WD Elements 16TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

SKU: WDBWLG160HBK MFR: WDBWLG0160HBK-NESN
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Key Features

  • Safeguard your files with this WD Elements 16TB external hard drive for reliable storage.
  • Enjoy rapid file transfers with USB 3.0, making this external drive a time-saving solution.
  • With 16TB capacity, this WD desktop drive is perfect for backing up photos, videos, and more.
  • This WD Elements drive offers broad compatibility, working seamlessly with Windows systems.
  • Rely on WD's 2-year limited warranty, ensuring your external storage is protected from defects.
  • Compact design ensures this 16TB external hard drive fits neatly on your desk without clutter.
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1 Year

$29.99

2 Year

$49.99

3 Year

$79.99

Available to U.S. customers only.

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Q&A

Questions & Answers

Shopper : What is the rpm speed of this drive?
Shopper : Why Did You Choose This?MANUEL A : Great reviewsRolf Z : Sale price and I needed additional backup storage. Adorama has great service before and after purchase, so no risk.Samuel M : Need more storage for movies, music and pics. All my drives are WD. Never had an issue and will always buy their brand.MARGARET T : Ratings by other customers.RALPH F : Great price for a good drive.KEVIN S : it was cheaper than other sellersLAP T : storage videoGRANT F : Great price for a well-known brand.JESSE T : Price and capacityJOSEPH V : Price was goodAnaly F : Price and capacityMARTIN ACUNA L : High capacity best price. :)YVONNE M : chose this for size and sale priceEDWARD M : Great PriceLANCE D : Heard it was a great option for backing up data & improving desktop performance ...JOHN M : saleJEROLD C : great priceRICHARD R : I have one and it works well wanted another for backupMICHAEL C : More storage.JAMES F : awesome priceSTEPHEN C : PriceWILLIAM F : I am using this for backup of 12 TB worth of business and photo files. It is large capacity and cheap. For backup I don't need speed.

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

    16TB

  • 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)

  • UPC Code

    718037879048

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8 Accessories for WD Elements 16TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

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

About WD Elements Desktop

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!!

When you require substantial, reliable storage for your ever-growing collection of digital content, the Elements 16TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive stands out as a premier choice. Offering a massive 16TB of space, this hard drive is an essential companion for professionals and enthusiasts alike who need to store vast amounts of data, including high-resolution photos, extensive music libraries, video footage, and important documents.

Crafted with a sleek, stylish design, the Elements hard drive not only provides a high-capacity solution but also enhances your workspace with its modern aesthetic. Its durable construction ensures that your data is housed within a robust enclosure, offering peace of mind that your files are safeguarded against everyday bumps and shocks.

Experience ultrafast data transfers with the Elements hard drive's optimized performance. When connected to a USB 3.0 port, you can expect swift transfer rates that significantly reduce the time spent moving large files. This speed is a boon for creators and professionals who regularly work with media-intensive files.

The plug-and-play simplicity of this hard drive is perfect for users who value efficiency and ease of use. It is ready to go right out of the box for Windows PCs, allowing you to instantly expand your storage capacity without the need for complex setup procedures. Additionally, the drive boasts USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility, ensuring seamless connectivity with a wide range of devices, both new and old.

Western Digital's commitment to quality is evident in every aspect of this hard drive. Engineered to meet stringent durability and reliability standards, the Elements hard drive is built to deliver consistent performance over the long term. The drive comes preformatted for NTFS, making it compatible with Windows 10 and later systems, and can be easily reformatted for use with Mac, ensuring flexibility for all users.

In summary, the Elements 16TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive is a spacious, fast, and stylish storage solution that embodies reliability and durability. Whether you're looking to improve your PC's performance by freeing up internal storage or simply need a dependable repository for your digital life, this hard drive is engineered to meet your needs and exceed your expectations.

WD Elements Desktop Features

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

Warranty Information

This product has a limited warranty of 24 months.

Key Features

  • Safeguard your files with this WD Elements 16TB external hard drive for reliable storage.
  • Enjoy rapid file transfers with USB 3.0, making this external drive a time-saving solution.
  • With 16TB capacity, this WD desktop drive is perfect for backing up photos, videos, and more.
  • This WD Elements drive offers broad compatibility, working seamlessly with Windows systems.
  • Rely on WD's 2-year limited warranty, ensuring your external storage is protected from defects.
  • Compact design ensures this 16TB external hard drive fits neatly on your desk without clutter.

What's in the box:

  • WD Elements 16TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
  • SuperSpeed USB-A Cable (5Gbps)
  • AC Adapter
  • User Manual
  • WD 2 Year Limited Warranty