SanDisk Denies Hardware Issues in Portable SSD Lines
Over the past few months, there has been a steady stream of user reports concerning malfunctions in portable SSDs manufactured by Western Digital and SanDisk, leading to a series of data loss incidents. In May this year, Western Digital released a firmware update, yet the issue seems to have persisted, even leading to potential litigation. Recently, Markus Häfele, the General Manager of Attingo, a company specializing in data recovery, stated that the failure of Western Digital/SanDisk portable SSDs is due to design and manufacturing defects.
In a statement sent to PetaPixel by Western Digital, the company claimed to ensure product quality through comprehensive manufacturing process design, adherence to IPC standards for PCB circuit board design and assembly, use of high-quality solder paste, and extensive pre-shipment testing.
Western Digital indicated that the products affected earlier this year include the SanDisk Extreme Pro 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, SanDisk Extreme 4TB, and WD My Passport SSD 4TB portable SSDs. The company is currently gathering more information but does not believe hardware issues are causing the malfunctions. Moreover, they assert that these issues have been successfully resolved through firmware updates.
Attingo has observed that the latest versions of Western Digital’s portable SSDs have added additional epoxy resin, possibly as a measure to better protect components. This change also suggests that Western Digital may have recognized hardware flaws and attempted to implement remedial measures. Despite these changes, these portable SSDs remain prone to malfunctions, leading customers to seek data recovery services from companies like Attingo.
Indeed, it remains unclear why malfunctions continue to occur in the new versions of Western Digital’s portable SSDs.
