Western Digital Purple 4TB
Surveillance HDD
Part number WD40EJRX · Purple series · 3.5" SATA HDD. If your machine is listed below, this drive is officially supported — not a forum workaround.
Part of the Western Digital Purple series →
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Specifications are the manufacturer's published ratings for this product series; verify the exact part number before purchase.
Rated CMR (conventional magnetic recording) — the right recording type for a large cold copy. CMR keeps a full-library backup pass fast even at 16–24 TB, which is the whole point of the offline slot in a 3-2-1 plan: rotate two drives monthly, keep one powered off, and the backup tooling (Veeam, Duplicati, Hyper Backup, HBS 3) does the scheduling. Full rule and vendor tool table: 3-2-1 for NAS.
Compatibility verdict
It appears on the official compatibility lists of 133 machines and series — 125 Synology, 1 QNAP, 7 Asustor. This is a Surveillance-class drive: rated for heavier sustained workloads than desktop drives. It is a strong pick for a NAS running 24/7, large-array rebuilds or camera workloads, and enterprise lines are also the drives most widely listed across all five vendors' HCLs. Its series rating is on file as CMR (conventional) — what RAID rebuilds and full-library copies want.
Compatible NAS models
Same-capacity alternatives
Other drives listed at 4 TB capacity, ranked by how many machines list them:
Quick answers
Is the WD40EJRX officially compatible with my NAS?
It appears on the official compatibility lists of 133 machines and series — 125 Synology, 1 QNAP, 7 Asustor. Every machine page linked below shows the vendor's own list entry, refreshed daily.
Is the WD40EJRX CMR or SMR?
As a Western Digital Purple drive, it is rated CMR. CMR (conventional magnetic recording) is what a RAID array wants: SMR drives slow rebuilds dramatically. See the <a href="/faq/cmr-vs-smr-nas-drives/">CMR vs SMR guide</a> for the full series table.
Is the WD40EJRX a good NAS drive?
This is a Surveillance-class drive: rated for heavier sustained workloads than desktop drives. It is a strong pick for a NAS running 24/7, large-array rebuilds or camera workloads, and enterprise lines are also the drives most widely listed across all five vendors' HCLs. Its series rating is on file as CMR (conventional) — what RAID rebuilds and full-library copies want.
Can I use the WD40EJRX for a 3-2-1 cold backup copy?
Rated CMR (conventional magnetic recording) — the right recording type for a large cold copy. CMR keeps a full-library backup pass fast even at 16–24 TB, which is the whole point of the offline slot in a 3-2-1 plan: rotate two drives monthly, keep one powered off, and the backup tooling (Veeam, Duplicati, Hyper Backup, HBS 3) does the scheduling. Full rule and vendor tool table: 3-2-1 for NAS.
What are alternatives to the WD40EJRX?
At the same capacity, the most widely listed alternatives are Toshiba MG04ACA400E (451 machines), Western Digital WD4003FFBX (390 machines), Seagate ST4000NE0015 (379 machines). The full ranked list is below.