WD My Passport 1TB Portable External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 Black

WD My Passport 1TB Portable External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 Black..

Buy WD My Passport 1TB Portable External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 Black By Western Digital

Most helpful customer reviews

1419 of 1463 people found the following review helpful.
Great drive - Faulty USB cable
By Jon Anderson
Over the recent years I have purchased quite a number of these drives. I have a couple of USB 2.0 drives and about 12 of the USB 3.0 drives. They all performed flawlessly with my old computer. I purchased that computer in 2006 before these USB 3.0 drives existed and so the computer had only USB 2.0 ports. All the USB 3.0 drives worked perfectly in the computer with the USB 2.0 ports.

Then in December 2012 I purchased a new computer and it has USB 3.0 ports. I connected a drive and was anticipating the "blazing speed" for file transfers. But there was a problem...

The drive would lose connection and I would get an error message saying that the transfer did not complete and data was lost etc., etc.

I contacted the computer manufacturer and they claimed it was a Western Digital problem. I thought they were just passing the buck, but I did some research and found that there are very many complaints all over the Internet about the Passport USB 3.0 drives losing connections. The descriptions were fairly consistent: it happened most frequently when transferring large amounts of data (such as 2 Gb, for example).

There were two theories:
(1) The Passport drive uses only a single USB connection and therefore it draws all power through that USB port. The USB port, being compliant with the USB 3.0 protocol, does not provide enough power for the drive to spin the hard disk fast enough for the data transfer at USB 3.0 speeds. That results in the errors and lost connection.
(2) The USB cables from Western Digital are defective.

So I thought I'd test theory (2) first. I got on Amazon and found a seller for a compatible USB 3.0 cable, ordered it, received it, plugged it in - and the drive works just fine. I selected a folder that had a large amount of data (8.4 Gb) and copied it to my C drive - no problem. I copied it back and forth several times and it always worked (with "blazing speed", I might add - 100 Mb per sec - WHEW!!). I tried different drives - they all worked just like I expected. That seemed to confirm to me that the cables were defective in some way.

I called Western Digital support. The Technical Support person sounded happy to help me. I described the problem to him. The first reply was that the support person put me on hold to discuss it with his supervisor. He came back and thanked me for bringing it to their attention and asked if there was anything else he could do. I said, "Yes - you can replace the cables." I have 7 drives that are still within the warranty period, so I would expect a replacement for at least those drive cables.

After discussing with his supervisor again, he said only one cable could be replaced. I said that was not acceptable. He said it was a problem with the system that would not allow him to process more than one. I said that was not my problem and I expected to get the cables replaced for at least the drives that are in warranty or I would become a Seagate customer. He spoke with his supervisor again and said he could do it. I guess his supervisor must have somehow fixed the problem with the system.

Anyway, he said I would be receiving replacement cables. I asked if they would be the same identical cables which would also not work. He discussed with his supervisor - again - and said I would be receiving y-cables. At that I explained to him that this indicates to me that Western Digital has identified the cause of the problem to be a power issue - that not enough power is being pulled from using just one USB port. He said, yes that was correct.

I asked what I should do when I need a new drive and the market is filled with product that was shipped with the inadequate cables. Am I supposed to just wait until that inventory sells off or should I instead buy Seagate drives... He said I can buy a Western Digital drive and call them right away. They will send a replacement y-cable. He didn't sound very happy at this point.

Note that when I first called Western Digital, the response was to appear like they had never heard of this before and to just blow me off.
After I pressed, the next response was to try to mollify me with just a single replacement cable.
Finally, they essentially admitted that they knew all about this all along and also had a solution that they never offered to me until I pressed hard.

So I still think Western Digital hard drives are among the best. But they have an identified, known, and confirmed defect in the USB 3.0 drive design (really just inadequate cables). Their response is to keep silent about it and hope people don't notice or just put up with it.

Therefore, I would have provided a 5-star rating for the drive, but because of the poor approach to Customer Service I knocked them down a couple of notches.

Shame on you Western Digital!! I place a lot of stock in the Customer Support a company gives, and in the honesty of the company to their customers. My confidence in you as a company is seriously undermined by this. Seagate may not be my provider for my drives at this point, and although I never seriously considered them before, I *AM* considering them seriously now.

Note this, Western Digital: I WAS a very satisfied customer. I continued to purchase drives even though I never posted an evaluation of the drives. Now I have become a somewhat dissatisfied customer and I have taken the time and made the effort to post this evaluation. Think about that...

2896 of 3019 people found the following review helpful.
An essential storage backup tool in a digital world
By Techie
I'm a computer repair technician, and one issue I have all the time with my customers is, the famous, 'a virus hijacked my computer and those precious pictures are inside'. Yeah, the prom, the honeymoon, or the newborn pictures are usually held without ransom. Most of the time we are dealing with malware of some sort that affects the Windows operating system files, but leaves the data intact. So, before I repair the computer, I rescue the pictures, and any other file they might value. However, not all repair technicians do this, most allege that the files are corrupted, which might be the case, but usually it really means they are too busy to rescue anything, don't know how to do it, or will not do it unless paid big cash.

For one own's sakes, the best thing to do is backing up the data before the computer gets infected, or the hard drive fails. For pictures I recommend backing up the original files into data discs, but for faster everyday files backups (music, movies, games, software etc.) is better to use an external hard drive.

The Western Digital My Passport 2 TB is an awesome way to carry large amounts of data in a tiny container, that is always available and secure. I love its dimensions, both physically and in bytes.

Also, the truly fast data transfers done with the USB 3.0 interface save time every day. Speaking of the USB connector, another great feature is that only requires a single USB port for power, while many external hard drives and enclosures, with form factor 2.5", require two USB ports.

This drive is great not only to keep multimedia files, but also for storing documents in digital form, because it saves space. Besides, in case of an emergency it's faster to grab it then a folder. I've been doing backups using both hard drives and discs, and it has been of great help throughout the years. For example, the last time I moved, the new school district wanted my daughter first vaccines' records. I knew I have the original card somewhere in a box, but I needed it fast. Then I remembered I scanned the card years ago, and that print-scanned image, which was storage in my daughter's digital folder, inside my external hard drive, saved me hours of search and quickened her registering process at the new school.

About the WD SmartWare software offered by the manufacturer, I hesitated before going for it, because in the past WD back up software didn't work well for me. However, when one is dealing with such a big amount of data, doing it manually is a pain, and the alternative of using the backup and restore features included in Microsoft Windows 7, is something I would only do for a complete system image, not for the everyday backup. So, I installed the WD SmartWare software and so far, it's performing well, it does require time and attention to learn its functionality though. If you decide not to use the WD SmartWare, you can still use the hard drive right out of the box, like any other external hard drive.

Besides reading the user's manual, I strongly suggest that before plugging in the drive into your computer, you go to the Western Digital My Passport's support page, and read how to use it.

Because there are a few details to know before starting backing up your data. Among these topics, How to install WD SmartWare from the external drives, How to create a category backup using WD SmartWare, How to backup specific files and folders using WD SmartWare, How to retrieve a backup using WD SmartWare, Setting up security to lock or unlock a WD external drive with WD SmartWare, (videos are provided in some of these), and How to partition and format a WD drive on Windows (7, Vista, XP) and Mac OSX etc., etc.

I can't post links here, but one can do a search for WD Support / Downloads / My Passport and will find the page where a variety of software that works with the Western Digital My Passport 2 TB, can be downloaded for free.

However, the most important fact of reading Western Digital's support information for this drive, is to learn how to use it 'before' entrusting your valuable data to it. Specially, if you choose to install the WD SmartWare software.

There are very important steps everybody should know while setting up these drives, so it's clearly stated on the Western Digital's support pages.

For example, while installing the software, it will ask if you want to apply any security (password & encryption) to the drive. Before setting up the password you must check an, I understand box, certifying that you understood that if you forget the password, the data is unrecoverable. I repeat, and excuse the capitals, but this is crucial, IF YOU FORGET THE PASSWORD, THE DATA IS UNRECOVERABLE.

Since there is no way to retrieve your password if you forget it, please write that password in a secure available location. If you want, it's possible to change your security settings, remove security or/and change the password, but in order to do either, you still need the original password entered the first time.

If you forget your password, you will not be able to access the data storage in the hard drive, but you can continue to use the drive again if you format it. Of course, the process of reformatting the hard drive will erase all the data inside the unit, and remove the password.

I highly recommend the Western Digital My Passport 2 TB external hard drive.

I do have an warning though, the only proven and trusted way to preserve important files is to burn them into data discs (CD/DVD/Blu-rays). Because hard drives have a limited lifespan, and will fail sooner or later, usually without any warning signs. An external hard drive is very convenient to use, but the stuff that cannot be easily replaced, should always first be backed up on discs. Trust me, it will give you peace of mind. Also you can have two different hard drives with the same information, like I do. If you really don't want to keep discs around anymore.

964 of 1005 people found the following review helpful.
The PERFECT External Storage Drive For My Macbook Pro
By Ronald Epstein
Wow. So many mixed reviews here, and like those of you who are pondering over whether it is worth purchasing this Western Digital MY PASSPORT, there may not be a clear answer.

Let me tell you my story.

Recently bought the new Retina Macbook Pro with its 500GB SSD drive. For a person like me who puts a lot of software on my laptop and does quite a bit of movie editing, hard drive space is a premium. So, when figuring out how to handle nearly 200GB of music, I decided it would probably be best to run iTunes off an external drive instead of taking up space on the Macbook.

Again...Wow. Reading these reviews on Amazon was quite unnerving. So many great experiences with this drive followed up by a handful of negative experiences -- many talking of total hard drive failure. It's almost as if you are rolling the dice as to whether you'll receive a drive that works or doesn't.

...then there's the reviews from people who claim they are having problems using this drive on their Mac.

Well, I picked myself out a RED 1TB drive. Thought it was a cool color and didn't mind paying the premium price for it. In addition, I picked up this fantastic Case Logic QHDC-101 Hard Case on Amazon for $10. It's the perfect compliment to the red hard drive that fits snuggly inside.

Using the Western Digital MY PASSPORT on a Mac couldn't be easier than opening the package, plugging the USB cord into the Macbook, and then formatting it using Disk Utilities. From package to format took under 4 minutes.

And for anyone claiming to have a problem using this drive with their Mac, this is all you need to do...

1. Plug in the drive via USB connection
2. Go to APPLICATIONS -> UTILITIES -> DISK UTILITY
3. Click on the hard drive icon located at the very top left sidebar
4. Select the ERASE tab and FORMAT in Max OSX Extended (Journaled). Assign your drive a name if you wish.

That's it. Easy.

The drive works incredibly fast thanks to its USB 3.0 compatibility, which is backwards-compatible with USB 2.0. The drive is extremely quiet, and I didn't notice it getting warm.

And, yes, you can run your iTunes off the external drive.

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Escort Passport Max

Escort Passport Max..

GET Escort Passport Max By Escort

Most helpful customer reviews

109 of 116 people found the following review helpful.
Your Mileage WILL Vary
By Winter
There are a lot of great reviews of the Passport Max right now, and they seem to be fairly divided, loving or hating it with all kinds of testing and research and other detailed information thrown in on either side of the fence. Having owned radar detectors for about 25 years now, and having had Escort products for a while, I think I've figured out why the Passport Max both is and isn't the greatest detector on the market today.

The short answer:

I am extremely happy with my Passport Max, having stepped up from a Passport 8500. People with newer hardware might not see as much of a difference, and where you live definitely *will* make a difference as to how well it performs, especially if you're adding the Escort Live service and/or database updates. If you live in an area with a lot of speed traps and cameras, and/or you do a lot of aggressive way-over-the-limit driving, you're going to want to at least sign up for the Defender Database and you might consider the Live service; otherwise, most people in smaller towns will do fine with just the unit.

The Pros

Hardware
The Passport Max is bulkier than my 8500, but a bit lighter. While the suction cup mounts of the earlier models were okay, the single cup mount in the Max is still a decent idea: it's a large circle of gooey rubbery material that stays sticky no matter what, but it's also pretty big, like the mount of a GPS dashboard unit. It can be released with the flip of a plastic latch that breaks the suction with the windshield. The release button to detach the detector from the mount is under the bracket on top of the Max, and so slipping a finger or thumb in the gap to release is tricky and requires a little bit of dexterity.

The display is bright and clear, and the fact that it is recessed in the faceplate reduces the chance that the sun is going to wash out the screen and make it hard to see. You can customize the colors of the display to choose a favorite color palette. Information is easy to read, and Advanced mode gives me the signal strength bars that I'm so fond of with my 8500. While the unit comes with a SmartCord, the more advanced form of the SmartCord (called "Smart Cord Live" and sold separately) lets you tether to your cellphone and/or the Live service (more on that in a moment). My one gripe with other radar detectors has been the piercing 'chirp' or buzz noise they have to make to get your attention, and I like that this unit's alerts are voice driven and fairly subdued; alerts also gently strobe the light-up text on top of the unit to add another subtle cue. As an added bonus, if your phone is running the app and is also tethered to your car stereo and you're playing music from your phone, the Passport will mute the volume on the stereo to make the alert come through clearer.

Software
Probably the best advantage here is the customization: using the smartphone app or the downloadable software on a computer (via USB), you can more closely customize your radar detector. For example, mine defaults to alerting me if I go 10 miles over, but if that got annoying, I could tell it to do it at different times, or not at all. There are a lot more options now that the unit can be driven by software. The Defender Database is a subscription-based software package (sold separately) that will let you push updated information to the Passport Max that is stored directly on the unit. You can subscribe for one or three years, and updating the unit is done with software you download to your computer: you have to connect the Passport Max to the computer with a USB cable (not included). The Escort Live Service is a software system that lets you connect the unit to your Droid or iPhone via an app you install on the phone. It uses Bluetooth to connect, and does the following:

- uses your phone's GPS (and your mobile data service) to show your location on a map, displayed on your phone's screen
- uses your phone's GPS to show speed limit data where available
- uses your phone's mobile data to update the map on your phone that indicates the locations of any items you want to watch for--speed cameras, reports of speed traps, etc.
- when you spot a speed camera or trap, the Report button on the cord will both store the location in the unit and push it to the Live system so others can see the alert.
- if you also use your phone for hands-free Bluetooth and/or music streaming with your car audio, the Passport will lower the volume on Bluetooth music when it needs to tell you about an alert

As you can tell, connecting your phone's Bluetooth to the Escort Passport Max still lets you connect your phone's Bluetooth to other things, such as your car stereo or other hands-free Bluetooth system, at the same time.

In the Field
I live in a small town that I know fairly well. I don't drive like a speed demon, but I do own a very high-profile car, so for me the Passport Max is more about keeping me honest and making me aware when I'm being watched. We don't have speed or red-light cameras yet, but I know some of the places I regularly travel to will. I have almost as many false alerts with the Max as I did with my 8500, but the difference now is that I can suppress them with a couple of taps, and the Max will remember forever to ignore the alert (it shows up quietly in black-and-white on the screen). I've used the Defender database and it's really easy to update the unit. I'm also playing with the Live service and I'm pleasantly surprised at how it tracks user reports: even in my small town I'll see on the phone app that someone reported a traffic check X number of minutes ago (and I can customize when I want those updates to go 'stale' and drop off the screen) and the other day I had a country-road speed-trap lit up for me with plenty of advance notice. In the end, I'm getting some pretty good improvements but I can see why owners of newer units such as the Redline aren't finding much to write home about--the Defender database and Live updates have been available for units newer than my last one for some time now.

The Cons
While I haven't had the alert problems that some people have had, I think the area you live in plays a big part in how well the Passport Max will work. For me its detection is top-notch, and yet not any better than my 8500: it's the ability to store falses that makes the Max a step up for me. That said, there are problems with the speed limit tracking:

- the default value on the screen is something you can set, called your 'OverSpeed Limit'. Think of this as your, 'no matter what, I really don't want to be caught going this fast' number. When the Passport doesn't know a value (because you're not running the app on your phone), the OverSpeed Limit is displayed. It defaults to '70', and I have to remind myself when I see '70', that I'm not seeing real data. 70 has been a useful number, though: most of the time I'm not on the highway, so I want to be aware when I go over 70, and when I am on the highway, I pay more attention to my speed and don't tend to go below 70, so I don't get a lot of repeat alerts. It can be a bit confusing...remember that it's important to use the world around you--your gauges and the signs--more than this feature!
- speed limits are only as accurate as the data. In the real world, there are posted, statutory, and actual speed limits and when you do get a value on the screen, there can be legal reasons it doesn't match what you see on the sign (such as "the state changed the data but the county hasn't changed the signs") or technical reasons ("the speed limit sign was put 500 yards away from the actual change because a sign couldn't fit over there"). Add to that the fact that Passport's database might not be pulling from the latest release of information--there are a lot of factors related to 'Big Data' that make "realtime" not mean what you may think it means. And there are plenty of rural roads where I live that have no data stored at all.
- you're still a moving target. The GPS portion is reading in real-time, but Escort tell me (see the comments below)that there may still be a slight delay between your phone and the Max. I've got a spot in my town that goes from 35 to 45 to 55 in less than a mile, and the Passport is off by about 5-10 seconds. You still have to pay attention to the signs and signals around you (and to be honest, you really should).

There is one other thing I thought was a bit annoying: the cable. To register your radar detector or start using the software, you will need a "USB A / Mini B cable". This is a fairly common cable you often get with USB 2.0 portable hard drives, digital cameras, and older cellphones, but Escort does not include it; you need to get your own. Given how cheap these cables are to the average consumer, it's a bit annoying that you don't get one with the unit given the Passport Max's price tag.

The Conclusion
Escort Radar has to keep innovating to make technology attractive. They are always looking for ways to improve, but the result is a double-edged sword: loyal customers won't see huge gains from one model to another, and at the same time, leading-edge technology isn't always ready for prime-time. We have limits in the real world (such as GPS coordinates for a speed limit versus the actual place where someone put the sign) that reduce the benefits. We haven't had substantial changes in police radar since the introduction of pulse and laser, but we have a lot of other issues (speed cameras, red-light cameras, etc.) that Escort tries to address. The Passport Max is Escort's best foot forward, and it is a superior attempt at making a good system. If you're new to radar detectors and have the money, it makes a great investment but you should remember the real-world limits and think about whether you want to buy the extra Defender and/or Live software subscriptions. If you have a great system already, don't expect a huge improvement with the Max unless you factor in the Live service.

Questions and comments welcome below. :)

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful.
Escort Passport Seems To Be The Only Innovator In The Radar Detector World Today - Max Is Their Newest And Greatest
By Carter H
I have owned many Escort detectors and also the Valentine One. I am not going to bombard you with technical specs. That has been done to death. The real question is how do they stack up, and what features are meaningful in on road use.

As far as innovation, the only company that is doing anything at all is Escort Passport. Valentine while excellent on many levels has not offered any new features in forever. Its like here is the V 1 take it or leave it. More on that later.

My go to detector has been the Passport 8500 which has done a descent job of saving me on many occasions. Is the 8500 better than the Valentine One, No, but it costs a bit less now doesnt it, and it keeps money in your wallet if you know what I mean.

When I went from the Valentine to the 8500 I felt like I was blind. The V 1 has the arrows that point to where the radar / cop is in real time. They have a patent on this so it wont be coming to any other detector. What made me drop the V 1 is that the visual info on what band you are being hit with is sooooo small that you cant see the thing at all if you are over 40 years old. You see the led come on next to a couple of letters, but who knows what they are when you are hitting the brakes, or trying to figure out if its the grocery store doors setting it off (thanks for door sensors that instead of x band now have some that are k band).

To make things even worse the Valentines audible warnings are all the same for any band. I contacted them to ask for different sounds for each band like ALL other detectors. They said they would send my suggestion to the R&D department. That was six years ago. Thus no innovation coming any time soon from Valentine.

Now to the Max. The Max is the best from Escort Passport. The company claims that it will out perform all their other detectors including the Redline. Some customers have claimed that their Redlines out perform the Max on many occasions, and it may be true but here is the bottom line. Its only in fractions of a second for the most part and there are other variables in play most of the time.

We have reached a point where the top of the line from all manufactures are put simply, GREAT. They all kick butt. What you must decide is between features that you need vs stuff you could care less about. The Max has every feature on earth it appears.

Has a very accurate gps speed gauge thing, and the warning if I go over a certain speed feature etc. Some have complained that they dont like the always moving search meter on the screen, saying its a distraction. Me, I dont care. I just like the new HD screen. Its looks cool, works in all lighting conditions when other detectors get washed out.

I like the Max telling me with a chicks voice what radar band I am being hit with, even though the audible sound has already let me know (separate sound for each band). I like the feature that adjust the volume for how loud I am playing music so I dont miss the alert. As for the GPS I like the feature where it records the location,frequency, and strength of false alarm grocery store door sensors so I dont have to be bothered with that crap again.

I like all the adjsutments you can make easily even though the user manuals SUCKKKKK. Passport Escort online videos SUCKKKKK. Thank God for Youtube. The short version is you hold down the far left button on top and the far right button on top at the same time to enter customization mode. Why couldnt they just have said that? Lots of things to make the detector your own, including changing colors of the display to match your mood when you are feeling outgoing, or on a date with someone special (Cue the Barry White music... Probably Escort looking to add this feature as automatic in future update :) ).

In sumation ladies and gentlemen of the jury. The Max blows away the 8500 in all respects. While the 8500 is good, it just can't stand side by side in any comparison. Max vs Redline. Max has more features, real world radar detection will be the same. Max vs. Valentine One, real world detection will be the same,,, but the Valentine will bug the living crap out of you with false alerts that just keep coming. I do so miss those red arrows though.

The Pros:
Great Range Detection On All Bands.

Future Proof - Can update firmware by connecting to computer via usb cable and downloading windows only software from Escort. Cmon guys lets get with it for the Mac folks.

First to have a multiple laser sensor.

Great OLED Display

Much better mounting suction cup, although still huge.
How about including a visor mount??? For $550 bucks a two dollar visor mount won't destroy your bottom line.

Has an interesting advanced display feature that shows how many radar signals, and the strength and band for each one all in real time. Expert Meter and Specdisplay.

Will tell you in feet how close you are to some signals.

Uses its GPS and the exact frequency to learn and automatically reject unwanted door openers and other fixed position false alarms.

The Cons:
Most expensive consumer grade detector ever.

Bulkier than 8500 model (but lighter)

More sensitive to voltage fluctuations if hardwired, and will shut off.

Controls on top a little hard to adjust if detector mounted high in vehicle.

So many features it has a little bit of a learning curve programing it all. But more may be better for some though, as they need the new features.

No VG2/Spectre support

At this price it should wash some dishes, and I have had some issues with Passport Escort units going bad 10 seconds after the short warranty period, so extended warranties are pretty cheap for these, and unfortunately you will most likely need one. Extended warranties are usually a bad idea for electronics as tech changes so rapidly. Since police aren't changing bands any time soon, keeping your unit for over three to four years is a no brainer.

If you are an owner of a redline or 9500ix and are wondering if you should upgrade to the Max, my answer would be no. While the Max has some really cool features your detector does not have, the radar detecting performance is pretty much what you already have, even though the manufacturer says different.

So far I am liking the Max

59 of 70 people found the following review helpful.
Very expensive and annoying flashing display
By Steve Pierce
I got one of the very first Passport Max's as I was part of their early release first 200 program. I am currently running the latest version 1.4 of the software.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
* Updating Software is easy.
* No VG2/Spectre support
* Truly annoying flashing display that is a dangerous driver distraction.

If you have a Redline or 9500xi, don't bother buying a Max until until the strobing display problem is fixed.

REVIEW
I won't get into a review of the performance of the unit. That would be like me telling you which is better Apple or Samsung or Porsche or BMW. No point.

Updating the software is easy and for the first time you don't have to have DC power, plug the detector into the USB port and the detector powers up. No dragging the laptop out to the car or trying to come up with a 12V power supply at your desk to power the detector. Very nice.

The USB port is not as popular and my unit did not come with a USB cable. Fortunately my camera cable has the same port, but most phones these days use a different USB port from the Max.

Escort for now is not requiring accounts or subscriptions to get updates, I hope they keep it that way.

Software updates are different from points of interest updates or red camera location updates is still a fee to get updates. There is also a very nasty bug in the 1.4 update that clears your preferences and suddenly if you don't remember to reset your preferences, you won't get any warnings about red light cameras.

One feature missing is the Max does not have VG2 or Spectre III/IV support which is the anti radar-detector detector. If you are running in an area where detectors are banned, Virginia, Canada, and most military bases, watch out. Escort will tell you if this feature is important, go with the Redline.

This isn't a big deal but of course Escort doesn't tell you this feature is missing and it is a surprising oversight as every other detector out there has this feature so you don't expect it to be missing, but it is.

The biggest flaw, and this one is HUGE, is the strobing flashing lights on the display. In the stock photo you will see a series of small rectangular blue and white bars bars above the word Highway. I will wait while you go look at the photo ... Ok, glad you are back.

Those light bars flash and strobe continuously, day and night. It is like looking at a Cylon or Knight Rider display and this is facing you. So you have this constant blue and white flashing light bar which sort of looks like the very same blue and white light bar on top of a police car flashing the entire time you are driving.

It is miserable at night even with the lowest brightness setting.

The lights don't have anything to do with the detector signal, or bands, or cameras or GPS or anything else. it is purely decorative flashing bling.

I called Escort about this and said this is crazy to have a flashing lights that do nothing but flash and strobe. I can't be the only one to complain. They said they have had a couple of complaints. I call B.S. about only a few complaints, apparently it has been many. When you get on the discussion boards, it doesn't take long before some new buyer starts complaining about these dang flashing lights and how can they turn them off. As of version 1.4 you can't.

Escorts solution, put some tape over the flashing bars or set the display to DARK mode. Tape over a $550 detector is, well rinky-dink.

Dark mode is no better. True the flashing lights are gone, but in DARK mode you can't get all the other useful info that this detector does like telling you what kind of signal it is detecting or the speed warnings or current speed display which are all great features and I love.

You can change the display to a different color and the orangish brown color seems to be less annoying than blue and white but not by much.

These flashing lights are truly annoying and I believe they are a driver hazard. Escort of course disagrees.

CONCLUSION
If you are running a 9500xi or Redline detector or a modern version from a competitor, save your money and wait on the Passport Max.

Escort will eventually address the flashing display problem but the problem may not be able to be fixed in a software update. If that is the case, that will mean current buyers will be stuck as Escort in their company history has never had a trade-in program or upgrade where you get anything close to what you paid for the original detector.

Give the Passport Max a pass on its flashing strobing cylon knight rider display and wait for version 2.0.

Cheers!

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WD My Passport Slim 2TB Portable Metal External Hard Drive USB 3.0 with Auto and Cloud Backup (WDBPDZ0020BAL-NESN)

WD My Passport Slim 2TB Portable Metal External Hard Drive USB 3.0 with Auto and Cloud Backup (WDBPDZ0020BAL-NESN)..

Grab Now WD My Passport Slim 2TB Portable Metal External Hard Drive USB 3.0 with Auto and Cloud Backup (WDBPDZ0020BAL-NESN) By Western Digital

Most helpful customer reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful.
Better in just about everyway than my previous drive. Data and comparisons included
By Chris Zee Shutterbug
WD 1TB USB3 slim external HD.

I routinely mirror (backup entire drive vs just the data) on all the family computers. (Over the years two laptop drives failed and we had about half dozen drive by viruses that required very lengthy repairs). The external drive I use now is a Toshiba Cavio 1TB drive, Toshiba Canvio 1.0 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - HDTC610XK3B1 (Black)which is less than one year old and also USB3. I considered cloud backup, but at a midgrade internet cable connection, my upload speed (5-10 Mb/sec) is over 100 times slower than compared to using the external drives. I used CrystalDiskMark 3 software for comparing data rates.

The short story is that this WD drive almost 50% faster than the Toshiba (118 MB/s vs 80MB/sec). It is also 40% smaller (6.7cu inch vs 9.44, .496" thick). It also has a metal case rather than plastic, and as a consequence it's a teensy bit heavier at 5.6 vs 5.5 ounces.

Other plus is that it comes with a small black tie string silk carrying bag. Of the minuses, there is only one small one, the Toshiba had an activity light that glowed blue when plugged into a USB3 port and white when plugged into a USB2 port, the WD is always white.

Other notes. The USB cable is 19" long, and you can plug it into a USB2 plug or USB3 plug (the plastic on the inside of USB3 connector will be blue), however if use an existing USB cord (micro plug like on some phones) the data rate will only be USB2 speed. For USB3 speed you need to use the supplied cord, which has a double connector on the drive side, this is the same for the Toshiba drive. So how much do you give up when using USB3? Quite a lot, USB2 rate was 33 MB/s vs 118 or more than 3.5 times slower.

In summary this is the best external backup drive I have seen.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful.
A Passport Ultra Elegantly Repackaged (UPDATED)
By Stephanie Sullivan
I've been using WD My Passport Ultra 2TB drives to meet the backup needs for several of my clients' for a while. They are fast, reliable and compact. The My Passport Slim is essentially a My Passport Ultra in a slightly smaller and lighter package that is very attractive.

The Passport Slim became of interest when a client asked for a very portable external drive to take on the road where size and weight are especially important. The Passport Slim 2TB seemed a good fit for his purchase.

The Slim is "sexy and sleek" as it has been described in other reviews. It's about 1/8 inch thinner than the WD My Passport Ultra and just about 1/3 of an ounce lighter.

Like the Ultra it comes with a short cable, soft draw-string bag and has WD Smartware Pro on the drive for easy backup and sync to/from Dropbox (their "automatic cloud backup"). This Passport Slim drive was not purchased mainly for backup. It was intended to carry media, reference materials and work files on the road and as storage to off-load pictures.

To best take advantage of the My Passport Slim (or the WD My Passport Ultra) a USB 3.0 port is needed. Most modern laptops and desktops come with USB 3.0 built-in. Older computers can often be upgraded economically. I've used the ORICO PVU3-5O2I USB 3.0 7 Port PCI Express Card (5 Rear and Internal USB 3.0 20PIN Connector) on Windows 7 and Linux Desktops/Servers. If your laptop has an express card slot then a card like the HDE 2 Port USB 3.0 may provide USB 3.0 speeds to take full advantage of a drive like the My Passport Slim.

Having used Smartware on the Passport Ultra I find it a passable backup/sync tool. Calling a Dropbox client "automatic cloud backup" may be technically accurate, but I find it less than impressive.

The drive is very fast as is the My Passport Ultra. I did not run benchmarks on this drive. My time working with it was spent populating it with the files to be used in travel. With a USB 3.0 connection the drive felt much like the My Passport Ultra drive when copying files to and from the drive. Generally about 3X as fast as a USB 2.1 connected drive. The Passport Slim was more than fast enough for its intended purpose.

Here are the dimensions of the My Passport Slim and the My Passport Ultra from the WD site for comparison:
Passport Slim: H:0.70in, D:4.33in, W:3.14in, Weight 0.48lb
Passport Ultra: H:0.823in, D:4.35in, W:3.23in, Weight 0.50lb

Is the Passport Slim worth a 30% higher price, even with a more "sexy" look? The Slim is a slightly thinner and lighter version of the My Passport Ultra and for me I'm not sure. It does seems worth the extra for my client who really likes the drive.

If being ultra-portable or cool looking isn't important save about $35 (at the time I write this) and get the WD My Passport Ultra 2TB instead. If cool is worth the extra cost go for the Passport Slim. Both drives have virtually identical performance and features outside of the packaging differences.

Because the Passport Slim does what it's supposed to with very nice "style" the WD Passport Slim gets 5 stars from me.

Hope this is helpful!

Update: Mar 6, 2014
The price differential on Amazon is down to about $30 now for the 2TB Slim over the My Passport Ultra. Good looks and smaller size has become a more affordable.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful.
Dual Toned SuperSpeed Slim Beauty!
By rbhatta
WD is known for making excellent quality hard disk drives. I have owned several WD internal desktop and external drives in the past and never had any drives fail till date. This Passport Slim portable 1TB capacity with metal top is very well made and will provide years of service. I do like the new dual tone metal design. The drive is small enough to fit in your shirt pocket and has large 1TB capacity.

The SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface makes the drive work even faster on PCs and Laptops that have USB 3.0 interface and is fully backward compatible with older USB 2.0 interfaces. I ran some benchmark tests using HDTUNE application and here are the results:

(*)Using USB 2.0 Read Speeds: Min: 29.2 MB/s, Max: 31.2 MB/s
(*)Using USB 2.0 Write Speeds: Min: 14.5 MB/s, Max: 22.6 MB/s

(*)Using USB 3.0 Read Speeds: Min: 96.6 MB/s, Max: 106.3 MB/s
(*)Using USB 3.0 Write Speeds: Min: 54.6 MB/s, Max: 79.2 MB/s

The spindle rotational speed reported by HDTUNE application is 5400RPM. The drive runs cool even after extended period of time as the metal surface helps dissipate heat evenly. This is an 'USB BUS' powered drive. You do not need any external power adapter to run the drive and this makes it very portable.

PROS
[+] Very attractive dual tone design, Slim portable and comes with a carrying pouch.
[+] Does not need external power source. Runs with USB bus power.
[+] Speedy especially when used with SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface.
[+] 3 years warranty

CONS
[-] It does not have rubber feet on the bottom and could scratch the bottom surface eventually.
[-] This drive uses WD proprietary hardware interface. Data recovery could be challenging if the interface were to fail especially if you enable hardware encryption.

When it comes to software included in the drive, you get 'WD Drive' Utilities, 'WD Security' and 'WD SmartWare Pro' backup software. These apps allow you to choose when and where you backup your data, The apps also allows you to password protect and encrypt the files on the drive or run disk drive diagnostics etc; You can also use your 'Dropbox' account to back up your files to the 'cloud' as an offsite backup.

Overall this drive performs well. It is priced right for 1TB capacity. Four Star Product! Recommended.

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