SanDisk promises to roll out firmware update to fix failing SSDs

In a nutshell: Following a barrage of complaints from customers about failing SanDisk Extreme and  Extreme Pro Portable SSDs, Western Digital has promised to roll out a firmware update to fix the problem. The company, however, only mentioned the 4TB drives in its official response, meaning it’s not immediately clear whether the 2TB models, which are also  said to be affected by the problem, will receive the firmware fix.

Responding to a query from Ars Technica about the growing complaints against the SanDisk SSDs, WD said that a firmware fix  to address the issue will be rolled out “soon.” The response came after users       thronged social media platforms, online message boards, and the official SanDisk forums to complain about the sudden failure of their new Extreme V2 and Extreme Pro V2 Portable drives.

As per the complaints, the drives are suddenly erasing all the stored data without any warning, and in some cases, becoming entirely unreadable. While most of the complaints are about the 4TB models, some are also reporting similar issues with their 2TB units. In fact, an Ars Technica staff member also confirmed read and write errors with two of his 2TB drives. Both the affected units also automatically wiped off all the data in them, including the file system.    

The complaints go back several months, with one Redditor claiming that a Japanese distributor told them the problem only affects drives manufactured after November 2022. While the report could not be verified, other users have made similar claims on Reddit and Twitter. According to them, they used multiple SanDisk Extreme and Extreme Pro drives over the years, but only the recently-purchased ones have failed.

When contacted by Ars about the mounting complaints, a SanDisk spokesperson said that the company is aware of the issues affecting its 4TB Extreme and Extreme Pro portable SSDs, and has already identified the source of the problem. They also said that the company will soon publish a firmware update to fix the issue for good. The SanDisk rep also advised affected users to contact the company’s Customer Support team for assistance.

The spokesperson, however, did not confirm an ETA for the fix, nor did they clarify whether it will also be applicable to the 2TB models. The response, therefore, has failed to mollify affected users, who are accusing the company of dragging its feet on the issue despite being notified of the problem many months ago. While the incoming update may fix the broken drives, it will be interesting to see whether this experience will put people off buying SanDisk products in the future.