My Passport SSD

The My Passport SSD runs over USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) and is rated for up to 1,050 MB/s read and 1,000 MB/s write. In everyday use — backups, copying working files, offloading a memory card — it feels every bit as quick as its rivals, and for the tasks this drive is built for that’s the number that matters.

Where it earns a slightly lower mark than the Samsung T7 Shield and Crucial X9 Pro is consistency under sustained load. It’s a DRAM-less NVMe design, and reviewers have generally measured its real-world write throughput and large-transfer behavior a step behind the class leaders — fine for routine work, less ideal for repeatedly dumping huge files. Combined with the 10 Gbps interface ceiling shared by the whole everyday tier, that’s why Performance lands in the amber band here.

Bottom line on performance: Quick enough for any everyday task and rated at the Gen 2 ceiling, but sustained-write consistency trails the best drives in this tier. A backup-and-files drive, not a heavy-throughput workhorse.

The My Passport SSD is a long-established line built on WD/SanDisk’s own BiCS 3D TLC NAND — TLC, not cheaper QLC — and backed by a five-year limited warranty. It has a solid, multi-generation field record, and the metal chassis and conservative design lend it a dependable feel.

One point is worth addressing directly, because Western Digital owns SanDisk: the My Passport SSD is a separate product line from the SanDisk Extreme and Extreme Pro drives involved in the widely reported 2023 data-loss failures. Those failures centered on the Extreme family; the My Passport SSD was not implicated, and we score it on its own merits here with no reliability penalty. (We still cover that situation in detail on our main SSD guide for buyers weighing a SanDisk Extreme.)

The score sits at 7.5 rather than higher for the same structural reason as its everyday-tier peers: it’s a DRAM-less drive, which trades a little consistency for price. And the universal rule still applies — a single drive is never a backup, so keep a second copy of anything important regardless of brand.

Bottom line on reliability: In-house TLC, a five-year warranty, and a clean track record — and, to be clear, not affected by the SanDisk Extreme issue. The DRAM-less design is the only thing keeping it from a higher mark.

The My Passport SSD has a reassuringly solid metal chassis and is rated to survive drops of up to 1.98 m (6.5 ft), with shock and vibration resistance that suits a drive living in a bag. At about 46 g it’s light and genuinely pocketable.

The reason this lands in the amber band is what’s missing: there’s no IP dust or water rating. Both the Samsung T7 Shield (IP65) and Crucial X9 Pro (IP55) actively resist dust and water, while the My Passport relies on drop resistance alone. For desk or bag use that’s perfectly adequate, but if your drive sees the outdoors, grit, or moisture, the rated rivals are the safer bet.

Bottom line on durability: A solid, drop-resistant metal drive — but with no IP rating, it’s outclassed on ruggedness by the IP-rated drives just above it in this tier.

Connection is via a single USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2) port, and as a Gen 2 drive it runs at full speed on essentially any modern USB-C port across Windows, macOS, Android, and consoles — no port-matching caveats.

WD scores a practical win in the box: it includes both a USB-C–to–USB-C cable and a USB-C–to–USB-A adapter, so the drive works with older USB-A machines out of the gate — something Crucial makes you supply yourself. As with every Gen 2 drive, there’s no headroom to unlock beyond ~1,050 MB/s on a faster port.

Bottom line on connectivity: Full-speed, plug-and-play compatibility everywhere, and WD includes the USB-A adapter — a small but real convenience edge over some rivals.

The My Passport SSD is competitively priced and frequently discounted, comes in 500 GB through 4 TB and a range of colors, and bundles real value in the form of hardware encryption plus the included USB-A adapter and a five-year warranty. For a buyer who specifically wants built-in, password-protected encryption, it’s one of the better-value ways to get it.

It scores 8.0 rather than higher because the Crucial X9 Pro typically undercuts it on pure price-per-terabyte while adding IP55 ruggedness, and the Samsung T7 Shield offers more durability for a similar outlay. The My Passport is good value — just not the value leader of the tier. (We don’t list prices here because they change often; check the current Amazon price before buying.)

Bottom line on value: Strong value if you want hardware encryption and the bundled adapter; edged out on pure dollars-per-terabyte by the Crucial X9 Pro.

Security is the My Passport SSD’s standout strength. It includes password-enabled 256-bit AES hardware encryption — set a password through WD Security and the drive locks itself independently of your computer, which is exactly what you want for a portable drive carrying work files. The WD Discovery / Dashboard software handles password setup, firmware updates, and drive health on Windows and macOS.

That puts it among the better-equipped drives in this tier, alongside the Samsung T7 Shield and ahead of drives like the Crucial X9 Pro that leave encryption to your operating system. This category carries only 5% weight in our framework — most people rely on OS tools and their own backups — but where it counts, WD delivers.

Bottom line on software & security: Built-in hardware AES-256 with a password lock and tidy management software — a genuine strength and the drive’s best single argument.