# WD 5TB Elements AE Portable External Hard Drive, USB 3.2 Gen 1

Source: https://www.ranked10.co.uk/tech/best-5tb-external-hard-drives/wd-elements-ae-5tb
Ranked #10 in "Best 5TB External Hard Drive 2026: 10 Ranked, Three Spec Sheets That Contradict Themselves": https://www.ranked10.co.uk/tech/best-5tb-external-hard-drives

- Price: £155.99 (checked on Amazon UK on 2026-09-19)
- Amazon rating: 4.3 from 1,008 ratings
- Buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FLY4LFB7?tag=ranked10-21

The WD Elements AE is a 2.5-inch portable mechanical hard drive from Western Digital, listed here in a 5 TB version at £155.99, with a 4.3-out-of-5 rating from 1,008 ratings. It sits at number 10 in this guide, and its listing is the one that disagrees with itself most often: three different capacities appear on the same product page.

The title says 5 TB and the Digital Storage Capacity field says 5 TB. The Hard-Drive Size field in the same listing says 2 TB. One of the bullets offers "up to 6TB capacity". Three figures, one drive. There is also a number that reads like speed but is not: "Data Transfer Rate: 5 Gigabits Per Second" is the USB 3.2 Gen 1 bus ceiling — 625 megabytes per second at the very most — and no 2.5-inch mechanical disk in this guide comes near that. Two smaller fields are worth a look as well: the colour is given as "Version 2025", which is not a colour, and the enclosure material as "Aluminum/Glass", against a bullet stating the enclosure is more than 50% post-consumer recycled plastic. Everything on this page is taken from the Amazon listing for the WD Elements AE; none of it comes from a test we ran ourselves.

## Specification

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | £155.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 out of 5, from 1,008 ratings |
| Digital Storage Capacity (as listed) | 5 TB |
| Hard-Drive Size (as listed) | 2 TB |
| Capacity claimed in a bullet (as listed) | up to 6 TB |
| Data Transfer Rate (as listed) | 5 Gigabits Per Second |
| Enclosure Material (as listed) | Aluminum/Glass |
| Colour (as listed) | Version 2025 |

## Questions people ask

**What capacity is this WD Elements AE drive?**

The title and the Digital Storage Capacity field both say 5 TB. The Hard-Drive Size field on the same listing says 2 TB, and one bullet says up to 6TB. The listing carries three different figures.

**How fast does it transfer data?**

The listing gives a Data Transfer Rate of 5 Gigabits Per Second. That is the USB 3.2 Gen 1 connection figure, not a measured disk speed, and the listing quotes no read or write speed in megabytes per second.

**Is it plug-and-play?**

Western Digital describes the WD Elements AE as plug-and-play, with USB 3.2 Gen 1/USB 3.0 connectivity and Windows formatting done for you. One reviewer notes the drive will not run from an unpowered USB hub.

**What is the enclosure made of?**

A bullet says the enclosure is composed of more than 50% post-consumer recycled plastic, while the Enclosure Material field on the same listing says Aluminum/Glass.

**What is in the box?**

The Box Contents field lists "Hard Disk" only. The backup software is described as a download, with hourly, daily or monthly schedules you set yourself.

**How is it rated by buyers?**

The WD Elements AE holds 4.3 out of 5 from 1,008 ratings. Of the ratings shown, 72% are 5-star and 13% are 1 or 2-star.