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Mediasonic Raid 4 Bay Hard Drive Enclosure DAS - USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps USB Type C Raid 0/1 | Support 24TB HDD USB Hub (HFR7-SU31CH) Diskless

4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 4,119 ratings

$149.99
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4 Bay Raid USB 3.1 Type C
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Purchase options and add-ons

Hardware Interface USB Type C, USB 3.2 Gen 2
Brand Mediasonic
Color Black
Product Dimensions 6.77"L x 5.03"W x 8.85"H
Hardware Platform PC | Mac | Linux

About this item

  • Hardware Raid controller built-in on board with one-button control, support Single Drive Mode, Raid 0 / 1. DAS Direct Attached Storage USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C
  • Built-In USB Hub provides easy access to additional USB Type A and USB Type C connection for expansion. Support Daisy Chain Up to 2 more devices
  • Transfer rate up to 10Gbps via USB 3.2 Gen 2. USB-C to USB -C with E-Mark IC cable is included. (3.3ft)
  • Support 3.5” SATA 1 / 2 / 3 6.0Gbps hard disk drive up to 24TB per drive, and 2.5” SATA SSD / HDD (additional bracket required sold separately)
  • Support UASP, S.M.A.R.T, Smart Fan, and Power On / Off in synchronization with computer (Does not support auto Power-On due to power failure)
  • Product Made in Taiwan

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Mediasonic Raid 4 Bay Hard Drive Enclosure DAS - USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps USB Type C Raid 0/1 | Support 24TB HDD USB Hub (HFR7-SU31CH) Diskless
Mediasonic Raid 4 Bay Hard Drive Enclosure DAS - USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps USB Type C Raid 0/1 | Support 24TB HDD USB Hub (HFR7-SU31CH) Diskless
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Price$149.99-8% $109.99
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What's in the box

  • Main Unit + Accessory

  • Product Description

    HFR7-SU31CH Banner

    HFR7-SU31CH Fan

    Smart Fan

    • 3 Level of fan speed. Auto or Manual mode fan speed selection
    • Built-in temperature sensor to control fan speed in auto mode

    HFR7-SU31CH Hub

    USB Hub Feature

    • USB Type A Female Connection: USB 3.2 Gen 1 5.0Gbps with Power Output: 5V / 1A
    • USB Type C Female Connection: USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps with Power Output: 5V / 3A

    HFR7-SU31CH Sync UASP

    Power Sync & UASP & SMART

    • Power On / Off in synchronization with computer. (Does not support auto power ON due to power failure.)
    • Support S.M.A.R.T
    • Support UASP

    USB-C Cable

    USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type C

    • Super fast and reliable data transfer rate up to 10Gbps
    • USB-C to USB-C cable (3.3ft) with e-mark IC included.

    HFR7-SU31CH Raid Mode

    Raid Mode Configuration:

    Setting up Raid

    1. This unit can only create TWO sets of Raid array of 2 drives each. It does not have Raid 5 feature nor ONE large volume of drive. Raid Configuration info can be downloaded at Technical Specification (Application Guide) (User Manual) below
    2. Default Setting is set to 4 independent drives. This means your computer sees 4 drive volume in "My Computer"
    3. 6 Types of Raid mode configuration
    4. Convenience: 4 x Single Mode
    5. Convenience & Security: 2 x Single + Raid 1
    6. Convenience & Performance: 2 x Single + Raid 0
    7. Best Performance: Raid 0 + Raid 0
    8. Ultra Security: Raid 1 + Raid 1
    9. Security & Performance: Raid 1 + Raid 0
    10. After selecting the Raid mode desired, you will need to press the raid mode confirmation button at the back of the unit.

    Important Note:

    • 4Kn Native Drive is supported
    • Power Disable Feature hard drive is not supported. Example: WD Enterprise Drives, and HGST Drives
    • However, There is a Fix to this issue. Cover the first 3 PIN of the power connection on the HDD. Search Youtube video for demo.

    Important Note:

    • Mediasonic strongly recommend user to install same capacity / model / brand of hard drive when you are setting Raid Mode. (Except 4 x Single mode)
    • Setting up Raid will erase all the data in the hard drive. Please back up your data before setting up raid mode.
    • If you are using new drives, you will need to partition the drives after set up.

    Operating System and Hard Drive Support:

    • Support Window 10 / 11 (32 / 64bit)
    • Support Mac OSX 10.12 or Later
    • Support Up to 24TB 3.5" SATA Hard Drive
    • Support 2.5" SATA SSD / HDD (Bracket Adapter required, Search Amazon ASIN: B073R51B3Y)
    • Due to complexity of the product, Please READ user manual before operating the product
    Mediasonic Raid 4 Bay Hard Drive Enclosure - USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps USB Type C Raid 0/1 | Support 2... Mediasonic USB 3.2 4 Bay 3.5” SATA Hard Drive Enclosure DAS – USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type C | USB-C... Mediasonic Raid USB 3.2 2 Bay 2.5” & 3.5” SATA Hard Drive Enclosure – USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type C... Mediasonic PROBOX 4 Bay 3.5” SATA Hard Drive Enclosure – USB 3.0 eSATA Support 24TB HDD (HF2-SU3S3) Mediasonic Aluminum M.2 PCIe NVME SSD Enclosure to USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps USB Type C | M-Key / B+M ...
    HFR7-SU31CH HF7-SU31C HUR5-SU31C HF2-SU3S3 HM6-P32C M.2 PCIe NVME SSD Enclosure
    Customer Reviews
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    4,119
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    4,119
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    4,119
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    4,119
    4.5 out of 5 stars
    78
    Price $149.99 $149.99 $79.99 $109.99 $15.99
    Number of Bay 4 4 2 4 1
    Hardware Raid
    Interface USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type C USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type C USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type C USB 3.0 & eSATA USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type C
    Smart Fan & Power Sync
    USB Hub Feature

    Looking for specific info?

    Product information

    Warranty & Support

    Amazon.com Return Policy:Amazon.com Voluntary 30-Day Return Guarantee: You can return many items you have purchased within 30 days following delivery of the item to you. Our Voluntary 30-Day Return Guarantee does not affect your legal right of withdrawal in any way. You can find out more about the exceptions and conditions here.
    Product Warranty: For warranty information about this product, please click here

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    Product guides and documents

    Customer reviews

    4 out of 5 stars
    4,119 global ratings

    Review this product

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    Customers say

    Customers are satisfied with the hard drive enclosure's performance, build quality, and setup. They find it reliable, easy to set up, and fast. The Gen.2 connectivity provides good speed and throughput. However, some customers dislike the power saving feature. There are mixed opinions on value for money, noise level, and design.

    AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

    902 customers mention "Works well"691 positive211 negative

    Customers are satisfied with the hard drive enclosure. They say the fan works adequately, USB 3.0 and eSATA work great, and the performance is good. It was easy to set up and has served them well for a couple of years. The auto fan setting seems to work as expected, and the switch has gone well so far.

    "...I have also found the manual "high" fan setting works pretty well and is still pretty quiet -- not really noticeable if sitting under the desk...." Read more

    "...Addendum October 2015: The ProBox has continued to work well, though I've just retired it and replaced it with a Drobo 3rd generation 4-bay RAID..." Read more

    "...This is how I have it hooked up, and it works nicely in Ubuntu Linux without a hitch...." Read more

    "...USB 3.0 and e-SATA work great. Was getting excellent speeds (over 100MB/s, limited by my motherboard)-..." Read more

    656 customers mention "Build quality"508 positive148 negative

    Customers appreciate the hard drive enclosure's build quality. They find it well-constructed and reliable, with no drive failures or file corruption. The RAID 5 array is stable and easy to set up.

    "...eSATA connections -- the Mediasonic box became absolutely solid and reliable, working predictably in harmony with the PC to which it is connected...." Read more

    "...Addendum December 2013: The ProBox is still going strong, not a single hiccup with 24/7 operation...." Read more

    "...Pros:- Looks very nice and has a nice form factor-..." Read more

    "...Decent looks and seemingly decent build qualityCONS- As others have stated, the lights are fairly bright-..." Read more

    520 customers mention "Ease of setup"464 positive56 negative

    Customers find the setup of the hard drive enclosure simple and easy. They say it's plug-and-play, and transfers are relatively painless.

    "...The box is self-contained and plug-and-play; it requires no drivers and adds little or no extra load to the host PC...." Read more

    "...appreciated Amazon Prime 2-day free shipping, and the very simple setup and configuration, I am giving this product a 5 star review without..." Read more

    "...Setup was very easy - after mounting the pull fixtures to the drives, I slid them in, turned in on...." Read more

    "...Product arrived two days after ordered. Install was simple. I don't have an ESATA port so I used USB as planned...." Read more

    378 customers mention "Speed"278 positive100 negative

    Customers appreciate the hard drive enclosure's speed. They mention Gen.2 connectivity, fast copying, and good throughput. The fan runs quietly and has three set speeds and an auto mode.

    "...It's compact and easy to carry around.* USB3 is fast - I haven't actually used USB3, but it is backwards compatible with USB2..." Read more

    "...USB 3.0 and e-SATA work great. Was getting excellent speeds (over 100MB/s, limited by my motherboard)-..." Read more

    "...Works fine, and is fast enough to watch movies across my network. I don't have a 3.0 port or ESATA so cannot comment on those issues..." Read more

    "...Might be a slight performance loss, but certainly merits further testing...." Read more

    397 customers mention "Value for money"273 positive124 negative

    Customers have mixed opinions about the value for money of the hard drive enclosure. Some find it a great inexpensive way to increase storage capacity without going to a lot of trouble. Others say it's not a good daily workhorse, not a commercial grade product, and not worth the price. There are also complaints about lack of configuration tools and lack of a CLI utility that aids in rebuilding.

    "...WHAT IT IS NOT: You do get what you pay for. This is a very economical / cost-effective unit (for a multi-interface RAID unit)...." Read more

    "...Given the very reasonable cost, the always appreciated Amazon Prime 2-day free shipping, and the very simple setup and configuration, I am giving..." Read more

    "...In, out, in, out every few seconds. Pretty frustrating and I began to think that I had a bad controller on the box...." Read more

    "...be a small company focused on providing quality products at a reasonable price point with good customer service...." Read more

    362 customers mention "Noise level"193 positive169 negative

    Customers have differing opinions about the noise level of the hard drive enclosure. Some find it very quiet and operates smoothly, while others mention it's a bit loud and the cooling fan makes an annoying ticking sound.

    "...found the manual "high" fan setting works pretty well and is still pretty quiet -- not really noticeable if sitting under the desk...." Read more

    "...In lowest RPM, the fan still puts off a light hum, and is quite loud maxed out (but I have 4 drives in this thing, I want to keep them cool!)-..." Read more

    "...My primary concern was noise. The 2012 Mac Mini is a VERY quiet computer - Apple has tweaked the fan speeds so that there is hardly a whisper..." Read more

    "...With door open it works significantly better albeit the noise level goes up...." Read more

    210 customers mention "Design"140 positive70 negative

    Customers have mixed opinions about the hard drive enclosure's design. Some find it has decent looks and a good build, with nice metal case and internal trays/rails. Others describe it as poorly designed, shoddy, and under-performing.

    "...Pros:- Looks very nice and has a nice form factor-..." Read more

    "...- Nice size, about half the size of a shoe box- Decent looks and seemingly decent build qualityCONS-..." Read more

    "How disappointing & appalling that, at this point in time, a product as shoddy & under-performing as this one would find it's way onto the Amazon..." Read more

    "...4. Good looks and instructions. The package actually looks a real product unlike some other RAID boxes I saw.Could be improved:..." Read more

    218 customers mention "Power saving"33 positive185 negative

    Customers are unhappy with the power saving feature of the hard drive enclosure. It shuts down repeatedly and doesn't turn off after a power outage. The drives don't automatically turn off as they should, like this device should tell them. It's constantly using power for nothing and generating a lot of heat.

    "...Only one glitch, at some point overnight the ProBox turned off...." Read more

    "...recognize the drives within the box, as well as problems with the unit sporadically shutting off, and refusing to come out of sleep mode...." Read more

    "...outage, you will need to manually power the unit back on -- it does not auto-power-on when power is restored." Read more

    "...(it powers down repeatedly, per other reviewers as well, if the interface is not chosen to..." Read more

    Installing the drive into the enclosure was pretty simple, just screw the handle onto the front ...
    5 out of 5 stars
    Installing the drive into the enclosure was pretty simple, just screw the handle onto the front ...
    Mediasonic makes these in several different models. They have the NON-Raid version, and the Raid version of the 4 bay enclosure. The only difference is, the hardware Raid version allows you to create an array using the box itself. The NON-Raid version won't have the hardware to do it, however, if connected to a Windows or MAC, you can use software to create your raid array in the enclosure. I only mention this to be thorough, as I have no interest in Raid.When my Western Digital Black 2TB 7200 RPM SATA III drive was in a Windows machine, I partitioned it into two, with each partition being 1TB each, actual size around 950GB. Installing the drive into the enclosure was pretty simple, just screw the handle onto the front of the drive, pop the bay doors open, luckily we didn't need HAL to do that for us. Remove the pressure plate, stick the drive in, replace pressure plate, close the bay doors. Plug in your USB cable or ESATA cable, plug in the power and go.I feel the need to mention though however, if your planning to use ESATA, please understand that most onboard ESATA ports do not support port multiplier. If you fully populate the enclosure with 4 drives, in order to see 4 separate drives load in your OS, you will need to have port multiplier ability, which usually isn't found in motherboards, so you will have to purchase an ESATA card to put in your machine that does support it.However, if your going to be using the USB connection, you don't have to worry about that. I have my drive enclosure plugged into my router via USB. This enclosure has a SYNC button and an INTERFACE button. The enclosure selects USB by default, but if you need ESATA, you will have to press and hold the SYNC button to make your choice. Also, the enclosure has a built in sleep features.By holding down the Interface button, you can select which mode you want. When the interface indicator is blue, it means that when computer is powered off, the enclosure will power off in 15-seconds. And if you turn you computer back on, the enclosure won't come back on. If you want the enclosure to be in perfect sync with your computer, press and hold the INTERFACE button until the indicator is orange.Since I am using this with my router, I need my files to be able to be accessed at all times by any computer on the network. So to make sure the enclosure stays on no matter what, I had to hold the INTERFACE button each time until I turned the indicator completely off, hence clear. This way it will stay on until I hit the power button to turn it off, or the power goes out. Another thing this enclosure has is a smart fan feature.You are offered three levels of fan modes that you can either set manually, or set to smart auto. Fan speed 1 is very loud, like a freight train, but provides the most airflow. Fan speed 2 is a lot less noisy but is noticeable. And Fan speed 3 is silent. I keep my fan setting on Auto, and it never razes the fan speed beyond fan speed 3. So lets talk about file transfer speeds...I have a Netgear N600 WND4500-V3 router. I did some research into Readyshare and learned that the software in the router has a speed limiting bug in them that limits the speed you will get in file transfers. In other words, don't expect 5GBPS on USB 3.0 cause thats not going to happen. Also, your going to loose some in the transfer link between the drive itself and the enclosure, before its sent to the router, then finally to your computer on your gigabit network.For a speed reference, when I plug my Cannon A2300 camera into my notebook computer using USB 3.0, my file transfer speed is 10 megabytes per second. When reading from my new drive enclosure, copying a 4.1GB file to my notebook, I am getting 13.8 megabytes per second. However, when transferring that same 4.1GB file to my drive in the enclosure, I get around 14.5 megabytes per second.Usually in most cases, read speeds will exceed writing speeds, at least it does with SSD drives and other based flash drive media. But with this 7200 RPM mechanical drive that has 64MB cash, it seems to like writing more then it does reading. I have got to believe that this is somehow related to the 64MB cash buffer, but I could be wrong. I also love the pretty blue lights on the drive, although they might be too bright if you have this placed in a bedroom or movie room.So far I haven't had any trouble with it, and setting up Readyshare was super simple in my router configuration. Also the build quality of the box is pretty solid, it weighs a lot more then I thought it would. No doubt most of the weight is in the PSU and the metal casing of the enclosure. Very little plastic is on this thing and thats good. As long as you know how to set this up, it should work for you.5 out of 5UPDATE: Dec 2nd 2017Since I have owned and have been running this box for a year now, I wanted to give an update on how its doing. I have still been using the same hard drive, in my enclosure, and have not added any new drives to it. This unit has been running strong the whole year, and I haven't had any problems with it. I am able to access my files whenever I want to without issue. We have had a few power outages since, and all one has to do is hit the power button to turn it back on and wait for the drive/drives to spin up.I never did cover up the blue LED's that seem to bother most people. Again the box is located in my computer room, not my bedroom, so it doesn't matter to me. I do notice a slight build up of dust, around the exterior fan casing, I have not cleaned the box out with compressed air yet, but I probably should do that soon. I run an air filter machine in my computer room, which I hope, reduces the amount of dust that builds up, in my electronics.Some have also talked about replacing their internal fan to something much quieter. You can do this, but please note that the box uses a 2-pin fan connection which is not standard. So, you would more then likely need a 2 to 3 pin fan adapter, in order to use a 3rd party fan. I still to this day highly recommend this enclosure, and I still keep it at a solid 5 out of 5 stars!UPDATE: Dec 1st 2018Here we are yet another year of use on this box. I have to say, putting aside speed limitations with my setup, I've been really happy with this unit. The most important aspect of something like this, is that its reliable, because you want your files to not only be safe, but you also want to be able to access them whenever you want. I am happy to report that after 2-years of use, this box has been very reliable, and I haven't had any issues with it.I really like those Western Digital Black drives, they seem to be reliable as well for this use. I did end up blowing out the rear fan last year, only had to do that once. And its probably about time for me to clean out the fan again since its been another year, I'll get to it eventually lol. Oh and thats another thing, I've just proven with just some miner air filtration in the room, and some once per year maintenance, that fan has been lasting 2-years without fail.Additionally, none of the lights on the box have failed yet that I can see. Sometimes when you get those cheap LED's they will fail quickly. I haven't had any problems with this box so honestly, 99 dollars still to this day, and 2-years of service with more on the way, I think that is a great deal. Someone asked me about RAID recently. Again, as I've stated in this review, you can't setup hardware RAID with this box. If you really need RAID, its best to get the RAID version of this box.https://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-ProRaid-HFR7-SU3S2-Drive-Enclosure/dp/B0757YTWS7/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543555136&sr=8-2&keywords=mediasonic+probox+raid
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    Top reviews from the United States

    • Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2019
      I have two of these boxes; both are configured as RAID boxes and have been in continuous use for years -- one of them since 2013. (One is RAID 10, the other RAID 5.) In that time I have had to replace three hard drives in the in-use units. At various times each box have been moved between USB and eSATA connection to the host PC. Both have always been consistent, solid performers. Neither has ever given me any trouble.

      WHAT IT IS: This is a simple and cost-effective external device. It functions well in either USB or eSATA mode. The box is self-contained and plug-and-play; it requires no drivers and adds little or no extra load to the host PC. I have never had a PC or Mac (with appropriate configuration) fail to recognize the box and "talk" to it as expected. In any RAID configuration, it appears and behaves just like any external hard drive. As JBOD, it shows up as multiple separate external devices. Within the limits of what it is and how it works with the connected computer (discussed more below), it just works and has always been extremely reliable. But you should think through what you are getting at this very economical price point (economical for a RAID box, that is).

      The device detects the power state of its connection to your computer; it will turn off automatically when you power down your computer and will power back up when you turn the computer back on. This is a FEATURE and is the intended operation. You do NOT have to turn it off and on manually. For many this is a great convenience. It is also a good thing for power and heat saving (as well as hard drive life span and reducing noise when the computer is not on). But it can also be a negative depending on your use case (more on this below).

      In either SATA or JBOD or using eSATA or USB, I have never had a lick of trouble; the box just works. Lights on the box correctly indicate drive use and will tell you when a drive has failed. Power down and replace the failed drive; when you power back up in RAID mode the box will proceed to rebuild the array with no further action from you. (In JBOD mode, the new drive shows up in your operating system -- though of course you may need to go into disk manager to partition and format it before Windows can use it.)

      In terms of value for money, the performance is great for this price.

      WHAT IT IS NOT: You do get what you pay for. This is a very economical / cost-effective unit (for a multi-interface RAID unit).

      The device talks via eSATA OR USB. Most home-user class computers will not let you use both interfaces at the same time. For example: If you connect both at the same time, a Windows PC will only recognize the device on the eSATA connection (since the SATA bus is usually initialized before USB).

      Though the device does accept SATA III hard drives and works internally at 6Gb/sec speeds, it can only sustain those speeds to your computer when configured as JBOD. When configured for RAID it can only support 3 Gb/sec speeds (equivalent of SATA II, closer to USB 2 than 3 speed). That makes it great for backup and fine for accessing files one at a time (even playing music), but maybe not really solid for video streaming or disk-intensive gaming applications.

      The ventilation system is less than spectacular and needs to be kept clean or else lint buildup will make airflow a drive-killing problem over time. When closed up properly, the automatic fan settings on this box will make the drives inside tend to run hot (using HD Sentinel to monitor individual drive SMART temp reporting). That said, I have run these units for years on end without encountering unexpected / premature drive failure. I have also found the manual "high" fan setting works pretty well and is still pretty quiet -- not really noticeable if sitting under the desk. The unit will also run just fine with the front door down (open), which will cool everything down and keep it at more "normal" HD operating temps. The box front can be opened and closed without disturbing the drives inside while the unit is running (just be careful not to jiggle or move the box itself or drives inside while running). All box functions work just fine when the front is not closed, if you want increased cooling. (Just don't forget you left the box open when you are working around it or go to move it!)

      This box will NOT magically transform all the vagaries of PC external connectivity into the reliability of permanently connected internal drives. It is NOT a high-end NAS or internal RAID system powered by an expensive and high-capacity controller. All bets are off if you move the unit and/or accidentally jar or disconnect the cable when the unit is running -- or if your computer's power saving settings turn off the connection to this unit. I have found the system works consistently as designed as a solid SATA II drive when connected via eSATA or USB (assuming the cable isn't accidentally jolted loose).

      You can use this box and it will be reliable attached to an always-on computer -- but first you need to expect to spend configuration time and might encounter some frustrations along the way. To get reliable, always-on connectivity with no unexpected disconnects, you are going to need to spend some time checking your computer BIOS and several settings in the operating system. Power saving settings that shut down your hard drives (SATA) or dormant devices (USB) will work just fine with internal and some external devices, but I hope it is obvious that they will cause this box to turn itself off. When the connection gets powered down, the device will see that as your PC turning off and in response it will turn itself off (which is exactly what it is supposed to do, as mentioned above). Since the device is driverless, there is no software to keep it alive or magically reconnect it when/if you return and want to use it. When that happens, the only recourse is to power down your PC, then restart. It took me several tries to find and disable the various PC and operating system power-saving features; once I did that -- ensuring the PC / operating system did not time out / turn off its USB or eSATA connections -- the Mediasonic box became absolutely solid and reliable, working predictably in harmony with the PC to which it is connected. Once everything was configured, it became another always-there drive that just.plain.works.

      As noted, this device does not come with external monitoring/control software. Out of the box, you need to look at the lights on the front to affirm it is configured and operating properly. There is no software pop-up or alert on your computer desktop if your RAID array is degraded -- you have to actually look at the box. If you forget to look at the box, you might not notice a drive has failed until it's too late to rebuild the RAID array. On the flip side, those lights on the box do correctly indicate hard drive activity inside the box and do indicate if a drive has failed (or, once you replace the failed drive, when a RAID array is rebuilding). The lights are accurate but do not give you much of an indication as to progress of built-in functions; you're not going to get much of a clue as to how much longer that RAID rebuild is going to take.

      However and FWIW. I have found this device does correctly pass all needed information through for most disk diagnostic applications. HD Sentinel works well and accurately to report the status of every constituent disk drive (even when configured in RAID mode so that Windows thinks its just one big drive). I have also found by trial and error that several software distributions that come with other external RAID systems will also correctly read and report status of these boxes -- thought they still won't let you remotely configure or adjust what the RAID controller is doing. (For example, the software that comes with Sans Digital units will read and report on these Mediasonic boxes when configured as RAID units.) Your mileage may vary.

      Overall, this box is everything I had hoped and I have found it completely reliable. A bargain at a $150 price tag.
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    • Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2013
      I have a 2012 Mac Mini with USB 3.0 and was looking for an inexpensive way to add some external storage. I already had four WD 1TB hard drives (two Black and two Green), and wanted a solution where I could create a software RAID 10 span/mirror array for 2TB of storage. After reading up on this model it sounded like a good fit, so I ordered one.

      My primary concern was noise. The 2012 Mac Mini is a VERY quiet computer - Apple has tweaked the fan speeds so that there is hardly a whisper unless the CPU is really cranking heavily (e.g. rendering video). With some trepidation I added my four 1TB hard drives (a very simple process by the way), plugged in the power, and fired it up. I am VERY pleased at the low noise level. I have the ProBox positioned under my desk and it is literally inaudible. Even if it were on top of the desk, the noise level is as quiet or quieter than the Mac Mini itself.

      Build quality is quite good. Some have noted the unusual power connection on the side; in my installation this didn't affect anything but I suppose it could for some people. The blue LEDs are pretty bright but that doesn't affect things under my desk at all; if it were used in a home theater setting that might be a different story.

      As far as installation, all that's needed is to fasten a handle to the front of each hard drive (a screwdriver is actually included in the box for this). Then slide each drive into its slot, snap a cover plate over the drives that holds them in place, and press the front panel into place. I ran the included USB 3.0 cable from the ProBox to my Plugable 7-port USB 3.0 hub, powered it up, and all four disks were quickly recognized and mounted to the OS X filesystem. Previously I'd used each of these disks individually in a Plugable USB 3.0 docking cradle, so all four drives were formatted and had data on them - all were recognized instantly and worked just as they had in the dock.

      For test purposes, I left the drives alone for a day and let Time Machine push some data to them. Only one glitch, at some point overnight the ProBox turned off. My Mac is set to never sleep, but possibly the ProBox thought it saw the Mac (or the hub) power down momentarily, and turned itself off since that's the default setting for its "Synchronization mode". I disable Synchronization with the control panel button and it hasn't hiccuped since.

      Once I was satisfied that the enclosure worked OK and did some BlackMagic speed tests to verify the speed was comparable to my old USB 3.0 dock, I created a 2TB RAID 10 array using all four 1TB disks. I used Apple's Disk Utility to create two 1TB Mirrored arrays (RAID 1) of two drives each, then joined those two arrays into a single 2GB Span (RAID 0). Then I copied about 860GB of data from my internal 1TB drive over to this new array, freeing up space on my internal Fusion drive.

      Given the very reasonable cost, the always appreciated Amazon Prime 2-day free shipping, and the very simple setup and configuration, I am giving this product a 5 star review without hesitation.

      Addendum December 2013: The ProBox is still going strong, not a single hiccup with 24/7 operation. I did change out the config over the summer though - now I have two 3TB disks in a RAID1 mirror as my primary data array, and the two original WD Green disks in a RAID1 array being used as a backup drive for other Macs in the house (via OS X Server). All is working smoothly, still very happy with my purchase.

      Addendum October 2015: The ProBox has continued to work well, though I've just retired it and replaced it with a Drobo 3rd generation 4-bay RAID system to give me a little more ease of expansion. Certainly this has been a heck of a nice unit for me and you can't beat the $100 or so price.
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    • Jim Pook
      5.0 out of 5 stars Dependable, Affordable, Fast NAS Box
      Reviewed in Canada on September 18, 2023
      Model: HF7-SU31CVerified Purchase
      I bought a previous version of this Mediasonic NAS Box about 10 years ago, and it has run daily ever since without any problem. I need room for more drives, and this seemed like the best deal.
      USB-C has made this one about 50% faster for transferring large video files.

      Setup was quick and easy. Just a matter of plugging in the power & data cables and inserting the hard drives and it was up and running without a problem.

      I highly recommend Mediasonic products.
    • Alistair Israel
      5.0 out of 5 stars Does the job, but with quirks
      Reviewed in Canada on September 14, 2023
      Model: HUR5-SU31CVerified Purchase
      Physical installation was easy enough, almost tool-less. However, switching the RAID modes using the DIP switches on the back required a small 'dance' with powering on and connecting then switching in the right sequence. Sleep mode is good for powering down, reducing energy consumption and prolonging the lives of the drives—however, on occasion, on my Windows 11 setup, at least, this results in the drive becoming "unavailable" for use until a reboot. Also works on Mac OS, but requires special mount_exfat CLI commands or it's mounted read-only.
    • imfallen_angel
      5.0 out of 5 stars I've had 4 Mediasonic 4-bay boxes for over 10 years, and only had to replace one.
      Reviewed in Canada on August 2, 2023
      Model: HF2-SU3S3Verified Purchase
      I got my original boxes that were USB 2.0 and eSATA and have used them non-stop for over 10 years... they are simple to use but required a esata card with port multiplier to use, which made them a bit complicated to set up. The only situation I had for all those years was a power supply for one that died and had to be replaced. When COVID hit, one of the boxes died and I replaced it with a newer esata/USB 3.0 model but it was used as all new stock were impossible to find. And 2 years later, that is the box that has now died on me, but it is possible that it's due to power surges and such as these last few months, the city has had a lot of problems due to many storms and such, and it may have also damaged my UPS that should have prevented damage to my devices including these boxes... I'll never know.

      But that said, this box is replacing that other one (and is the exact same) and I will hope that it will last as long as my other older boxes that are still going strong so far.

      These boxes are simple to use, with only one annoyance of needing a small handle to be installed on the drives. The fans are very silent and aside the situation that requires me to get a replacement, have been very solid and working very well for a lot of year.

      In time I will most probably need to replace them for a more modern setup as the old boxes are supposedly limited to 4TB drives (while the newer ones are able to use much larger drives) and will switch to USB 3.0 (or better) and leave the eSATA in the past so to prevent the headaches I've had due to that.

      I almost went with the 8-bay boxes, but reviews have been alarming in reference to the number of issues that people have had compared to the 4-bay ones, so I'll have to see when the time comes.

      But for now, these boxes have been great, have been through constant use (24/7) and I've enjoyed them greatly, and for a price range that left all competition far behind.
    • Peter Linehan
      4.0 out of 5 stars Simple Straightford BUT
      Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2024
      Model: HF2-SU3S3Verified Purchase
      The unit itself seems good BUT the inserts for 2.5" disk are special and expensive. Each is 11.00 odd so that needs to taken into account when you buy
    • Carlos Vazquez
      5.0 out of 5 stars Buena compra pero
      Reviewed in Mexico on April 25, 2021
      Si estás buscando una NAS este producto no es el indicado.
      Está caja es una buena compra si lo que deseas es usar varios discos duros con una sola conexión USB, en mi caso particular la compré para reutilizar unos HDD que tenía guardados sin usar y solo para respaldar.

      Cumple su propósito y nada más, tiene una característica de ahorro de energía que apaga la caja cuando no se usa y que puede ser de ayuda o no depende tu gusto y el uso, por ejemplo si lo conectas a una PC se apaga unos minutos después que la computadora pero, en el caso de las laptop se apaga después de cierto tiempo aunque estés copiando archivos, lo que no es para nada bueno, esto solo sucede con laptops y no hay forma de evitarlo ya que no cuenta con un software o algo que te deje configurar la caja, en general funciona muy bien es rápida y cumple, pero no esperes hacer RAID o usarlo como equipo de almacenamiento en red.