This is the second WD RED drive that I have used in my Synology NAS. The first one had bad sectors within the warranty period and was replaced.
This particular drive worked without any issues in the aforementioned NAS for almost 4 years. I had no complaints, neither in terms of speed, noise, nor anything else. Overall, I was satisfied, as its usage was quite mild (I don't do anything extreme), and I just wanted a drive that would give me peace of mind, rather than worry about speed or performance. So, I went ahead and purchased this drive, which is specifically designed for NAS use, to have peace of mind, as I mentioned earlier.
After 4 years, it suddenly developed bad sectors, and my Synology alerted me to replace it. If I had used it intensively, I wouldn't have had an issue, but having to replace it within 4 years with such mild usage was disappointing, mainly because of its selling price. Note that the NAS is always connected to a UPS. I have the impression that the quality of hard drives is declining over time, and manufacturers are not making them as they used to. Nowadays, we have reached the point where we change hard drives more frequently than we change light bulbs in our rooms. In short, the warranty period of the drive now coincides with its lifespan, at least that's the impression I get. If we all knew that drives of this type last for 4-5 years of use, none of us would pay that much for them, but we would all prefer the simpler drives. I have read that it may be a matter of a "bad" batch, etc., but I conclude that it is more a matter of luck (which drive will fall into your hands) and the low quality standards of the manufacturers. Moreover, the hard drive market has essentially been consolidated into the hands of two companies, with all that this entails for competition, prices, and the circulation of quality products.
Therefore, while I remained satisfied in terms of performance and noise, I was disappointed in terms of reliability. It's a mediocre product, and since this is the second time I have had issues with this brand, I can no longer say that it's a matter of coincidence or misuse. When you pay a premium price for a hard drive intended for NAS use, you expect higher reliability due to the higher price. That's why you pay more, otherwise, we would all buy the simple and cheaper drives. If there is no such reliability, which is advertised by the company, then it is better for them to give two drives at the price of one to keep a backup of the data of the first one... at least this way, the preservation of the data is ensured!
To replace it, I ordered a drive from another company, hoping for a better outcome.