I think you'll find most recertified products have a warranty so are they going to break too? Like any storage it always pays to have several backups of precious data. I bought recertified WD products in the past and they're still going strong.

Tbh you shouldn't rely on any external hard drive even if it's brand new with a 5 year warranty. Always keep a backup of your backup. Then one one fails you can buy another and duplicate.

Agree its not good for an only backup of important data/photographs BUT would be a good cheap decent brand drive for plugging into a tv etc. Always a use for something.

Yup never buy second hand/ refurbed hdds...

Normally these have a 5 year warranty!!

Great deal for someone who wants a cheap drive to port files from one place to another, for example someone who wants to use a non-networked media player or take one on the road. Or as an external steam drive for a laptop with a small SSD, for example, or even an external drive for an Xbox One (your saves are in the cloud, and you don't need to back up the games).

I'm also not sure that your files themselves are significantly more at risk on this device than a new disk. Like you, I wouldn't probably take the risk. But hear me out: you'll notice that Western Digital don't sell recertified internal disks. They only sell recertified enclosures.

In my experience of disks in enclosures, it is usually the electronics in the caddy that go first, before anything to do with the drive.

I would think it is quite likely that none of the disks in these recertified drives have ever mechanically failed. It's probably not even economical to try and repair a disk which has failed in that way.

What you're likely to be buying is a new disk in refurbed enclosure or a used disk in a new enclosure, or possibly a used disk with new electronics on it... but you're not likely to be buying a refurbed disk in my opinion.

So if you get a used disk, sure that's not ideal because mechanical drives have a limited lifespan. But while they CAN fail at any time, on average they also tend to fail near the beginning of their lives or after a certain longer time... and if the disk is used, you're probably past that first risky period, and somewhat closer to the later one. But if it's new you're at the exact same risk as if you paid full price, because you have a new disk.

If the enclosure fails, your files are probably safe. If the files on the drive matter to you, then a warranty doesn't. Because you will almost always void your warranty opening a caddy and trying to recover files.

In short, this is a great deal for someone who wants a portable disk for files that aren't unrecoverable. It's probably not even as bad as you might think for other purposes.

​I'm glad. That's how it should be. point making was that WD if total confidence in the product should be backing it up with a full warranty. Why arnt they?. if your not concerned about data loss ( which presume is the reason why people buy these anyway in first place. Unless just want extra capacity ) then go for it. Hindsight wonderful thing . But of little after the event.

Same here, looks like new

Yes it is.

It can't be used inside if your aim is to upgrade the internal hdd. If you want to make a back up copy of your internal drive then it can be used via the usb port. So far seagate is the only one that can be ripped apart to replace the internal hdd. This is one has the usb on the main board so no good for replacing any internal drives.

​Agree. Although at the end of the day warranty or no Warrenty if drive fails there's no guarantee you'll be able to recover your data. you might get a refund but that's of little concession. To quote a sales script " when it's gone it's gone!!!". There's no point then wishing you'd paid a little more because it's to late then...

No-one but no-one "repairs" a hard drive. Have you ever taken one apart?

The repair or refurb is likely to the case or physical connections. There is no reason to suppose that the sealed drive unit is any more likely to fail than any other WD product. Indeed due to the "Reliability Bathtub Curve" you could argue that the drive itself is LESS likely to fail as it has been 'run in' as it were.

The most useful post in the thread.

No, the supplier knows that giving it the same or similar warranty to new drives means less people may purchase the new ones.

As for lost data, no drive warranty covers you for that anyway, 6 months, 5 years or lifetime. Backup your data.

Personally I wouldn't buy a recertified/refurb drive and the length of warranty is irrelevant to me. Reliability is important though. I buy a mix of drives, never use the same batch/brand for backups and I always extensively test the drive before putting it to proper use. Generally if it works, it will last a reasonable time. I have never sent a used drive back for replacement, my data being more important to me than having to spend a few quid to replace the storage. If you're serious about storage and not just using a drive as a music/game collection, then it's always a good idea considering these as consumables and knowing you will eventually have to replace them.

lucky you after trying to contact them on numerous occasions as my 750gb failed i gave up. Absolute poor customer service. Would never buy another recertified from western digital. I though LG were bad with their customer service but atleast they responded even if they blamed the end user. WD have not replied to a single of my emails and when i call them up i get stuck in long ques. Not worth the stress or time to get a refund so i just threw it in the bin.

Ditto.

Is sometimes recognised by my xb1 for a minute or two but always reverts to a flashing while light and no device recognised :disappointed:

Looks like they're either sold out or problem with the link. They have the blue one for £32. Go to the main WD page and click on WD outlet then recertified portable.

I would. The stock seems to come in and go quite often.