Toshiba Canvio Partner 2TB Portable 2.5″ External HDD, USB
Toshiba Canvio Partner 2TB Portable 2.5″ External HDD, USB 3.2 Gen 1, Mac and Windows Compatible, USB Powered
Your data in safe hands
With over 50 years of experience in hard drive technology and unrivaled quality standards, Toshiba portable hard drives provide a reliable and secure place for your files, wherever you go.
High transfer speeds
Powered by USB 3.2 Gen 1 technology, these portable hard drives are much faster than – but still compatible with – USB 2.0 devices, allowing for speedy transfer when organising your files
Simply connect
Regardless of your preferred platform, the Canvio Partner has you covered. It‘s preformatted for Mac and Windows right out of the box. Simply unpack and connect
 |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacities | 4 TB | 2 TB | 1TB | 4 TB | 2 TB | 1 TB | 2 TB | 1 TB | 4 TB | 2 TB | 1 TB | 4 TB | 2 TB | 1 TB |
| Casing | Elegant silver finish | Sleek black finish | Aluminium finish | Matte and gloss finish | Smart matte finish |
| Colour | Silver | Black | Silver, black | Black | Black |
| Windows compatible | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac compatible | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tablet compatible | ✓ | ||||
| Game console compatible | ✓ | ||||
| USB-A cable | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| USB-C cable | ✓ |
| Weight: | 150 g |
| Dimensions: | 10.9 x 1.4 x 7.8 cm; 150 Grams |
| Brand: | Toshiba |
| Model: | HDTB520EK3AB |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | Toshiba |
| Dimensions: | 10.9 x 1.4 x 7.8 cm; 150 Grams |
I bought this drive after loosing all the data when one of my internal drives got corrupted. I wish I thought of it sooner. It is an essential thing to have for storing important pictures and documents. You can take it with you when travelling, plug it in your laptop and you’re good to go. No issues with it at all, easy to set up and fits in your pocket (I do have a case)
Inexpensive for the storage capacity and importantly the peace of mind that I have my important files and photos backed up / stored safely.
It is not until you have a hard drive fail that you realise that this is worth it’s weight in gold.
Would recommend
Was a little confused if it was solid state or not (it’s not) but has performed brilliantly as a videos drive on my desktop. No issues with speed, makes a comforting little noise when spun up – definitely not intrusive.
I’m delighted with my purchase, it is very lightweight and small and is so easy to use! Just plug in and drag and drop what you wish to transfer and done. Amazingly priced compared to others available too!
Had this machine for 4 years now. Have over 1000 cds on it. I bought it originally for a windows PC. Now using an imac and it’s still going strong. Have had to replace the cable a couple of times but other than that it’s perfect.
Amazing drive for how quick it is.
Rare to have such a large SSD for so cheap.
Perfect for all your external storage needs, and so easy to plug and go in every machine.
I’ve tried this a couple of times now for transferring my photos onto. It was easy to use out of the box, and works as I’d hoped and expected it to so far. Strange end on the cable. It’s not a standard one where by you’d be able to replace it with just a universal cable. Good overall
Also as the last picture shows, being as it is 1TB of space, it is going to take some (years) to even get half full.
It is excruciatingly slow, though – might be fine for small, day to day, back ups but when I wanted to transfer about 500g from another drive, it was predicted to take about 10 days!
I use this for my MacBook Pro 2019 and MacBook Pro 2022 for Time Machine back ups. simple to use, easy to see how much storage you have and it’s very reliable. no complaints maybe just a longer wire? but its not an issue really
Stylish, compact and lightweight.
Easy to set up, just plug in and go. No need for additional software.
I bought this to extend my storage on my PS4. Works great and fits nicely in my tv unit.
It’s small enough that it can be hidden away.
There is a blue light that is constantly on when its in use and blinks when accessing any data from the drive.
Works with PS4 without any hassel. Even though the advert relates to PC & MAC.
Well worth the money.
Found it difficult to download photos from computer to this hard drive
Holds hours of shizzle for the youngest to binge watch in an easy to use and handy device.
I have a couple of these, but the price for ssd’s never seems to reduce
I like this product because you can connect it to your TV and it is good for storing files
This was great value
small and portable and great storage – I got the 4 tb version
love i
Used to expand my PS5 storage (primarily to store PS4 games). Works as it should. PS4 games load quickly and plays normally. The data has survived despite occasional system shut downs due to the PS5 overheating.
Just what I wanted for my weekly backups and carrying data around various work sites.
Got this to expand HDD space on an Xbox one, works like a dream A+
Works for me, good value and flexible. I bought this as I have never had issues with the canvio range so should be reliable.
While this drive is as advertised, the specificatikns fail to mention its built as a mbr not gpt. In basic terms this means yoh cannot creare a 4tb partition and instead must divide this drive into two 2tb partitikns. That is, unless you’re willing to change it’s partitikn table from mbr to gpt.
This is something that should be stated before hand as it directly affects use
This is one of the fastest HDD I’ve had so far, most write at about 100mbps but this is 50% faster.
I use this with my ssd-equipped PC and it does the job. No problems seen so far.
So I got this to store my steam games on, 2tb USB hard drive, my first thought was to back up games onto this, so it did and still had lots of spare, so I downloaded my entire steam collection and backed it to this, again, still space. Now rather than backing up the games to this I download them directly onto this and run them on USB 3.0, it works well, slower than the NVMe drive, but if I need performance I have the option to move the game to my C drive. Really impressed that I can run games (single player) directly from this.
OVERALL – its a hard drive so it has moving parts and best not to bang it around when powered up. The cost and size and performance, wow.
Needed additional memory for the Xbox One, and it gives you ample.
IF I CAN GIVE 10 STARS I WOULD IS THE FASTEST DRIVE I EVER BOUGHT
THANK YOU TOSHIBA
I got it for storing and consolidating sound samples for music making from various flash drives I have dotted around the house. Although flash drives are generally reliable (especially the SanDisk ones I normally use — please see my separate reviews) I still like to have back ups so it was time to back up everything and have it all handily in one place, and this Toshiba Canvio Partner 4TB Portable 2.5″ External HDD is perfect for the job. I absolutely couldn’t be happier with my purchase.
Speed-wise it’s great for what I need it for. It’s fast; very fast, and is the fastest drive I own (with file transfer speeds often reaching 130 MB/s [about 1.30 minutes to copy about 10 GB of data]). However, different files, quantities and sizes tend to copy at different speeds, which seems to be how Windows operates, rather than the device itself. Some of my files whizz onto the drive while others take a little longer, but the time factor isn’t an issue with me as I just leave the copying process running while I do other things on my computer. This doesn’t affect the copying so I’m happy to leave it running for as long as it needs. Maybe alternative models will transfer a little faster and maybe they won’t, but as far as I’m concerned the speed of this one is more than adequate. To put a figure on it to give an idea of averages, a folder full of sound samples can copy between 70 MB/s to 110 MB/s, but a good folder of more even files can copy at a steady 110 MB/s to 120 MB/s. Please note the word ‘copy’ in the above as this is the function I use the drive for, and as such I haven’t tried moving files (which may transfer faster).
I invariably copy from USB 3.0 devices and as this is USB 3.2 the process is quick, but even on slower drives and SD cards it still isn’t much of a bother. As above, I just set it up and leave it, as what’s an extra bit of time here and there?
Once the bulk of the copying is done all I need to do is back up newer files as I create or acquire them, which is a breeze. The smaller size (10.9 x 1.95 x 7.8 cm — probably little more than an average laptop touchpad) and USB connection are great because now I can keep the drive in a little cupboard next to where I work so can quickly and without fuss hook it up to the computer whenever I need it, and then disconnect it and put it away just as quickly. Not having to plug it into the mains like my old external hard drives is definitely a plus.
Copying couldn’t be easier either as it works straight out of the box (bar formatting it to NTFS, which is seconds with the Windows Quick Format command) and is drag and drop. Straight out of the box means there’s no drivers to install (certainly not on Windows 10 as I use). As such, it’s a case of plug it in and then within seconds it’s ready to use (and you can’t get quicker than that!).
The only downside (which isn’t really a downside, but merely common sense when using a mechanical drive) is that it probably shouldn’t be moved while copying. Saying that, I have had to move mine a couple of times, but have done so with utmost care and it seems to be okay.
Regarding storage, it’s plentiful to say the least. I have thousands of samples of varying lengths and qualities (of which a total I couldn’t possible guess at, but it has to be well over 100,000, and probably considerably more — probably a good few 100,000) but they’ve all gone onto the drive, as well as plenty of associated files, software back ups and all the music I’ve created. And according to the drive, I haven’t even reached 2TB, so with 4TB capacity there’s more than enough left over for any amount of adding to. 2TB is massive storage, and 4TB doubles it, so it’ll take some filling unless one really crams it with massive files.
I can’t comment on reliability as I’ve only recently bought the drive, but Toshiba is usually fairly reliable and seems to have a good name for itself. I’m sure it’ll last. Saying that, the drive is used on a near daily basis and works perfectly every time.
Please be aware that no matter what capacity a drive is, when plugged into Windows the operating system invariably shows it as having less capacity than advertised, which seems to be just how Windows measures capacity compared to the manufacturer. It isn’t indicative of a faulty drive or false advertising, and seems to be the same with any drive plugged into Windows.
Please note too that no software comes with the drive, and that the instructions are in .pdf format on the drive itself.
Also, as with most connected storage devices, it’s highly recommended that instead of just plugging them out when finished, Windows’ Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media feature is used instead to save data being corrupted if the drive is still being written too. This can normally be found in the taskbar beside the notification area. There may be a small delay until Windows indicates it’s safe to remove the drive, but its usually not too long. This drive follows that convention too.
So, an all round excellent purchase which I’m delighted with, and at a good price too. There’s simply nothing negative I can say about this drive, and can safely say from my own experiences with it that it’s entirely positive. As such, due to its many advantages I highly recommend it.
Fast delivery. More slimline than others purchased. Happy so far with storage.
Transferring media over was very quick, and once it was plugged into the back of her telly, the response rate was as good as anything I’ve used before.
The nice thing is, it’s a nice piece of tech in a very attractive suit. You don’t feel like you need to tuck it out of sight anywhere.
Definitely a recommended purchase.
I bought this for my fianc as he was running out of storage space on his PS4 pro and thought 2 tb should be enough he loves it, it just plugs straight into his PS4 and he can transfer what he needs to onto i
Excellent device, very fast with USB-C connection, easy to use and keeps cool. I keep all my data on this so there is as little as possible on my laptop SSD. The finish is scratch resistant, unlike my backup disk (another brand) which is very easy to scratch.
I bought this as a backup for my PC, based on reviews of various drives.
I use 3 x 500 GB of another brand of drives as a virtual R.A.I.D. and this as my main backup including disc imaging; all four on a powered USB hub – all seem perfectly fine with that and the Heavy Duty USB cables I bought for them – extra shielding, spaghetti junction of cables.
Recommend.
Open box, plug and play, format first as external storage, download games, good to go.. simple! Loads of room for loads of games (started off with 36 installed games and, at time of writing this, I now have 103 and counting), and it doesn’t slow down your console. Recommended.
I use it with my PS5 to store PS4 titles (and the odd PS5 title which I’m not playing yet). It works well, very quick to plug into the console and format correctly. Transferring titles into the drive was fine (though it’s obviously a lot slower than console to m.2). Given I only use it to store PS4 titles, it does the job well and helps balance storage so I can focus console and m.2 storage for PS5 games.
Unfortunately will not store and play newest generation games they will need to be stored on the main hard drive. There is only one other hard drive I have found that actually has this capability but it is outrageously priced, nearly costing as much as the console itself and it’s really not worth it imo. This is a much better value option.
This hard drive is fantastic value for money imo, it stores and plays the majority of my games straight from it and if I want to store a newer generation game on it I still can, I just copy it over to the console if I want to play it. A 90GB game transfers over in about 10mins or so, way way faster than trying to redownload it.
Once plugged in the Xbox formatted it and designated it for use without any issue.
I’ve been using it for months now without any problems, fingers crossed and hopefully that will continue!
It doesn’t make any annoying sound and the light is easily hidden when it’s plugged into the back of the console.
All in all 10/10 would definitely recommend and buy again in future.
Internal packaging by Toshiba is the reasonable inflated bubble wrap. The USB3 cable was folded up 4 times and as a result has 4 kinks in it, 2 of which are pretty brutal. The drive socket wasn’t completely firm, a small bit of play was felt inserting and removing the cable. A bit more research revealed this type of socket is usually soldered to the drive’s board and looking at the size of the drive (a footprint slightly SMALLER than a 50g tobacco tin!) it’s very likely this socket is soldered to the drive, so if you’re thinking you can remove the case if it fails at a later date and stick the drive in another case or computer, think again. This alone is why I removed a star. If the socket fails, a new one typically costs a fiver and that’s before you learn to solder or pay someone else to do it. I’ll probably wrap some tape around the end of the drive to limit the cable movement too but that’s just me being paranoid, since during a file transfer to the Toshiba external drive, one of my internal drives kicked out a couple of Command Timeout errors in the SMART readout, something I’ve never seen in 18 months of owning my system. A thorough geek-esque system check revealed the Toshiba was totally blame-free 🙂
CrystalDiskMark & CrystalDiskInfo reveal more information. According to CDI, the drive is a SATA II drive. Not really an issue since USB3 speeds on my laptop max out around 130MB/s but is it really a SATA II? I hope it’s not an old drive inside, I haven’t seen anything but SATA III and NVMe in years. Still, CDM speed tests were pretty much what I hoped for – at best 131MB/s writing a 1GB file, 130MB/s writing and reading a 2GB file (I ran this test several times). SMART codes seemed perfectly normal at this point. Most of the time the speed hovered between 120-130MB/s whilst writing large files, occasionally it would drop to 80-90MB/s. A large folder of image files gave the typical snails pace you get from a HDD. All files transferred ok, although I discovered the transferred folder (42.2GB) was 5MB smaller than the source, despite being identical file systems (right down to cluster and sector size, on NTFS). No files are missing… Never seen that before in an identical setup but during the backups, I had a lot of “firsts” (and in 26 years of computing, I just wanted to put it down to my age lol).
Finally, the reason for the packaging comment at the start. During tests, I noticed the “Disk Shift” SMART output changing a few times. Exhaustive reading threw out several possibilities, not least one being external force – a package being tossed around, for example. I’ve had parcels from here that looked like they’d been kicked about. It’s unacceptable and it likely reduces the lifespan of most sensitive devices. Idling, the Disk Shift output returns to zero. Whilst active, I’ve seen values from 1 up to 22, 14 has appeared a few times. It seems like the drive is shifting when running at full speed but no other errors have emerged yet.
Phew. Lastly, The auto power-off (1min or so) is a little annoying but considering how hot it gets (45C from 25C after a 10 minute file transfer) it’s probably a good thing. Also, yesterday this drive was cheaper than the Seagate/Maxtor equivalents, today they’re the same price – Something to bear in mind if, like me, you were comparing several drives and cost was a deciding factor. The drive seems to be exactly what it would be, great size, plenty of care needed to keep it in working condition but always treat your external drives with great care regardless. 1TB of course will show as approx 931GB in Windows. I run a dual-boot system (Win/Linux) and the drive works fine in both operating systems. Would I trust it with critical data? I don’t know yet.