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Matt S.

Matt S.

Joined on 10/10/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
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Most Favorable Review

This enclosure works great, but be aware of 2.4Ghz interference caused by USB 3.0 noise

ORICO 2.5 inch USB3.0 to SATA External Hard Drive Enclosure case with Grid Texture Design Tool Free for 7mm/9.5mm 2.5 inch HDD and SSD Up to 4TB -Black
ORICO 2.5 inch USB3.0 to SATA External Hard Drive Enclosure case with Grid Texture Design Tool Free for 7mm/9.5mm 2.5 inch HDD and SSD Up to 4TB -Black

Pros: - Small size - Easy drive installation - Sleek case design - No external power required - Works well - Fast USB 3.0 transfer speeds - Great price

Cons: - Included cable was not shielded well, causing 2.4Ghz WiFi interference when using the drive enclosure close to my MacMini - Included cable is a little too short

Overall Review: This is a very good USB 3.0 hard drive enclosure. It works as expected, other then the fact that my WiFi stopped working on my 2014 MacMini as soon as I plugged it in! After doing some more research into the issue, I discovered that USB 3.0 devices can cause localized interference in the 2.4Ghz WiFi bands (see this white paper published by Intel: https://www.intel.ca/content/www/ca/en/io/universal-serial-bus/usb3-frequency-interference-paper.html ). I witness this first hand by watching the WiFi statistics on the MacMini. Without the enclosure plugged in, the noise floor was about -87 dbm. As soon as I plugged in the enclosure, the noise floor spiked to -76 dbm and I could not use my WiFi connection! I found a different USB 3.0 to SATA cable that was longer, and better shielded and I had no issue at all. Something you may want to keep in mind if you are using a 2.4Ghz WiFi router. Orico may want to supply a better shielded cable with this enclosure. But other then this one unexpected issue, I would recommend this product to anyone looking for an inexpensive 2.5 inch hard drive enclosure!