Ars saw two 2TB units become unreadable, but SanDisk only confirms 4TB troubles.
SanDisk customers have been complaining about the company’s Extreme and Extreme Pro portable SSDs suddenly wiping data and, in some cases, becoming unreadable. Complaints go back at least four months, and SanDisk told Ars today that a firmware fix is coming “soon.” However, SanDisk only confirmed a firmware update for the 4TB models, despite an Ars staffer and online users reporting issues with 2TB drives.
An Ars reader tipped us (thanks!) to online discussions filled with panicked and disappointed users detailing experiences with recently purchased Extreme V2 and Extreme Pro V2 portable SSDs. Most users seemed to be using a 4TB model, but there were also complaints from owners of 2TB drives…
Until now, there has been little public response from SanDisk, which has mostly referred online users to open a support ticket with SanDisk’s technical support team. Questions about refunds have been left unanswered.
When Ars contacted SanDisk about the issue, a company representative said:
Western Digital is aware of reports indicating some customers have experienced an issue with 4TB SanDisk Extreme and/or Extreme Pro portable SSDs (SDSSDE61-4T00 and SDSSDE81-4T00 respectively). We have resolved the issue and will publish a firmware update to our website soon. Customers with questions or who are experiencing issues should contact our Customer Support team for assistance…
SanDisk didn’t answer our questions about refunds, whether or not the firmware would address issues with the 2TB models, what caused the issue, or when exactly this firmware fix will come…
“Super interesting, I just received my SSD 4tb from best buy and it started to lose files just poof gone, nowhere to be found…!.. Im about to lose my mind!..”
“Looked like my picture files were moved in Lightroom to my new SSD Extreme Pro 4TB. Today …poof they are gone! Anybody else having this problem?”
“Thank you for contacting Customer Support regarding your issue with your 4TB SanDisk portable SSD. We are very sorry to hear that you are experiencing an issue with your product, and we remain committed to quality and reliability as our top priorities.
We will be more than happy to replace the affected product under the Warranty Replacement Policy.”…
* I use Sandisk Extreme Portable External 4TB SSD USB 3.2 SDSSDE61-4T00-G25 which is indispensable holding my media (music, tv, movies..) collection and connected to my PC for sharing/streaming. (I do have a double backup. )
Decided not to wait for (maybe) catastrophe/firmware and ordered a Samsung T7 4TB SSD drive from Amazon
SAMSUNG T7 Shield 4TB, Portable SSD, up-to 1050MB/s, USB 3.2 Gen2, Rugged, IP65 Water & Dust Resistant, for Photographers, Content Creators and Gaming, External Solid State Drive (MU-PE4T0S/AM), Black
-49% $219.99
List Price: $429.99
