SanDisk Extreme Pro SSDs are unreliable and prone to data loss, according to multiple reports from users and tech websites.
The Sandisk SSD drives, which are also sold under the WD MyPassport brand, have a firmware issue that causes them to disconnect or become unreadable by computers.
Western Digital, the parent company of SanDisk, has issued a firmware update and replacement drives, but some users have reported that the problem persists even with the new drives.
Online tech blogs, like the Verge and Ars Technica, recently reported on the SanDisk SSD failures and related data loss, even after the company reportedly issued a firmware “fix.”
In online forums, consumers have reported that their SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD hard drives have stopped working or become inaccessible.
The SanDisk hard drives at issue include:
- SanDisk Extreme Pro
- Extreme Portable
- Extreme Pro Portable
- WD MyPassport SSD
SanDisk Extreme hard drives are portable solid-state drives (SSDs) that offer high-speed data transfer and storage. They are designed for photographers, videographers, and other creative professionals who need to work with large files and access them quickly.
After the initial reports of hard drive failure and data loss associated with these drives, SanDisk admitted to a problem with the drives’ firmware. According to SanDisk, one issue is caused by a bug in the firmware version R332G190 that was released in July 2023. This bug affects some SanDisk Extreme and SanDisk Extreme PRO SSDs with capacities of 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. The bug can cause the drive to enter a read-only mode, which means that the user cannot write any new data to the drive or delete any existing data. The bug can also cause the drive to become undetected by the computer or show an incorrect capacity.
Despite SanDisk’s claimed firmware fix for these drives, and even after offering warranty replacements for some drives, consumers continue to report drive failures and data loss with the SanDisk Extreme Pro, Extreme Portable, Extreme Pro Portable, and WD MyPassport SSD portable solid-state hard drives.
Many users report that when they plug in these portable hard drives, they receive the following message:
“The disk you attached was not readable by this computer.”
The drives are still being sold at a discount on various online platforms, but buyers should beware of the risk of losing their data. The Verge, Ars Technica, and PetaPixel are among the sources that have documented their experiences with the faulty drives and warned potential customers to avoid them.
Even after SanDisk acknowledged a firmware issue and issued a firmware update, reports of hard drive failures and data loss continue to build.
Not only are these errors being reported by a number of users on a variety of these portable hard drives, but there are even reports of replacement hard drives failing.
Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
Attorneys are investigating a potential class action lawsuit and would like to hear from consumers who have experienced issues with these SanDisk hard drives.
SanDisk Class Action Investigation
Frequently Asked Questions
What SSD Hard Drives are at Issue?
SanDisk Extreme Pro, Extreme Portable, Extreme Pro Portable, or WD MyPassport SSD hard drives.
Is Western Digital Aware of the Issue, and What Has It Done About it?
According to reports of calls to SanDisk customer support, some drives cannot be replaced because the 4TB model was being recalled. However, there is no evidence that Western Digital is actively engaged in a widely announced product recall for these hard drives.
As of now, Western Digital is not warning customers and retailers who have already purchased these drives or may purchase these drives in the future that significant data loss is possible, what is wrong with these drives and how did it happen, why the firmware fix is not resolving the issue and whether hard drives currently for sale in the market have the same unremedied defect.
Western Digital is not even presently acknowledging this issue exists. It merely says on its website that these hard drives have a “firmware issue” where they might “unexpectedly disconnect from a computer.” That representation is fundamentally different than not disclosing to users they may lose data entirely.
What’s worse, Western Digital may be selling these defective hard drives at steep discounts to get them out of inventory rather than not selling them at all, knowing that these drives have a significant defect.
Is Western Digital Offering Anything to Consumers?
Right now, while Western Digital has offered to replace certain of these hard drives that have been compromised, they are only offering drives that appear to have the same issue. They are not offering refunds or the costs to consumers to hire a company to perform data recovery services for lost data.
It does not appear at this time that any class action lawsuits have been filed to address this significant issue.
Do I Have A Right To Receive Compensation?
Under the law, companies provide either express or implied promises with every good they sell that the goods they sell are fit to be sold for the purposes they are to be used for and that there is nothing significantly wrong with them.
California lemon law and other state and federal consumer protection laws may force Western Digital to buy these hard drives back or provide other important compensation for those experiencing this defect. In fact, owners could even qualify for two times their money back or even punitive damages, depending on the circumstances. California Civil Code §1794(c) and §1793.2(d) provide that customers are entitled to a civil penalty in an amount up to two times actual damages if manufacturers acted “willfully” (meaning knowingly, but not necessarily with malicious intent) in ignoring or failing their obligation under the Song-Beverly Warranty Act, which applies to numerous goods in addition to cars.
