Seagate has long sold a line of Backup Plus external hard drives that offer large amounts of storage space at a reasonable price, and in June, the company announced two new features added to all hard drives in the Backup Plus line: 200GB of Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage and the Lyve photo and video management app for automatically backing up photos.
The 4TB Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive hard drive has more features and double the storage for $50 more, but if portability is your main concern, this drive is a straightforward and affordable.
Seagate also announced a new high capacity Backup Plus Portable hard drive, with 4TB of storage and a 20.5mm form factor, priced at $240. Seagate invited us to test out its newest hard drive to test the Backup Plus hard drive and the new Lyve app and service it ships with.
Seagate's new Backup Plus offers the same 4TB of storage that the Backup Plus Fast offers, but it's less expensive and it is a single 4TB hard drive instead of two external drives in a RAID 0 configuration. It's also got more storage than the Backup Plus Slim, which caps out at 2TB, allowing Seagate's newest offering to fill a void between the two existing products (Fast and Slim) in the Backup Plus family.
Design and Features
Seagate's been selling its Backup Plus line for years. Design wise, the 4TB Backup Plus looks like any standard 2.5-inch portable hard drive. It measures in at 4.5 inches in length, 3.1 inches in width, it's .807 inches thick (20.5mm), and it weighs 0.54 pounds. In terms of usability, those dimensions mean it's slim and easy to slip into a bag or a backpack.
The Backup Plus has a traditional black casing that's half metal and half plastic, with the metal plate located on the front of the drive. An LED on the front lights up when the hard drive is plugged in, and there's a single USB port on one side.
There's a large but subtle Seagate logo on the back and another small logo in silver on the front. The Backup Plus is USB 2.0/3.0 only and ships with an 18-inch USB 3.0 cable, which is an adequate length for use on a desktop or while on the go.
Software and Performance
Seagate ships the 4TB Backup Plus in an NTFS format, so to use the drive without formatting, users will need to install Seagate's NTFS driver for Mac. With the driver, the Backup Plus can be used interchangeably between Windows and Mac computers without needing to reformat.
With the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, we saw write speeds of 119 MB/s and read speeds of 114 MB/s, which is comparable to many other similar hard drives on the market. I also did standalone tests transferring 10GB chunks of photos and videos to and from the Backup Plus and saw similar but slightly lower average speeds of 97MB/s read and 99MB/s write. While conducting these tests, the drive got warm, but not hot.
There are multiple options for using the Backup Plus for backing up files, including the Lyve service, Microsoft OneDrive, and Seagate's own software, the Seagate Dashboard. Software doesn't come pre-installed on the drive, but can be downloaded from a link in the setup instructions.
The Seagate Dashboard is Seagate's standard backup/restore software. It can be used to automatically backup files on a Mac, iPhone or iPad, and social networking sites, and it can transfer important files to a cloud service like Microsoft OneDrive for extra protection. Purchasing the Seagate Backup Plus entitles users to create a free OneDrive account with 200GB of storage, which will last for a period of two years.
Backing up files from an iPhone or iPad will require the Seagate Dashboard app on the Mac and the accompanying Seagate Backup app. Files can be transferred via WiFi when at home or stored in the cloud when away from home using Google Drive or Dropbox.
Photos and videos can be uploaded automatically from the drive to Flickr, Facebook, or YouTube, and photos from Facebook or Flickr can be downloaded from the social networking sites to the drive. There's also an option that will continually download photos from social networking sites whenever you upload them, which is a useful way to make sure you always have multiple copies of your photos.
I set up the Seagate Dashboard so my iPhone and iPad photos would upload automatically to the Backup Plus, which in turn uploaded those files to the Microsoft OneDrive account that I set up. I use iCloud to store my photos so the Seagate Dashboard to Microsoft OneDrive option seemed like overkill, but if you don't use iCloud Photo Library and store your photos in the cloud, it's a good option. It's also a solid solution if you need something that's going to work across Windows and Mac devices.
Lyve is a separate service that works with the Backup Plus. Lyve is designed to sync with specific apps or folders on a Mac, continuously importing all new photos and videos that are added. For example, it can sync with the Photos app, transferring each photo uploaded to the hard drive.
In my testing, Lyve was easy to use and it worked quickly. When synced with a folder on my Mac, every photo I uploaded to the folder was synced to the Lyve service and then uploaded to the Seagate Backup Plus. For people who only need to back up photos from a Mac and would like something automated, Lyve is even simpler to use than the Seagate Dashboard and it works well as a tertiary backup for iCloud Photo Library. Lyve and Seagate Dashboard can be used in tandem.
As of July, all hard drives in the Backup Plus family, this one included, ship with the 200GB of OneDrive storage for two years and Lyve integration, bringing these backup options to all of the hard drives in the line up.
Bottom Line
The 4TB Backup Plus is a solid option for people who want a high capacity external hard drive that's compact and easily portable, plus it's one of the first 4TB 2.5' drives available. It's priced at $240, but sites like Amazon and Best Buy are selling it for $170 to $199, which is a much better deal and makes it a worthwhile purchase.
Along with a high storage capacity, the Backup Plus offers features that can't be found elsewhere. With Seagate Dashboard, it can backup files across a range of devices, including mobile devices, and it's able to backup the photos you upload to sites like Facebook and Flickr in a way that's fast and hassle free.
Performance is average and on par with other similar hard drives, so there's nothing special there, but the addition of Lyve makes this useful for people who want to use to automatically backup photos, and having 200GB of Microsoft OneDrive storage is also a nice perk, as it provides a way to make sure important files and photos are backed up on the drive and in the cloud.
Pros:
- High capacity
- Slim, portable design
- Classic look with minimal branding
- Lots of software options
- Microsoft OneDrive storage
Cons:
- Pricier than some of the larger 4TB external drives
- Performance is nothing special
How to Buy
The 4TB Seagate Backup Plus Portable has an MRSP of $240, but it can be purchased from Amazon.com for $179.99.
Tags: review, Seagate, Backup Plus Portable Hard Drive
Guides
Upcoming
Front Page Stories
16-Inch MacBook Pro Possibly Referenced in macOS Catalina 10.15.1 Beta
Apple CEO Tim Cook Urges U.S. Senate to Pass the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act
5 hours ago on Front PageApple TV+ Comedy Series 'Dickinson' Starring Hailee Steinfeld Premieres in Brooklyn
6 hours ago on Front PageGoogle Pixel 4's Face Unlock Feature Works With Eyes Closed, Sparking Security Concerns
7 hours ago on Front PageReport: 'AirPods Pro' to Launch End of October with New Design, New Noise-Canceling Feature and $260 Price Tag
9 hours ago on Front PageHands-On With Apple's New Beats Solo Pro Headphones
21 hours ago on Front PageApple Seeds Second Beta of Upcoming macOS Catalina 10.15.1 Update to Developers
1 day ago on Front PageSamsung Admits Major Security Flaw in Galaxy S10 Under-Screen Fingerprint Sensor
1 day ago on Front Page
• iOS 13 Now Installed on 55% of iPhones Introduced in Last Four Years(240)
• Apple Seeds Third Betas of iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available](97)
• Quanta Reportedly Likely to Stop Assembling the Apple Watch in 2020 Due to Profit Concerns(54)
• AnandTech Finds iPhone 11 Pro Has 50-60% Higher Sustained Graphics Performance Than iPhone XS(136)
• Apple and A24 Partnering for Film Adaptation of Jandy Nelson's Young Adult Novel 'The Sky is Everywhere'(19)
• Apple Reportedly Renews 'For All Mankind' and Other Apple TV+ Shows for Second Seasons(103)
• Apple Releases macOS Catalina Supplemental Update With Fixes for Installation, iCloud Login, and Game Center Bugs(307)
It's a Great Time to Go for a Drive
Storage has never been more plentiful or less expensive. For as little as $50, you can add a terabyte (TB) to your laptop or desktop via an external drive. That's enough to house hundreds of movie files or hundreds of thousands of MP3s or photos. Every computer you can buy, from huge desktop towers to budget-price Windows tablets, can connect to at least one hard drive, with no complex installation required. And if you're lucky enough to have multiple I/O ports, you can hook up many more. But which to choose? Here's everything you need to consider when shopping for an external hard drive.
Hard Drive Types
There are two types of external drives. Desktop-class drives, with 3.5-inch mechanisms inside, require a power adapter. They are designed to stay in one place, typically on your desk at home or at the office. If you're buying a desktop-class drive for video or lots of file transfers, look for one with a built-in fan, as the extra cooling will extend the drive's life expectancy. Notebook-class (aka pocket or portable) hard drives are usually 2.5-inch mechanisms powered through the connector cable. You can slip a 2.5-inch model into a coat and even some pants pockets.
Desktop-class models currently top out at 8TB per mechanism, but some drive manufacturers put two or more mechanisms into a chassis for more storage (for example, two 4TB drives for a total of 8TB of storage). Notebook-class drives come in capacities up to 4TB, but capacities from 500GB to 2TB are most common.
A word about multiple drives: You can increase capacity, speed, or data protection by buying an external RAID array, but multiple drives add expense and (some) complexity. Once you connect a single-volume external RAID array to your PC or Mac, it will show up and act as any other external drive. After that, it can become more complex. You should consider a drive with support for RAID levels 1, 5, or 10 if you're storing really important data that you can't afford to lose. There are other RAID levels for speed and capacity, and both software and hardware RAID implementations. Read our primer, RAID Levels Explained, for a more in-depth explanation.
Another type of external storage is the solid-state drive (or SSD), which uses a type of flash memory to store data rather than spinning platters. These drives are faster, and in most cases cost quite a bit more than external hard drives. Check out The Best SSDs for our recommendations. Want to know more about how hard drives and SSDs compare? Check out SSD vs. HDD: What's the Difference?
Input, Need Input
External drives typically connect to PCs and Macs via USB cables. USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports are almost always present, though there are also newer connectors like USB-C. USB 3.0 provides fast transfer speeds (up to 5Gbps theoretical throughput) and a minimum of fuss, since it's backward-compatible and almost all desktop and laptop PCs come with USB ports. The newer USB-C standard is faster still (10Gbps, or twice the speed of USB 3.0) and supported using the smaller and more convenient USB-C connector, which is increasingly showing up even on inexpensive external drives.
You may find older external SATA (eSATA) or FireWire ports on some drives, though they can't reach the speeds that USB 3.0 or USB-C can. Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 use the Mini DisplayPort connector and promise even faster speeds (up to 20Gbps), but have largely been supplanted by USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3, which boast blazing throughput of 40Gbps (assuming your computer supports the technology). Apple's MacBook Pro laptops were some of the first to employ Thunderbolt 3 via USB-C connectors as their only I/O option, and they have spurred wider-spread adoption of USB-C over the past two years. Beware, though: Many cheaper Windows laptops with USB-C connectors don't support Thunderbolt 3.
The external drives we've reviewed all have USB connectivity of one sort or another, but it's important to check that the drive you're considering is compatible with your computer. A handful of USB memory sticks and hard drives are currently available with both USB 3.0 and USB-C support via two separate connectors. Optional adapters will let you connect older USB drives to PCs with newer USB-C ports.
How Important Is Drive Speed?
While a 7,200rpm drive is inherently faster than a 5,400rpm drive, the real answer would be 'it depends.' If you are transferring lots of files over a speedy interface like USB 3.0/USB-C or Thunderbolt, then by all means go for the 7,200rpm drive. But if you're limited to USB 2.0 or FireWire, then I would trade speed for capacity and get the largest 5,400rpm drive your budget allows. USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 are older interfaces that work fine with a 5,400rpm drive. If all-out speed is your goal, running multiple drives over Thunderbolt 3 is the fastest (and costliest) way, with a single SSD connected via Thunderbolt 1/2 or USB 3.0/3.1 as next fastest, and so on.
Other Factors
Do you care what your drive looks like? You can buy different colored drives for each family member, for example. Included software is a factor if you don't already have a local or online backup plan. If you're simply using the drive as an extra storage container, or if you're using the backup software built into Windows or macOS, the software bundled with the drive isn't as important. Warranty length is also a big factor in our ratings: Drives can and will fail. That cheap drive you found on a deal site may only come with a one-year warranty. Look for a three- or five-year warranty if you're hard on your drives.
To get you started toward the right add-on backup/storage solution, below are 10 of the best drives we've tested recently at a variety of prices and capacities. For more options, take a look at our lists of the best network-attached storage (NAS) devices and cloud storage services.
Featured External Hard Drive Reviews:
CalDigit Tuff Review
MSRP: $179.99Bottom Line: Not only is the CalDigit Tuff a rugged hard drive designed to survive extreme conditions, it's also a terrific value.Read ReviewLaCie 5big Thunderbolt 2 Review
MSRP: $3999.00Bottom Line: The LaCie 5big Thunderbolt 2 is a powerful external hard drive system capable of holding up to 40TB of data individually, and more than a petabyte when connected together. But it doesn't com...Read ReviewWestern Digital My Book Review
MSRP: $249.99Bottom Line: With a full 8TB for less than $250, the 8TB version of the Western Digital My Book is a deep well of affordable storage for your photos, music, videos, and more.Read ReviewSamsung Portable SSD T5 Review
MSRP: $799.99Bottom Line: Samsung's Portable SSD T5 drive has a speedy USB-C interface, plenty of reliable storage, and it takes up about as much room in your pocket as a short stack of credit cards.Read ReviewBuffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC Review
MSRP: $129.99Bottom Line: The 1-terabyte Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC has a built-in cable you can't lose, a rugged chassis that will survive a rough daily commute, and an NFC card and reader add some security to ...Read ReviewCalDigit AV Pro 2 Review
MSRP: $249.99Bottom Line: Aimed at multimedia professionals, the CalDigit AV Pro 2 is a well-designed, Mac-formatted external drive that comes in SSD and spinning disk versions, and includes both a USB hub and Thunde...Read ReviewLaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive Review
MSRP: $149.95Bottom Line: The 2TB LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive is a thin and super-fast portable hard drive that is not only attractive, but also USB-C compatible.Read ReviewPromise Pegasus2 R2+ Review
MSRP: $749.00Bottom Line: The 6TB Promise Pegasus2 R2+ is a versatile external drive for Thunderbolt 2-equipped Macs and PCs. It uses a two-drive RAID array for speed and capacity, but it can be supplemented with rem...Read ReviewSeagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim Review
MSRP: $99.99Bottom Line: The Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim is an external hard drive that provides 2TB of storage space, quick data transfer speeds, and a sharp, super-slim design for just $100.Read ReviewSeagate Innov8 Review
MSRP: $349.99Bottom Line: Aimed at power users and those with big media collections, the Seagate Innov8 is an external hard drive that packs 8TB of storage and connects via fast USB-C.Read Review