The best wireless drives offer a whole lot of versatility, thanks to their cable-free setup. These wireless hard drives and SSDs come with many advantages as well as potential uses. The fact that they don’t have to be tethered to any laptop or desktop PC means that they’ll allow a cleaner and more minimalist setup, for example. They also offer easy access for multiple devices regardless of platform, including smartphones and tablets.
Wired external storage drives may be a better option for some, especially in terms of speed and reliability. However, if you want a more flexible option, like a drive that you can take anywhere with you, won’t need to be tethered, and can be accessed by any PC or mobile device, you’ll certainly want to go wireless.
For that, we found the best wireless drives 2022 has on offer, from affordable hard drives that will give you a lot of storage space for less to speedy SSDs that are more reliable and much more robust. As you peruse our picks, you’ll want to check out the included price comparison tool for the best storage drive deals.
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Western Digital is building a good collection of wireless drives, and the My Passport Wireless SSD is an excellent addition. As the name suggests, it has an SSD (Solid State Drive) which means it's an excellent performer when it comes to data transfer speeds. However, it's worth noting that when using this wirelessly, you're not getting the full benefit of SSD speeds. However, the solid state technology means it's more robust than traditional hard drives, and with a drop resistant rubber case, the My Passport Wireless SSD is a sturdy external hard drive for carrying your data around with you. Its wireless connection is useful, and it includes a memory card slot as well, making this an excellent choice for photographers.
Not only does Asus make great laptops, monitors and gaming components, it's also got a fantastic wireless drive with the Asus Travelair N. It offers 1TB of capacity, comes with a built-in 3300 mAh battery that provides up to 8 hours of streaming time, and even has a water-resistant design which keeps your data protected while you're out and about. You can connect up to five devices at once to access the data on the drive, and there's an SD card slot for quickly and easily backing up photos. Its 7,200 rpm drive is faster than many other Wi-Fi drives, which often stick to 5,400 rpm.
LaCie is a company that has made some of our favorite external hard drives, and the LaCie Fuel is the company's first attempt at a Wi-Fi drive. LaCie has a reputation for making good-looking devices, and the Fuel is certainly eye-catching, with a square design and modular design that allows you to use it with a variety of ports. It has a decent 10-hour battery life, which is essential if you want to use it wirelessly. It uses an app that allows you to stream content on the drive to compatible devices, such as smartphones.
Even if we had mixed feelings on past versions of the My Passport Wireless, the 2016 “pro” variant of the external HDD restores faith in the Western Digital name. The design, for one, has been overhauled and no longer resembles the My Passport Ultra or My Passport for Mac. Instead, there’s now a more premium feel to the My Passport Wireless Pro. It resembles an external DVD drive, but considering the onboard SD card slot, don’t worry about getting it confused with anything else. For photographers, this will make the Wireless Pro stand out.
For everyone else, there’s a massive 6,400mAh battery built into the device. This lets the drive be used completely free of wires over 2.4GHz or 5GHz channels. When it’s wired up, however, don’t expect cutting edge connection tech, as the My Passport Wireless Pro uses only USB Type-B to Type-A. Completely absent is the latest and greatest USB-C connection.
Where the My Passport Wireless Pro compromises on affordability, it’s able to benefit in just about every other area. Of course, not everyone needs a wireless hard drive or SD card support, but for those who do, it’s almost essential.
Seagate is a well known brand when it comes to storage, and it's the parent company of LaCie, which has its own wireless drive in this list, so it's not too surprising to find that Seagate also does its own very good wireless drive, the Seagate Wireless 500GB Mobile Storage. At 500GB, it's not the largest wireless drive on this list, but it's one of the most affordable, so if you want one of the best wireless drives on the market, but you don't need that much storage space (and you certainly don't want to pay for capacity you're not going to use), then this is a great choice. It comes with a 6 hour battery, and is compatible with iOS, Android, Kindle and PC and Macs.
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