Rank #9 in Best 5TB External Hard Drive 2026: 10 Ranked, Three Spec Sheets That Contradict Themselves
WD 5TB My Passport USB-C Portable External Hard Drive, Grey
Price and rating as shown on Amazon when we collected them. Both change.
The WD My Passport 5TB is the entry at number 9 in this guide. It is a 2.5-inch mechanical external drive running at 5400 RPM, with a USB-C connection, 256-bit AES encryption and bundled software for backup and device management. At the time of writing it is priced at £169.90 and carries a rating of 4.3 out of 5 from 860 ratings.
Its listing disagrees with itself in the same way the other drives here do. The Digital Storage Capacity field says 5 TB, and the Cache Memory Installed Size field says 5 TB as well — on a 5400 RPM mechanical disk that second figure is a capacity, not a cache. A bullet in the same listing offers "Up to 6TB". Further down, Data Transfer Rate is given as 1 Megabits Per Second while Read Speed is 100 Megabytes Per Second and Media Speed is 50-100 MB/s; 1 Mbps and 100 MB/s are about 800 times apart. Everything on this page comes from the Amazon listing, not from any test we ran.
How those 860 ratings break down
An average hides its own shape. This is the spread behind the 4.3 stars.
Specification
Exactly as published on the Amazon listing, field for field.
| Price | £169.90 |
|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3 out of 5, from 860 ratings |
| Digital Storage Capacity | 5 TB |
| Cache Memory Installed Size (as listed) | 5 TB |
| Data Transfer Rate (as listed) | 1 Megabits Per Second |
| Read Speed | 100 Megabytes Per Second |
| Media Speed | 50-100 MB/s |
| Hard Disk Rotational Speed | 5400 RPM |
What buyers actually say
Quoted from customer reviews on Amazon
Verified purchase“Incredible fast read-write rates, it has a small, thin profile making it really portable. Working perfect without any issues”
Verified purchase“Amazing product so far.Great storageStudy little unitCan fit into your pocket or bag size is purfect for 2tb. Light weight.Couldn't ask for more.And it was pretty fast taking all my pics of my iPad Pro. Freed up so much space.”
What it is up against
The rivals it was ranked against in Best 5TB External Hard Drive 2026: 10 Ranked, Three Spec Sheets That Contradict Themselves.
Questions people ask
How much storage does the WD My Passport have?
The listing's Digital Storage Capacity field says 5 TB, and a bullet in the same listing says "Up to 6TB". The Cache Memory Installed Size field also reads 5 TB.
How fast is the WD My Passport?
The listing gives Read Speed as 100 Megabytes Per Second and Media Speed as 50-100 MB/s, but lists Data Transfer Rate as 1 Megabits Per Second. The drive itself is a 5400 RPM mechanical hard disk.
Does the WD My Passport work with a Mac?
Yes. The listing says it is compatible with Windows PC, Mac, Chromebook and gaming consoles without reformatting or extra software, and the Hardware Platform field reads Mac.
What does the WD My Passport 5TB cost?
The listing price at the time of writing is £169.90, with a rating of 4.3 out of 5 from 860 ratings.
Is the WD My Passport a USB-C drive?
The product name says it works with USB-C and the Hardware Connectivity field says USB Type C, while the Hard Disk Interface field says USB 3.0. A bullet says you can connect to USB-C or USB-A devices without switching cables.
Can you use the WD My Passport for gaming?
The listing's Specific Uses For Product field says Gaming, and the compatible console models it names are Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation 5.
Comments
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