Yep. Given this response, I have no desire to buy any Western Digital product—of any type, for any purpose—ever again. They knowingly sold a drive that would obviously be inadequate for its advertised use-case. Who knows what other false advertising they might also be doing.

"We never said that it didn't have sandpaper on the heads! If you want a drive without sandpaper, consider upgrading to our Pro line."

"Perhaps your workload is more suited to our "WD Red Pro Elite Plus" lineup."

Western Digital, circa 2025

Thanks to all. That’s frankly terrifying. If it weren’t for COVID I would send them back post-haste.