Seagate Expansion Portable Drive Review

Sometimes, you need to store files on a secure drive; the Seagate Expansion Portable Drive review explores one of the best options. While there are plenty of faster and speedy drives, nothing beats the price per GB of a traditional hard drive.

I recommend using a portable SSD or the cloud for data storage, but those are not always feasible. An SSD, for example, is almost 2-3 times more expensive than a portable hard drive. Cloud storage might not be available everywhere. So the Seagate Expansion Portable Drive comes in handy when, like me, you also love camping in the wilderness and taking photos. I used my phone and a USB hub to transfer files from my camera to the portable drive and had plenty of high-resolution images on my recent trip.

Package – Seagate Expansion Portable Drive

The Seagate Expansion Portable Drive comes in a standard thick cardboard packing. A plastic shell inside protects the drive from shocks and damage during transportation. It’s secure and cushioned from all sides, so you don’t have to worry about the drive itself.

Inside, there’s just the Seagate Expansion Portable Drive, a USB Type A to Type B cable, and a small introduction manual. Apart from these, nothing is inside; it’s a simple, portable hard drive and nothing more.

Tech Specs

Design – Seagate Expansion Portable Drive Review

The Seagate Expansion Portable Drive is designed to be a storage tool first and foremost. So the design is kept very businesslike with black color and sleek body. The ridges on the front of the drive give it a unique look. Most portable hard drives are simple monolithic plastic slabs; the Seagate Expansion Portable Drive mixed things up with its purely aesthetic design on the front.

The rectangular drive also has rounded edges, making it easy to hold. Without sharp edges, the portable drive has a better chance of surviving drops, although I won’t recommend dropping a traditional hard drive; these things are fragile. It’s a simple design that gets the job done.

Build Quality

The Seagate Expansion Portable Drive review should mention that the whole drive is plastic. While some portable drives have an aluminum chassis, this one opted for a plastic build to keep the costs down. No rubber coating or casing is available for the drive, so it’s not a rugged storage solution.

I’ve used the drive on several trips, but it was kept securely in my bag. It’s an OK build that will get the job done, but if you are in the market for a tougher storage solution, you are better off with an SSD and rubber casing.

Connectivity – Seagate Expansion Portable Drive Review

The Seagate Expansion Portable Drive connects with a USB Type A to Type B cable. I also used it with several different adapters and a Type C to Type B cable, and it worked fine.

The cable is completely removable so you can use any other compatible ones. The detachable nature also removes the worry of getting the cable damaged and unable to use the drive. I’d love to see a Type C to Type C connection, but that’s still a few years away.

The drive is USB 3.0 compatible, so it can also efficiently work on older laptops and PCs. In terms of connectivity, this is a plug-and-play device; there is no need to install drivers or additional companion software. Just plug the hard drive into a PC/Mac, and you are ready to use it nearly instantly.

Performance – Seagate Expansion Portable Drive Review

The Seagate Expansion Portable Drive is a standard portable drive. Its read and write speeds are what I expected from a portable drive. It’s reliable, stable, and gets the job done. At this price point, I don’t expect more from a portable hard drive that spins at 5400 RPM. Here are the speed tests of Seagate Expansion Portable Drive:

Here is the speed of an SSD compared to a portable HDD:

Overall, I’m satisfied with the read and write speeds of the Seagate Expansion Portable Drive. I also used it with an Xbox Series X to store Xbox One and Xbox 360 games, and it worked perfectly fine. So, if you want a cheap way to expand storage on your PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles, the Seagate drive will do the job nicely. The drive won’t run current-generation games but can be stored on PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles. Check out our MegaModz Xbox controller and AceZone A-Spire headset reviews to improve your gaming accessories.  

Software -Seagate Expansion Portable Drive Review

There are no additional software or apps bundled with the drive. There is also no cloud storage or auto backup option included with it. It’s just a plug-and-play USB drive you can use for storage, like the Lofree Touch mouse I reviewed. Drag and drop files into it, and that’s about it.

Is Seagate Expansion Portable Drive for you?

The Seagate Expansion Portable Drive is for you if you need an inexpensive solution to your storage needs. It’s a simple drive with 1, 2, 3, and 4TB storage capacities. The price is kept low, so you can easily get a higher capacity, especially if SSDs are out of your budget. I’ve stored photos that would usually be on my DSLR or phone on the drive. I used the Ugreen card reader and a PC to transfer the files. 

It’s not for you if you value speed and ruggedness; you are better off using an SSD. SSDs are generally faster and more reliable as they have no moving parts.

Conclusion:

The Seagate Expansion Portable Drive is a simple storage solution that gets the job done. It’s a plug-and-play USB storage device and does what it advertises: nothing more, nothing less. There are faster and cheaper HDDs available, but with Seagate’s one-year warranty, you can’t go wrong with this established brand.