Western Digital WD 6TB My Passport (WDBR9S0060BBK-WESN)
Bottom line: The Western Digital WD 6TB My Passport ($259.00 on Amazon as of 2026-10-21 12:20 UTC): World's first 6TB capacity in a 2.5-inch portable form factor; main trade-off: spinning platter drive, so transfer speeds trail any portable SSD. Another in-stock pick with the same 6TB hard drive: the WD 6TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive for…, $258.00 on Amazon as of (price may vary).
As an Amazon Associate, SpecPicks earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure →
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-21. Price and availability subject to change.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓ World's first 6TB capacity in a 2.5-inch portable form factor
- ✓ Built-in password protection with hardware encryption
- ✓ Included WD backup software adds ransomware defense
- ✓ USB 3.1 port stays backward compatible with older USB 3.0 machines
Cons
- ✗ Spinning platter drive, so transfer speeds trail any portable SSD
- ✗ Moving parts make it more shock-sensitive than solid state storage
- ✗ Bundled backup and ransomware software is Windows/Mac desktop oriented
- ✗ 6TB of data on one drive means one failure point without a second backup
Manufacturer description
World’s First 6TB 2.5” Portable Hard Drive Slim durable design to help take your important files with you Vast capacities up to 6TB[1] to store your photos, videos, music, important documents and more
SpecPicks Verdict
SpecPicks scored Western Digital WD 6TB My Passport using a rating × review-volume × price-fit model applied to published specs and reviews across the external storage category. Western Digital's external storage lineup sits within the broader category mid-tier; price and specs are the deciding factors over brand loyalty here. Judge it on the specification table and the price rather than on sentiment: check the figures that decide your use case, then put it side-by-side with two or three close alternatives in the Compare tool before clicking through.
Common buyer scenarios for external storage of this kind: matching it to an existing build, replacing a failing part, or upgrading from a previous-generation equivalent. Check the spec table below against your current setup — particularly socket / form-factor / power-rating fields — and confirm compatibility on the retailer's listing before purchase. Prices and stock are set by the retailer and may have moved since this page was last updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this actually the largest 2.5-inch portable hard drive available?
WD markets it as the world's first 6TB 2.5-inch portable hard drive, and 6TB is the top capacity in the My Passport line.
Will it work with my older laptop that only has USB 3.0?
Yes. The drive uses USB 3.1 and is listed as USB 3.0 compatible, so it connects to older USB 3.0 ports without an adapter.
How do I keep my files private if the drive is lost or stolen?
The My Passport includes password protection backed by hardware encryption, so the drive contents stay locked without your password.
What does the ransomware protection actually do?
It is part of the included WD device management and backup software, which adds a defense-against-ransomware layer on top of scheduled backups.
Is this an SSD or a spinning hard drive?
It is a portable hard drive with spinning platters, not an SSD. That is how WD reaches 6TB in a 2.5-inch body, but expect hard-drive speeds rather than SSD speeds.
Key Features
- World’s First 6TB 2.5” Portable Hard Drive
- Slim durable design to help take your important files with you
- Vast capacities up to 6TB[1] to store your photos, videos, music, important documents and more
- Back up smarter with included device management software[2] with defense against ransomware
- Help secure your important files with password protection and hardware encryption
Full Specifications
| Size | 6TB |
|---|---|
| Brand | WD |
| Color | Black |
| Model | WDBR9S0060BBK-WESN |
| Warranty | 3-year manufacturer's limited warranty |
| UnitCount | 1 |
| ReleaseDate | 2024-05-16T00:00:01Z |
| Manufacturer | Western Digital Technologies, Inc. |
| ItemPartNumber | WDBR9S0060BBK-WESN |
| Full listing title | WD 6TB My Passport, Portable External Hard Drive, Black, Backup Software with Defense Against ransomware, and Password Protection, USB 3.1/USB 3.0 Compatible - WDBR9S0060BBK-WESN |
Ready to buy?
WD 6TB My Passport, Portable External Hard Drive, Black, Backup Software with Defense Against ransomware, and Password Protection, USB 3.1/USB 3.0 Compatible - WDBR9S0060BBK-WESN is listed on Amazon. Price, availability, shipping and returns are set by Amazon and its sellers — check the listing for current terms. SpecPicks earns a small commission on qualifying purchases — thank you for supporting independent review work.
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-21. Price and availability subject to change.
Read our analysis
SpecPicks coverage that features this External Storage.
Related External Storage
More guides & deep dives from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all articles & guides →- Best 1440p Gaming GPUs in 2026
- RTX 4070 Super vs RX 7800 XT — Which to Buy in 2026
- How to Build a Windows 98 Retro PC in 2026
- Best Retro Handhelds in 2026 — From $35 to $500
- Best Budget Gaming PC Build 2026 — ~$1,000 ($800 on Sale)
- Emulation Hardware in 2026: FPGA, Software, and Cart-Reader Ecosystems
- The Complete Voodoo5 5500 AGP Driver Guide (2026 Edition)
More reviews from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all reviews →- Local LLM in VSCode: The 2026 Setup Guide
- Self-Host Jellyfin on a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB in 2026
- Best Budget SSD for a Steam Library: NVMe vs SATA Game Load Times
- Best CompactFlash to IDE Adapter for Win98 SE Builds in 2026
- Best Controller for Retro Emulation on PC: 8BitDo, GameSir, DualSense
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 32B (2026)
- Prime Intellect's $130M raise: build your own agent rig
- Cheap 80s Keyboard Gets a Modern Brain Upgrade
- Build a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB RetroPie Emulation Station in 2026
- IPEX-LLM + Ollama on Intel Arc: Setup, tok/s, and the RTX 3060 Reality Check
- Best Budget SSDs for Homelab and Proxmox Boot Drives in 2026
- Best Gaming Monitor for 1440p Under $400 (2026)
- The KVM That Runs a Pentium 4 Instead of a Raspberry Pi
- Raspberry Pi 5 Secondary Monitor Setup Guide (2025)
- Best Storage for a Windows 98 Retro PC: CompactFlash vs IDE-to-USB SSD Adapters
- CompactFlash as a Silent IDE Boot Drive: A 1998-Era Build Log
- GPU Benchmark Data Freshness and Source Attribution in 2026
- Best SATA SSDs for Reviving an Old PC in 2026
- Pushing a 6GB VRAM Laptop to Its Limits With Qwen3.6-35B-A3B
- Do you need a shifter for sim racing? Logitech G29 + Thrustmaster TH8A
- Best Raspberry Pi Projects for College Students in 2026: 8 Builds on a Pi 4 8GB
- Best Budget Gaming Keyboard Under $50 in 2026
- Asus ProArt PA27USD 27-Inch OLED Review: Color Meets Gaming Speed
- Best SATA SSD for Retro PC Upgrades in 2026
Earliest SpecPicks reviews
Browse full archive →- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 8B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 14B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 70B (2026)
- Best GPU for DeepSeek-R1 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 405B (2026)
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 14B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 70B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run DeepSeek-R1 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090