My review concerns the 4TB version. It has been running 24/7 in a recorder since 9/2021. We are now in 4/2026. That is, 5 years and 5 months. I'm thinking of replacing it with the same one as a precaution. I really have no words for this drive. I had bought it for 92 euros, by the way. Now they are asking for 200+ euros. What can I say...

I bought the first one in 2014 when it was first released and it worked for 12 years 24/7/365. It burned out after a lightning strike that also took out the DVR. I won't switch to another brand for this particular job!

I thought I have installed about 50 recorders in the last 10 years, I have never dealt with this disk, it's the best! The price now is double

I use it for backup. Silent, does not heat up, satisfactory writing speed, no problems so far.

He installed it together with the recorder, exactly 1 year
And it broke.

Excellent disk. I would buy this and install it every time a recording disk from the store that sold it to you breaks

Very good disk if you want to keep it in 24 operation still installed & on PC as long as you mainly use it for backup & reading operations 24/7

I have been using this specific disk in a recorder 24/7 for 7 years. So far, no problems. The 5 stars are due to its reliability; it is unmatched compared to similar products!

1.5 years of operation and suddenly there is an issue that causes the recorder to constantly reboot.

it's not very quality since the SATA connector broke, it's not worth it, but if you take care of it, it will last; also, it's very expensive

I have been using WD drives for years and have not had any problems. This drive is too new for me to give a valid opinion. What disappointed me is that it is actually 5.5TB and not 6TB. I would have preferred it to state the actual capacity so that I would know before purchasing it. Nevertheless, for now, it works well, with relatively good data transfer speed despite the low rotational speed. It is quite silent and does not raise the temperature in the external enclosure where I have placed it. Time will tell regarding its quality and durability. I believe it will not disappoint me. I will return with new information after a considerable amount of usage.

Update...10/25/24
I bought a second identical drive and placed them in a NAS Server that I have for the family's shared data. Both worked flawlessly in RAID, and what I noticed is that the NAS became faster in response. So far, no problems, neither with temperatures nor with anything else.

I bought the 2TB version. I have installed it in an NVR camera recorder, it stores footage from 4 cameras. Satisfied so far, I haven't noticed any temperature increase. Silent and reliable so far, WD is a reliable company. Time will tell its durability.
UPDATE: It is the best hard drive for a recorder, works flawlessly 24/7 and neither heats up nor makes noise. This one was installed just like the other one I have in a TP Link recorder. Also, TP Link recommends WD Purple for its recorders. I am VERY satisfied

It arrived in my hands on 9-8-23 and was installed a few days later on a desktop, to be used as storage space for movies, music, and photos. Everything that was on a Samsung 1TB was transferred to this one and there are now 1.3TB of free space. Because the previous one worked at 7200rpm, this one that works at 5400 seems slower to me, but ultimately it's just a matter of getting used to it. For now, everything is going well, but I will come back regarding durability or anything else.

So far it does its job, it doesn't have any issues, we will see in the long run.
Great capacity, low price.

It does its job flawlessly since 20-09-2021 and even with the removal of the fan from the NVR from the very first day.
Purchase price: 88 euros.

Update 09-06-2026:
It continues to operate flawlessly!

Very economical and quite reliable hard drive. I consider it a much better choice than the blue ones. I use it for storage. It makes a lot of noise and takes a while to start up. I don't use it for important files, otherwise we go for black and gold.

I've had it for about a week and I'm satisfied. I don't have it in a NAS or a PC, but as an external hard drive with a cheap esata hub. I transferred about 2.5 TB (mostly videos but also other files) from internal SSDs and HDDs. From and to SSD, using FastCopy on Windows 10, transfers were consistently around 120MB/sec. From and to HDD, transfers were consistently around 40MB/sec.

During the transfer, the disk was completely silent and the temperature didn't exceed 37 degrees.

There are definitely faster options out there, but for the use I wanted and described, it was perfect. Its durability over time will be revealed in time!

It was placed on the recorder, kept for 1450 days, recorded and erased 5 cameras, then started ticking every 4 seconds

All good.. it works perfectly on the recorder without any problem. Time will tell its durability! so far 5/5!

The hard drive seems fine. From time to time you hear some low-intensity classic hard drive ticking noises (the only negative so far if you are seeking absolute silence/concentration).

Update: 20/01/2026 the hard drive burned out after continuous use in a recording device.

I have purchased 4 and a half a year ago and have had no issues with them whatsoever. Since we are talking about HDDs, they achieve VERY good read/write speeds of around 180 MBps (at least in continuous Read/Write). I haven't tested their response with small files yet, but I have the impression that they should perform just fine even with very small read/writes, always for HDD data.

Regardless of which disk you choose, it is good to make a RAID 1 (mirror) if it will host important files (most modern motherboards have an integrated RAID controller) so that if and when one disk fails, there is an exact copy on the other one.

It was intended for recording (that's its job after all), but I ended up putting it in a USB3 case and using it for movies.

Honestly, it has a great capacity - the 3.64+ it offers can hold a lot of stuff. I haven't encountered any problems, it works well and delivers the promised speed.

1) Keep in mind that for disks of 2TB or more, they need to be formatted as GPT instead of MBR, otherwise it won't give you the actual size but only half of it.
2) Disks intended for surveillance always have lower speeds and smaller cache than those for desktop use, because the philosophy is to operate slower and be written and erased many times, and they are intended less for file playback and more for recording, and 24/7 operation.

For storage purposes, it's good, but don't get it to run games, operating systems, and heavy applications from there!

The hard drive seems to be working fine. Every now and then you hear a low tapping sound of classic hard drive noise (the only negative thing for now is seeking absolute silence/concentration).

2. I noticed that both on the recorder and on the mobile application, when searching, you go to the point you want quite quickly, without loading, lags, etc.

3. I've only had it for a week, and I hope we'll get along well.

4. Irrelevant: Since WD hard drives for recorders have been available since 2014, something I didn't know, and I learned in 2021, because various technicians put simple or whatever garbage there is, when the difference is only 10 euros (WD simple with Purple); I won't comment further! Just my nerves!

The worst album I ever bought. If you want to throw your money away, get it!! It has been running for 8 hours and I can't see my files, I'll send it back to see what they will tell me it has.

During my occupation, I recorded with 6 cameras on a DVR for about 5 months, and so far it's been working perfectly - quiet and without any temperature increases, running 24/7!

Together with the red 3 tb, the purple are my main choice in WD for
- NAS, - recorder but also for
- PCs where I want to store locally important volume of files.
The fact that they work quietly at 5400 does not affect their usability.
I don't know what happens in gaming but what interests me is clearly their longevity!

At least it delivers on the speed it promises, with a capacity of 3.63 Tb. I have it as a storage device, most likely as a recording medium, and it should last for 4 to 5 years.