User level: Level 1 (5 points)My Passport for Mac keeps "failing" after repeated tries. I can't find the device on my MacBook. Is it important to have an external hard drive? Should I buy a new one to correct the problem?
Posted on Oct 17, 2026 9:59 AM
User level: Level 10 (85,896 points)Oct 17, 2026 11:02 AM in response to TechNonNative
No. Time Machine requires a LOCAL external drive.
None of the cloud storage systems (iCloud; DropBox; G-Drive; OneDrive, etc) should be used for full backups. Their speed is limited to that of your internet connection. Moving 100s of gig of information can take too long, and risk of date loss if the internet winks out on you for a few seconds.
How many USB devices are connected to your Mac?
You can try "waking up the Passport."
— If it has nothing on it, use Disk Utility to erase and reformat it. Set the partition scheme to GUID Partition Map: and the file system to APFS. Getting rid of the odd partition and formatting scheme Passport ship with often helps with the low power issue.
You can put a POWERED USB hub between the Passport and the computer to get the external more power. Powered means the hub has its own power supply.
User level: Level 9 (55,707 points)Oct 17, 2026 10:17 AM in response to TechNonNative
If you value your data, it is important to make one or more backups - preferably at least two, with one stored away from the computer, ideally off-site. (Backups themselves can fail, be stolen along with the computer by a thief, or burn up in a fire.)
Most people make backups on external hard drives or SSDs.
If a drive shows signs of hardware failure, then naturally one would be reluctant to store any data on it, whether one was using the drive for backup purposes or for extra data storage.
User level: Level 9 (53,902 points)Oct 17, 2026 11:06 AM in response to TechNonNative
Hi,
Yes, iCloud Drive is good option for backup data, in fact I do it.
By the way, WD Passport drive connect directly to your MacBook Pro, and you connect other bus powered devices as well to your MacBook Pro at the same time?
And DiskUtility doesn't detect WD passport drive as well?
User level: Level 1 (5 points)Oct 17, 2026 12:23 PM in response to kaz-k
Thank you. I've been using this MyPassport for a couple of years with no problem. For some reason, it now fails. I do not connect any other devices to my Mac. I went to the Apple Store and met with one of the "geniuses." He ran disk utility and could not connect my device. He suggested that I could buy a new one but recommended that I rely on iCloud. But Claude advised me to not rely solely on iCloud but to have an eternal device. That's why I'm confused.
User level: Level 1 (5 points)Oct 17, 2026 10:38 AM in response to Servant of Cats
Is iCloud a good off-site back up option?
Thank you,
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256377934