I have a seagate external hard drive. Is it ok to send it in with just the drive, not the case?

I got permission, from seagate, to get data recovery, so i did. the data recovery service gave me back my hard drive without the case around it, but it has an anti-static bag around it. Is it alright to send it in without the case? Will they Care?
i have the case, but the recovery service told me that i shouldn’t need to send it back with the case around it…

Hmm. In general the answer is you must send it to them in the condition they sold it. For external drives, they expect the case and the power brick, but not the power cord that goes from the wall to the brick. However, if you explain to them that the recovery service lost it and have documentation of your prior conversation with Seagate, they might cut you some slack. In your case, I would not use the automated return system. Instead, call and talk to a CSR at Seagate.

It’s pretty sloppy that you didn’t get the case back from the recovery service. Did they tell you to keep the case and only send the bare drive to them? Even so, it’s a bit sloppy given what they charge.