External hard drives with WLAN tested

External WiFi hard drives There are numerous different versions and for some they are a good alternative to various cloud storage services - because you can also access your data on the go and often don't even need internet access if you carry the disk with you.

A distinction must be made here between portable and external WLAN hard drives intended for stationary use - the former are usually with a battery equipped and above all for use with Smartphone or Tablet thought.

Stationary plates, on the other hand, serve as a kind of cloud for the home and can sometimes even be integrated into the network and thus used as a fully-fledged cloud solution.

In the following, we would like to go into the question for whom an external WLAN hard drive Makes sense and what you should pay particular attention to when deciding on a model - because two points are particularly important.

Preview	Products
	WD My Passport...	Wireless access to files with multiple devices simultaneously Back up or transfer photos and videos from your SD card Rechargeable battery with up to 6 hours of video streaming	Buy now "
	WD My Passport...	With the built-in SD card reader and the copy button, you can transfer... the external SSD hard drive has a battery life of up to 10... With your smartphone or tablet you can easily create a...	Buy now "
	LaCie Portable SSD,...	Thanks to speeds of up to 540 MB/s, you can benefit from... Powerful, external SSD with up to 540 MB/s for fast... 500GB capacity allows you to store hours of 4K videos...	Buy now "
	SSK Portable...	High speed and large capacity: 1 TB storage capacity... Portable: Small size can be carried at any time, built-in... Intelligent control: Smart App (iOS and Android supported),...	Buy now "
	Western Digital ...	Up to 512 GB can be found on the data carrier. Loading your data... The data volume increases rapidly. The external SSD hard drive... The external SSD fits USB Type-C ports. Also, she is...	Buy now "
	Seagate STDC500205...	memory expansion for your devices; wireless Stream your content to your tablet or smartphone - wirelessly... Simultaneously steam on 3 devices	Buy now "
	Seagate Fast SSD 1TB...	Seagate STCM1000400	Buy now "
	WD 4TB My Cloud Home...	Organize your content however you like and use the... My Cloud Home is a good choice for external storage. The simple... My Cloud Home is not only personal cloud storage, but...	Buy now "

Features and functions of WLAN external hard drives

But first we want to give a brief overview of what features you can expect from such a WLAN external hard drive - there are of course differences between the individual models, but they often offer:

• Creation of your own hotspot
• Integrated power source
• Access from up to 8 devices at the same time
• Apps for connecting to Android and iOS devices
• LAN port (USB/FireWire)

What are the advantages of WLAN external hard drives?

A default external hard drive is connected to the PC or laptop via a cable. Depending on the size and connection, an additional power supply is required. The Data transmission for WiFi eliminates the need for cables, making it easier and more portable to use.

Many of the external WLAN hard drives have a built-in rechargeable battery and thus carry their own power source with them. The devices are simply charged via USB. Other wireless hard drives come with a Power Supplies equipped and designed for stationary use - here you should first consider whether you want to use your WLAN hard drive as a portable device or just in one place.

Since the hard drive creates its own hotspot, you can usually access the hard drive with up to eight devices at the same time.

The stream function is particularly useful. You can stream videos and music directly to your computer or smartphone.

Fast data transfer is via a USB 3.0 or FireWire connection possible. You can store films, videos, pictures and documents on the hard disk store it and then access it from anywhere.

Disadvantages of WLAN external hard drives?

A very big point – as with all wireless devices – is security. Since the data transmission takes place via WLAN, it is particularly important to have a good connection Encryption to have. Otherwise, data can be quickly read out and stolen, which would of course be more than just annoying, especially with personal data. Alternatively you should consider purchasing one encrypted hard drive think. 

In addition, the WiFi transmission is much slower compared to a LAN connection. Not every external hard drive is powerful enough to establish a stable connection with which you can stream films in HD quality, for example.

Large amounts of data should always be transferred via the LAN connection, which is why anyone who wants or has to move correspondingly large data packages should better use a classic external hard drive with a cable connection.

For whom is a WLAN external hard drive worthwhile?

If you always want to access your data with your end devices, such as smartphones, tablets, etc., one is WiFi hard drive a great thing. The mobile devices enable you to use films, videos, music and documents at any time, even when you are on the go.

However, one should not yet expect top performance in terms of transmission rates, but a lot has happened in the mobile sector in recent years. However, the speed is usually sufficient to stream a film smoothly anyway.

It is best to choose a hard drive that does not have to be manually activated for WLAN encryption. You can't forget it either. The battery life should be at least 5 hours if you also want to use the record portably.

Since a WLAN external hard drive is often used on the move, the workmanship should be of high quality and shockproof. The hard drive fell down quickly. A thin one Housing breaks quickly and the inner workings may be damaged.

Our test reports you will find a number of external WiFi hard drives. There we offer all important information about the individual products.