Not sure how this isn’t illegal. You sell something so defective that it destroys the thing it’s designed to protect and you refuse to fix it, and rather use it as a chance to force customers to buy new devices that are likely just as bad
Many people believe that regulations on companies stifles innovation, so this is what we get. Apparently, it's your own fault if you bought a defective product.
So many "average" users just want consistency and will go with WD again because they don't need to relearn as much (even if the relearning is minimal it's still a mental barrier for anyone who does not feel totally technically competent).
I think of my parents who, despite being very smart people, are frustrated by tech because it doesn't come easy to them. Any extra step isn't beneficial, it's stressful.
If they're even smarter, they'll buy one with just a USB port and then rescue the 3.5-inch drive from its plastic prison.
You can also make a claim that the product contains a flaw that must be fixed, or the sale should either be retroactively discounted, or even cancelled. I have managed to cancel a sale on a product after its warranty expired due to a software issue that the manufacturer claimed was a feature, but which the consumer protection agency ruled was against reasonable consumer expectations that if it was a feature, it should have been clearly laid out for the consumer.