WD My Cloud Home 4TB is not officially supported by Western Digital,

Replacing the **disk inside a WD My Cloud Home 4TB** is **not officially supported by Western Digital**, and here’s what you need to know before attempting it:

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### ⚠️ IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW

#### ❌ **Not Designed for User Serviceability**

* The **WD My Cloud Home** (especially the single-bay model) is **not built for user-upgradable storage**.

* Opening the enclosure **voids the warranty**.

* The **firmware and OS** are stored on the internal drive, so simply replacing the disk **will not make it boot or work** unless properly cloned or reimaged.

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### 🔧 If You Still Want to Replace the Drive (Advanced Users Only)

#### 🧰 Tools Needed:

* Plastic opening tools (to avoid damaging the case)

* SATA-compatible replacement HDD or SSD (preferably WD Red or equivalent)

* SATA-to-USB adapter (for cloning or imaging)

* Computer with imaging software (like Acronis, Clonezilla, or dd on Linux)

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### 🛠️ General Steps (Unofficial)

1. **Open the Enclosure**

* Carefully pry open the plastic casing without cracking it.

* Disconnect the SATA drive.

2. **Backup Original Drive**

* Use imaging software to **clone the entire original 4TB disk**, including hidden partitions.

* This preserves the bootloader, firmware, and partition layout.

3. **Install New Drive**

* Insert the new drive and connect it internally.

* If cloned properly, the My Cloud Home may boot as normal.

* If not, it will **fail to start**, and there is **no downloadable firmware** to recover without the original image.

4. **Reassemble the Enclosure**

* Snap everything back together carefully.

* Plug in the device and connect to the network.

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### 🔄 Alternative: Replace Entire Unit

If your drive is dead and you don’t have an image:

* WD doesn’t offer replacement firmware for My Cloud Home drives.

* Your best option is to either:

* **Buy a new unit**, or

* **Switch to a standard NAS** that supports drive swaps (like **WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra** or **Synology**).

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### 🧠 Summary

| Action | Supported by WD? | Risk Level | Notes |

| -------------------------- | ---------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |

| Replacing HDD | ❌ No | 🔴 High | Breaks warranty, no firmware support |

| Cloning original drive | ❌ No | 🟠 Medium | May work if done correctly |

| Buying new drive + install | ❌ No | 🔴 High | Will not boot without firmware |

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Would you like help locating the [disk image backup process](f) or [choosing a better NAS alternative](f)?