Failing external hard drive, warranty question.

chib

I have a 500GB WD Passport Essentials hard drive that I bought in November 2009. The drive was bought at the time to extend storage capacity for my MacBook Pro which I didn't want to upgrade at the time.

Over the last two years or so it's been used on and off, but is now starting to fail. It's making clicking noises and fails to read data often - a quick check in CrystalDiskInfo shows it's had over 1000 power on's and about 500 hours of use ... not bad I guess.

I thought the warranty on the drive was three years when I bought it - I checked the WD website and it said the same - however when I used the warranty check it is now showing out of warranty based on manufacture date ... some further digging shows that my particular model with model number WDBAAA rather than WDBAAC/WDBAAB only has two years warranty rather than the three with the other similar models.

Unfortunately I don't have the original receipt, only the mail from PCWorld that I got when I reserved the item... my reason for this post is to check at this time whether or not I could raise a case with WD to have this replaced/repaired even although it is out of warranty? Is this the sort of scenario where I could use the SOGA to my advantage (Which I've never needed before)? There is no sign of damage to the device, and has worked well up until recently.

Appreciate any thoughts on this.

Regards, Chib.

susie_Q_4

Two years seems a bit mean. Should last longer. I'd certainly try contacting Western Digital. Just be 'nice' if you do as they respond better that way. As for not keeping the receipt - tut tut - naughty! This could make things extremely difficult for you.

neilwoods

2 years 4 months seems a reasonable amount of time for an external drive.

So you have no actual proof of when you bought it as well, would assume you didn't register the drive on the WD site as well.

Can't see you getting any joy from it, but no harm in trying. Plus it may be better to post this within the consumer section as may get more response from people who will have a better idea of the legalities of the warranty & soga.

macman

You don't need a receipt to do an RMA under warranty-you would just return the actual drive with the returns no, for replacement (were it still in warranty).
Without that option, any claim under SOGA is with the retailer, not WD You don't need the receipt, you need proof of purchase (bank or credit card statement?)
But TBH (especially with PCW) you have no chance with this. After 3 years you would have to pay for the independent report upfront with no guarantee of success, it really isn't worth it given the cost involved.

chib

Thanks for the replies folks, look like it is kaput.

I'm going to remove the physical drive from the Passport enclosure and attempt to re-use it - it's been brilliant.

macman

Always worth a try, but clicking invariably means drive failure-not a connector issue.

chib

Sorry macman, I wasn't clear. I'm going to re-use the enclosure rather than the drive itself - the enclosure is a perfect size, has a clear activity LED and a reasonable length cable without the need for an additional power supply.

I'll open it up, I assume it'll be a 2.5" SATA 5,400RPM drive that I could easily swap out.

chib

A small update on this, despite being out of warranty I raised a case with Western Digital and they advised although the drive was out of warranty to try and run a diagnostic test - I did this and the drive failed with a SMART failure.

I then got an email through to say they are offering to extend my warranty and will repair/replace the drive when I raise an RMA - which I've now done.

All in all, very satisfied with the result. Was about to spend £40/£50 on a 2.5" SATA HDD for the enclosure but don't have to now!

macman

Excellent result-just shows that there is nothing to lose by asking.

simon.griggs

Dear Chib,

In my experience of building many systems over the years for myself and customers, WD have about the best Warranty Returns System of all the manufacturers that I have used. WD will usually replace your defective item, with a completely brand new drive, if of course, it is within the warranty. With Hard Drive warranties now usually five years, you can rest assured that you never need worry about your drive......your data however is another thing.

Seagate come a close second, with a good warranty returns system but only send you a rebuilt hard drive. That said, I have had one of those here, running in one of my machines for three years without issue.

Samsung were also good to their word, but their warranty return was problematic, and I eventually landed up back with the supplier, who did replace the drive with an equivalent of a different manufacturer.

So buy WD with confidence, I have nothing but praise for their products and their replacement policy. Oh, and before anyone asks, no I don't work for them.......

Simon.

andy2004

currently WD drives are the worst drives to buy. maybe i just happened to get a bad one, but I will not be buying another.
2years ago i bought a 1.5tb WD green hard drive through ebuyer 8 months later it got a SMART failure, i sent the drive back and they replaced with another, and now that one after 14months has gone bad with bad sectors, compare this is the samsung 1.5tb drive i bought a few months before the WD which is working perfectly, has never been returned/ replaced and is over 2years old.

its got nothing to do with the replacement or RMA its to do with the data loss, I personally expect a drive to last at least 3 years before it starts to fail.
probably why i currently have 3x 2tb samsungs 1x1.5tb samsung and a 1tb samsung, and a 1.5tb WD which has to be disconnected and set back once the data has been transfered.