Best External Drive For Time Machine

I purchased this external hard drive so i could back up my 2012 MacBook Pro with time machine. I was able to format the drive for the time machine and had absolutely no issues doing it. I was also able to partition it so it can also be used as a regular drive so i can store photos and videos. Out of the box, the device was flawless and powered up immediately when i plugged it in with USB. No power adapter necessary. When it's running when its recording or reading, its silent and there are no vibrations or rattling noises. Considering the 4TB storage capacity and the fact it's not SSD, this is quite a small device. I've been using Western Digital for over a decade and have never had any issues. In my opinion, they are the best devices and i would recommend them to anyone. They are the best bang for the buck!

I bought this hard drive to use with Time Machine on my Mac. I literally just plugged it in, then the computer asked me if I wanted to use it as my Time Machine backup and I clicked yes. Presto. Done. Didn't install any software, it's just plug and play. (I had to buy a new external drive because I got a new computer and the old backup drive would be completely overwritten if I used it for Time Machine. This one is about 1/20 the size of the old. Since I work upstairs in my bedroom at night sometimes, it's nice to have an external drive that is completely portable. This way I tend to plug it in for a backup more often instead of waiting until I am downstairs again.) I actually bought an extra one for a different computer.

I am a novice when it comes to all things Mac. So I contacted B&H customer service to ask questions about the different external drives. B&H has excellent customer service! The rep said to review the Glyph external drive. So glad he pointed this out to me as it's a great product. Glyph makes it easy to set up Time Machine, which is great for a novice like me. Also, prior to this purchase, I had a LaCie external drive for my Time Machine. It was very noisy. This Glyph is very quiet. I am very pleased with this purchase.

Purchased as a Time Machine external hard drive for my MacBook Pro. Works very well - plenty fast for backup tasks. Very quiet operation compared to the Western Digital drives I tried out. Great for long term storage of data as SSD drives are prone to data loss over time if not powered on regularly. Learned this the hard way :-/

This is my 3rd WD external hard drive and I'm loving it. I use it as my new Time Machine and repartitioned the others for storage. Simple and quick to set-up.The blue-black metal is beautiful as well. I rather like this look to the speckled surface of the other Passports.

About a year ago, my G-Technology external hard drive stopped working as my time machine backup for my MacBook Pro. I tried all kinds of stuff. Searched the Internet endlessly and boy, there are a lot of people with the same issue. I was debating whether to buy a new drive, but thought I'd try a new cable first. It's expensive, but if it works, it's worth it, and if it doesn't, I'll return it. I'm so glad I gave it a try. I followed the steps in the instructions for hook up and power and it immediately began backing up my machine! I now have three backups from today alone. Thank you StarTech!

I decided on using Western Digital My Passport Ultra for Mac 2 TB as exclusive external hard drive for Time Machine on my iMac. I have also used WD My Passport for Mac 2 TB as exclusive for my MacBook Pro. Both were easy to install simply by Google search for instructions How to install Time Machine on external drive. No instructions come in the package box. Both are working automatically. I'm happy with each!

I use the product as the external hard drive for my iMac's Time Machine. It runs quiet, is slim and is nonintrusive on the desk top. Got an excellent price and service from B&H.

Needed a small external hard drive (because of desk size) to use for my Time Machine back up. This works perfectly and was easy to set up.

I needed to set up an external hard drive to use with Time Machine. Too many choices. Too many manufacturers. And then when i started to looking at reviews and pricing, well, that just muddied the decision making process. Finally, I decided that I would go with a WD product because I had great experience with their products and support.But WD still had a slew of external drives to choose from. After watching the reviews for the passport online (including CNET.), I decided on the Passport Ultra Metal. I called WD to get additional information about what the benefit of having an aluminum enclosure was (I was told that it helps dissipate heat faster than plastic) and decided to get the Ultra Metal.I decided to get the 10th anniversary one (supposedly gold but I actually can't seem a color cast on it -- it looks silver to me) to make it distinguishable from other people's external drives if I brought it with me and then inadvertently put it down on a desk and we couldn't disguise whose drive was whose (there were only a limited number of anniversary drives manufactured).I've had it about 10 days now and it seems like a great drive: it's small (about 1.5x the size of a deck of cards), quiet, and should have enough capacity (1T -- I partitioned the drive so I could use the other 1T as a general backup) for my Time Machine backup.I have no experience with the WD software that comes with the drive as a download from the WD site because I'm using a Mac.But so far I'm extremely pleased with the drive.