WD My Passport HDD with APFS partition failing

The WD My Passport is a popular external hard drive known for its reliability, portability, and compatibility with both Windows and macOS systems. However, users sometimes face issues when the drive is formatted with APFS (Apple File System) and suddenly becomes inaccessible or fails to mount on a Mac. If your WD My Passport with APFS partition is failing, this guide will help you understand the cause and how to recover or fix the issue.

What Is APFS and Why It Matters

APFS is Apple’s modern file system designed for SSDs and macOS drives. While it offers benefits like faster read/write speeds and better security, it’s not without downsides. APFS is known to be sensitive to corruption and errors, especially when used on external drives not always ejected properly.

When a WD My Passport is formatted with APFS and starts failing, the drive may:

Not mount at all

Appear as uninitialized or unreadable

Show errors in Disk Utility

Report that the file system is corrupted

Freeze Finder when connected

Common Causes of APFS Partition Failures

There are several reasons why an APFS-formatted WD My Passport might fail:

Unsafe ejection: Disconnecting the drive without ejecting can lead to file system corruption.

Power interruptions: Sudden power loss during data transfer may damage the APFS structure.

Physical issues: Even though rare, mechanical problems in HDDs can cause failures.

APFS incompatibility: Using older macOS versions or attempting to access APFS drives on unsupported platforms can cause problems.

Malware or software conflict: Interference from third-party software may corrupt drive partitions.

First Steps: Check and Verify

If your drive is acting up, here’s what to try first:

Reconnect the Drive: Try using a different USB port or cable.

Restart the Mac: Sometimes a simple reboot can resolve temporary mount issues.

Use Disk Utility:

Open Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities.

Check if the drive appears in the sidebar.

If visible, select it and click First Aid to verify and repair the partition.

If Disk Utility reports errors it cannot fix, you may need more advanced solutions.

Advanced Troubleshooting

1. Use Terminal to Mount Manually

Sometimes APFS drives don’t auto-mount but can be manually accessed using Terminal. Use the diskutil list command to find your drive, then diskutil mount /dev/diskX.

2. Try Data Recovery Software

If the drive still fails, use recovery tools like:

Disk Drill

Stellar Data Recovery

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac

These tools can scan APFS partitions and recover data even if macOS cannot mount the drive.

Reformatting as a Last Resort

If recovery is successful or the data isn’t critical, you may need to reformat the drive to restore functionality:

Open Disk Utility

Select the external drive (not the volume)

Click Erase

Choose APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) if you prefer broader compatibility

Click Erase to reformat

Warning: This erases all data on the drive. Ensure you back up any important files before reformatting.

Final Thoughts

A WD My Passport drive with an APFS partition failing is a frustrating but often fixable problem. Always eject the drive safely and update your macOS to ensure APFS stability. If your drive isn’t mounting or showing errors, start with Disk Utility and move on to data recovery tools if needed. With proper care and the right tools, you can recover data or restore your external drive to working condition.