Used WD Elements 20TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

SKU: US1756110

This item is no longer available.

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Reviews about this item

Review Summary

2025-07-10T20:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Hi capacity, slow USB, noisy

Good capacity, but slow transfer. Don't know why there aren't more high cap drives with faster connections. Also, kinda noisy. Lastly, I didn't realize the Elements series can't be configured with one of the WD apps to sleep sooner, so mine is fidgeting all the time, adding to the noise issue.

Just D.

2025-07-05T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

A

Great product for a great price. Would buy again!!

Geronimo

2025-06-21T20:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

Waste of money

Unit died just after one year. Drive fails to recognize any devices.

matthasapoopywddrive

2025-06-02T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Storage

It just works and I'm not a computer expert. No problems so far.

KenVet

2025-04-22T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Great dealing buying direct from WD

Roomy, easy to use. Cautionary note, Microsoft counts storage differently, there is a little over 18TB of usable space after their overhead. If you really need 20TB, buy a larger model.

PhotoartbyDave

2025-02-22T19:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

Little Use Hard Drive Died. Quality Issue

I've had older cheaper brand harddrives outlive this thing. The amount of money you spend, that warranties should be longer. You figure to pay a little more to the Western Digital Brand backing, but NOPE, not doing Western Digital again.

josi

2025-01-25T19:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

I am really unhappy with this.

I am a long time user of WD's products. I still have a WD10000H1CS-00 s/n: WCASJ0976023 that after many years still works just fine. I have NAS in which I am running WD NASware drives. I also have a WD 2TB My Passport Slim s/n: WX81A74AFV18 portable drive that works just fine still. So I bought this Elements 6TB. Shipping was super fast. But this is where good things are ending. I did plug the Elements into one of my laptop's USB3 ports and worked fine for five minutes or so. Didn't copy anything to it. At first I thought it must have gone into sleep mode. The little light was off. Tried to access it in Explorer (Windows 10 Pro) but wasn't showing anymore. Disconnected it, waiting a minute or so, reconnected it and... nothing. Plugged it into another USB3 port then into another laptop, but still nothing. I can hear the drive inside spinning, but that is all. I guess, for some reason the little controller inside went bad. I am really unhappy with this. Since I am on some Caribbean island (using a shipping forwarder that work one way only), I can't return it and I think warranty won't help me either.

gicamuci

2025-01-09T19:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

20tb WD Drive

Everything seems to be working with such a large data storage. Its a little noisy when transferring, which is a bit disconcerting, but I suppose the disc has to move to read and write. Hoping for a good long life

StephenH

2025-01-06T19:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Mixed bag

Bought two 14TB drives as part of a buy two deal. First one refused/failed to load drivers onto a Windows 7 Pro system, it was successfully mounted on a Win 10 laptop. Reformatted. Don't know whether it'll work now on the intended Win 7 Pro PC. Will check shortly. The second drive had no problem in mounting on the Win 7 Pro as a NTFS volume and is in use. I have no time to spend with tech support, so if it (first drive) doesn't work after reformatting (NTFS), I'll look to return it as defective.

A_Mish

2024-12-29T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

WD Elements Desktop HDD Storage

HDD storage was able to accommodate all of my needs with no issues.

Anonymous D.

2024-12-13T17:14:15

Rated 5 out of 5

Great drive and shipped safely.

Works as expected. Great deal and shipped well by Adorama!

DAVID K.

2024-10-20T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

the ladies were right: bigger really is better

largest drive I have purchased so far, working fine. Though it could have been cheaper, within a week after purchase 22Tb drives became available.

Brainy B.

2024-10-17T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Always go with Western Digital

These are great Harddrives we always try and get WD

Imactech

2024-10-11T20:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

Don't believe plug and play

Absolutely zero guidance on how to format to use on a Mac. No help in the box. No help on the Hard Drive. No help online. Should't be this difficult to use a "plug and Play" hard drive!

Not g.

2024-06-18T05:01:49

Rated 4 out of 5

Good backup drive.

Works well as a backup drive. Runs at 57 degrees, about 10 degrees warmer than my other backup drives.

STEVEN P.

2024-05-30T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Work well, nice price

I got two that I mirrored, and they work great. Slightly loud when they spin up but a steal for the price.

Bryson

2024-05-07T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

14TB Elements.

It has met all of my requirements exceedingly well.

Casey5

2024-04-21T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

20TB WD Hard drive

Awesome device working great and got it for a good price.

Jack1

2024-03-25T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Great product

Shipped fast and set it up in no time. It works great and got it for so much less than I was expecting.

DominicR

2024-02-27T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

8TB ELEMENT

I use it for video editing back up. It works perfect I didn' have any problem si far.

Juan A.

2024-01-19T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

2nd Hard Drive purchased this month.

Easy to connect, Always reliable. My computer runs 24/7/365. Haven't had a single failure. Been using Western Digital products for least 15 years.

Kerman

2024-01-07T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Totally satisfied!

Great quality and capacity. Excellent price point. What more can I say?

David B.

2023-12-30T19:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

Review of WD, Not the Product

Horrible customer service. Couldn't cancel an order before it shipped (shipped 2 days after the request to cancel). Forcing me to return the item to UPS. Then took 2 weeks between shipping it back and getting the refund. Don't order direct.

James M.

2023-12-28T19:00:00

Rated 3 out of 5

Disconnection Issues

The smallest tap to the USB causes the drive to disconnect without ejecting. This is bad for the health of the drive and will eventually render the drive inaccessible. I do not believe the problem is with the cheap cord that comes with it. From researching online, it's poor soldering to the usb port on the back of the drive.

J1234

2023-12-25T19:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

Not happy

Never received product - I called almost every week after waiting for 2 weeks... they kept telling be the product was in preparation for shipment, finally over a month of waiting and they finally say they have a case opened with UPS and the package was lost... no product and now I have to wait for a refund.

MikePar

2023-12-25T19:00:00

Rated 3 out of 5

Bought 2, one is much slower than the other. Not t

Bought 2, one is much slower than the other. Not thrilled!

Larry A.

2023-12-23T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Hi speed usb drive

Great easy, to set up drive with good reliability.

Jimfromdubai

2023-12-23T19:00:00

Rated 3 out of 5

Lackluster

It runs so much slower than the WD Book. Transferring photos is truly painful.

MrKash

2023-12-21T19:00:00

Rated 3 out of 5

Noisy little bugger

When the disks are rotating sometimes they make a strange noise.

Heretoforeunknown

2023-11-19T19:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

18T not advised to use

I have a 4T that i been using for 8 years from WD that been very good and easy to use, so decided to upgrade and buy the 18T for archiving purpose. Now i'm in my second device of hat are failing with no reason! I could put a Zero star if i could! Unreliable product that i strongly advise to avoid! As may cause loss of data and loss of money

AliAdlene

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WD Elements Desktop Specifications

  • Storage Capacity

    20TB

  • Connection

    1x USB 3.2 / USB 3.1 Gen 1 (USB Micro-B)

  • Pre-Format

    NTFS

  • Internal Interface

    SATA

  • Type

    Hard Disk Drive

  • Form Factor

    3.5"

  • Buffer

    None

  • Power Source

    Included AC Adapter

  • AC Input Power

    100 to 240 VAC, 50 / 60 Hz

  • DC Input Power

    12 VDC

  • Material

    Plastic

  • Cooling System

    Passive

  • Operating Temperature

    41 to 95 Degree F (5 to 35 Degree C)

  • Storage Temperature

    -4 to 149 Degree F (-20 to 65 Degree C)

  • Compatibility

    Windows 10+
    Reformatting required for use with MacOS

  • Dimensions (L x W x H)

    5.3 x 1.9 x 6.5" (13.5 x 4.8 x 16.5cm)

  • Weight

    1.98 lbs (898g)

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8 Accessories for WD Elements 20TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

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  • Cables & Adapters (2)
  • Cable Adapters (6)

About WD Elements 20TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

FEATURED REVIEWS

Solid drive for a reasonable cost.

By CapsulateRhyme8

At the moment (early-mid 2021), these internal drives are almost always 7200RPM CMR drives (excluding the 2-6TB models, which are SMR), and are usually air-filled (excluding very high capacity models). This means they can run loud and hot, but also quite fast, with mine getting around 200MB/s in sequential writes while empty. If you need high capacity hard drives these are still a great option, and better value than internal drives from WD. If you can, wait for a good deal on either these or ...

View full Review

16 TB WD Elements External Hard Drive

By BobbyG

Have several WD drives and they all are excellent. This 16 TB unit is my latest purchase and was a great bargain with fast delivery. Very Happy!!

Experience the seamless blend of reliability, speed, and style with the Elements 20TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive. This high-capacity storage device, brought to you by the trusted brand Western Digital, offers ultrafast data transfers, making it an ideal solution for all your storage needs.

With a sleek design that houses an impressive 20TB capacity, this external hard drive is perfect for storing all your important photos, music, videos, and files. No need to worry about running out of space on your internal hard drive and slowing down your PC. Instead, effortlessly transfer files to your WD Elements Desktop Storage and keep your computer running smoothly.

Experience fast data transfer rates when connected to a USB 3.0 port. This external hard drive is not just about speed; it's also about simplicity. It's plug-and-play ready right out of the box for Windows PCs. Simply plug it into the USB port to instantly add storage.

The Elements 20TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive offers compatibility with the latest USB 3.0 devices and also maintains backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 devices. This ensures that you can use this hard drive with a wide range of devices, enhancing its versatility.

Western Digital understands the importance of your data. That's why they build their drives to meet demanding requirements for durability, shock tolerance, and long-term reliability. The Elements 20TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive is no exception. It's housed in a durable enclosure designed for both style and protection.

Formatted for Windows 10+, this desktop hard disk drive is NTFS compatible and can be easily reformatted for Mac. Choose the Elements 20TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive for a reliable, spacious, and stylish storage solution.

WD Elements 20TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive Features

  • High-capacity add-on storage
  • Fast data transfers
  • Plug-and-play ready for Windows PCs
  • WD quality inside and out

What's in the box:

  • WD Elements 20TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
  • SuperSpeed USB-A Cable (5Gbps)
  • AC Adapter
  • Item Note: User Manual not included.