HD video capture on iPhone 15 Pro models. This opens interesting workflow possibilities for mobile content creators who want to offload footage directly to external storage without routing through a computer.

The WD Discovery software suite runs on Windows 7 and later plus macOS, providing password protection, scheduled backups, and cloud integration. However, early reviews noted compatibility issues where the Discovery software didn't recognize newer My Passport SSD models, forcing users to rely on built-in operating system encryption tools instead. Western Digital has presumably patched these issues in current software versions, but it's worth checking for the latest updates immediately after purchase to avoid frustration.

Strengths & Weaknesses

The My Passport SSD's greatest strength lies in its combination of genuine NVMe performance and competitive pricing that undercuts Samsung's mainstream offerings. When Western Digital launched this drive, the 1TB model retailed for around $130 to $150 compared to Samsung T7's $160 to $180 street pricing for equivalent capacity, creating meaningful value for buyers who prioritize speed and cost over premium materials. Real-world transfer speeds that match or slightly exceed the Samsung T7 in many testing scenarios deliver on the performance promise without the premium price tag, making the My Passport SSD a compelling choice for content creators and professionals working with large files who want NVMe speed without Samsung's brand tax.

The included security features work effectively once you navigate past early software hiccups. Password-enabled 256-bit AES hardware encryption provides legitimate data protection for sensitive files, operating at the hardware level to avoid the performance penalties of software encryption. The WD Backup software makes scheduled backups straightforward when it functions properly, and the integration with Dropbox and cloud services expands utility beyond simple local storage. For users who need portable storage that doubles as a secure backup solution, the My Passport SSD checks the essential boxes.

The five-year warranty stands out in a category where many manufacturers offer three years or less, signaling Western Digital's confidence in long-term reliability. Combined with the drive's shock and drop resistance ratings, this warranty provides reassurance that your investment can survive years of professional use in mobile environments. The broad capacity range from 500GB to 4TB allows you to choose appropriate storage without paying for more than you need, though pricing at higher capacities can stretch budgets when compared to internal SSD options.

However, the My Passport SSD isn't without notable limitations. The build quality feels budget-conscious rather than premium—the mixed metal and plastic construction lacks the solid heft and refined feel of Samsung's all-aluminum designs or the ruggedized confidence of SanDisk's Extreme Pro with its rubber bumpers and IP55 rating. The casing flexes under modest pressure, creating concerns about long-term durability even if the drive meets its drop resistance specifications. The absence of an activity LED leaves you guessing during file operations, a puzzling omission that seems motivated purely by cost cutting.

The remarkably short 10cm cable borders on inadequate for many real-world use cases. Laptop users might find it workable if they're sitting right next to their USB port, but desktop users with rear-mounted ports or anyone trying to position the drive away from their work surface will immediately recognize this as a frustration. Buying a longer third-party cable solves the problem but adds unexpected cost to what should be a complete package. The cable length feels like Western Digital prioritized minimal packaging size over user experience.

Performance consistency varies depending on workload. The limited SLC cache means the drive delivers excellent speeds for typical file operations but slows noticeably during massive sustained writes beyond 30 to 40GB. Content creators working with 100GB+ video projects will encounter this cache exhaustion regularly, watching transfer speeds drop from 950 MB/s to 400 to 500 MB/s midway through copies. This isn't unique to Western Digital—most consumer portable SSDs implement similar cache strategies—but it's worth understanding before you assume sustained gigabyte-per-second performance for unlimited durations.

The real competition isn't just between the My Passport SSD and Samsung's T7 but rather between choosing a portable NVMe drive at all versus buying a portable SSD enclosure and installing your own M.2 drive. DIY enclosures from brands like Sabrent or ORICO cost $20 to $40, and pairing one with a quality M.2 NVMe drive often delivers equivalent or better performance at lower total cost. The tradeoff is losing the warranty integration and dealing with assembly yourself, but for technically comfortable users, this remains a more economical path to portable NVMe storage.

Verdict: Should You Buy It?

Buy this if: you need genuinely fast portable storage for moving large photo libraries, video projects, or backup archives between locations, you work primarily with file transfers under 40GB where the SLC cache maintains peak performance, you want hardware-encrypted security without sacrificing too much speed, you prefer Western Digital's ecosystem and software over competitors, you're looking for USB 3.2 Gen 2 performance at a lower price point than Samsung charges, or you simply need reliable portable storage with a solid five-year warranty backing your investment—the My Passport SSD delivers authentic NVMe speeds in a pocket-friendly form factor without demanding premium pricing.

Skip this if: you prioritize premium build quality and want an all-metal design that feels substantial in hand, you regularly transfer truly massive datasets exceeding 50GB where cache limitations will noticeably impact sustained write speeds, you need rugged protection with official water and dust resistance ratings for field work in challenging environments, you already own a desktop setup and prefer the superior value proposition of installing an internal M.2 drive in an inexpensive enclosure, you're connecting to older USB 3.0 ports that can't utilize the drive's full NVMe capabilities and would be fine with slower SATA-based alternatives, or you simply don't move enough data to justify spending extra over a mechanical portable hard drive—the My Passport SSD's performance advantages only matter when you're actually leveraging that speed regularly enough to notice the time savings.