OWC WH16N40 External Drive Disconnecting? Check Your Power Brick!

[CMDLineKing]

Hey folks,
Just wanted to share a troubleshooting journey that might save someone else the headache I went through. Posting this partly to help others—and partly to put my own hubris on full display.

The Setup
I’ve had an OWC WH16N40 external Blu-ray drive for a few years. Used it lightly at first, then shelved it until I started building out my Plex library. Pulled it back out to take some load off my slimline drives. Everything seemed fine—firmware updated for UHD features, MakeMKV ready to go.

But then I started noticing something weird:
Every so often, the drive would disconnect from Windows mid-disc. *Ba-ding*, gone. It happened more frequently with some cheap DVDs, some Blu-rays—no real consistent pattern. Maybe 95% of discs were fine, but that 5% drove me nuts.

I had other drives, so I worked around it. But it was annoying. This drive was supposed to be the best! Was it dying on me?

The Breaking Point
Today was the last straw. I had two Blu-rays:
- Disc A worked fine
- Disc B caused the drive to disconnect every time I tried to access it

I tried everything:
- Reflashed firmware (multiple versions)
- Upgraded/downgraded MakeMKV
- Re-cabled everything
- Opened the enclosure, checked the drive and connector board
- Took reference photos, buttoned it all back up

Still broken. One disc worked, the other reliably killed the drive.

The Discovery
After hours of forum diving, I saw the same mentions of power issues—with USB-powered enclosures. Mine’s an OWC with separate power brick, so I thought I was in the clear.

But then I touched the power brick. It was *hot*.
Checked the label: 12V 1.5A.
Checked the drive’s spec photo I took earlier: 12V **2.0A** required.

Could it really be that simple?

I dug through my box of spare cords and found a 12V 2.0A brick. Swapped it in. Fired up MakeMKV. The disc was read instantly. No disconnects.

The Facepalm
I checked my notes and realized I had loaned my original OWC 12V 3A brick to my mom a while back. Her photo hdd enclosure was having issues, and I gave her my best brick. That left me with a 1.5A unit powering a drive that needed more.

So yeah... the drive was underpowered this whole time. Some discs must push the drive harder, triggering disconnects when the power supply can’t keep up.

TL;DR
If your OWC WH16N40 (or similar external drive) is randomly disconnecting:

- Check your power brick specs
- You probably need **at least 2A** on the 12V rail
- OWC’s manual says it ships with a **12V 3A** supply—use that if you have it
- Power bricks can degrade or be mismatched—try swapping in a known good 2A or 3A unit

Hope this helps someone avoid the same rabbit hole I went down. Drive’s working perfectly now, and I’m back to ripping like a champ.

Going to salt some search terms below that will help this pop up in searches.
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