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You currently cannot buy a real 16tb external SSD or any USB drives larger than 2tb, at all. They don't exist.
But if you look on almost any retailer now they show you ssd that are labelled 16tb, 30tb or larger still. These are all fake.
Same applies for any USB flash drive bigger than 2tb, they don't exist.
Almost all 8tb or 16tb external ssd on the market now actually have sd cards in them. The memory controller in the sd card has been reprogrammed to tell any device its attached to that its got 16tb of space. It doesn't, in many cases its less than 60gb. Once you write more than its capacity it just writes over top again.
Any data written to these drives is under risk. Don't trust them with anything.
its easy to tell they are fake. You cannot actually buy real 16tb drives. And when they do appear, they won't be under $100
They are still working on releasing the 1st 16tb nvme now - https://www.techradar.com/news/16tb-m2-nvme-ssds-wont-be-coming-any-time-soon-heres-why
The largest portable drive you can get is 4tb now. - https://www.westerndigital.com/en-a...isk-extreme-pro-usb-3-2-ssd#SDSSDE81-1T00-G25
8tb internal ssd exist: https://www.samsung.com/au/memory-storage/sata-ssd/ssd-870-qvo-sata-3-2-5-inch-8tb-mz-77q8t0bw/
You can get 8tb external drives now but they cost $AUD 3270.00 and lt looks like its for Enterprise.
The specs they use on some of these drives should make anyone who knows what they are looking for question the item. SSD with rotation speed (5400 rpm) which is a specification more in line with hdd. SSD have no moving parts.
So if you see a 16tb or larger external SSD for anything less than several thousand dollars right now, its fake.
I can understand the logic, you look on Google shopping for 8tb and offered a range of prices, $14 all the way up to $1532.00 and you would be left wondering why anyone would buy the expensive one
It is a shame the only real ones there are the expensive ones. Probably, although Samsung drives have changed recently as too many fakes copied their design.
As for USB drives, its much the same.
biggest Sandisk official drive is 1tb - https://www.westerndigital.com/en-a...ual-drive-luxe-usb-3-1-type-c#SDDDC4-032G-G46
it costs $235 here.
Ebay shows me a Sandisk drive, 2tb for $15... who do I trust?
Update: Largest official size is now 2tb - https://www.techradar.com/news/excl...y-dollar190-and-delivers-ssd-like-performance
But anything bigger or for a low price, is fake.
If you buy one:
Software to test its size are listed here: https://www.raymond.cc/blog/test-an...b-flash-drives-bought-from-ebay-with-h2testw/
You cannot believe windows as its reading from the Memory controller on drive and is lying to windows. Same applies to any Operating system.
One aspect both types have in common is slow transfer speed. They may be advertised as USB 3 but really in many cases they are USB 2.0. The transfer speed will be super slow and should be a sign the drive isn't what it says it is.
Having a blue tip on the USB connector doesn't mean its USB 3. Having USB C also doesn't mean its a fast drive. These are just connectors, not speed indicators.
So in at least 3 ways these drives are fake:
Check the makers site and make sure the drive exists before buying it.
Note: subject to change over time.
The only way to know for sure if its got capacity you paid for is to buy an nvme enclosure, and an nvme, and put it together yourself.
But if you look on almost any retailer now they show you ssd that are labelled 16tb, 30tb or larger still. These are all fake.
Same applies for any USB flash drive bigger than 2tb, they don't exist.
Almost all 8tb or 16tb external ssd on the market now actually have sd cards in them. The memory controller in the sd card has been reprogrammed to tell any device its attached to that its got 16tb of space. It doesn't, in many cases its less than 60gb. Once you write more than its capacity it just writes over top again.
Any data written to these drives is under risk. Don't trust them with anything.
its easy to tell they are fake. You cannot actually buy real 16tb drives. And when they do appear, they won't be under $100
They are still working on releasing the 1st 16tb nvme now - https://www.techradar.com/news/16tb-m2-nvme-ssds-wont-be-coming-any-time-soon-heres-why
The largest portable drive you can get is 4tb now. - https://www.westerndigital.com/en-a...isk-extreme-pro-usb-3-2-ssd#SDSSDE81-1T00-G25
8tb internal ssd exist: https://www.samsung.com/au/memory-storage/sata-ssd/ssd-870-qvo-sata-3-2-5-inch-8tb-mz-77q8t0bw/
You can get 8tb external drives now but they cost $AUD 3270.00 and lt looks like its for Enterprise.
The specs they use on some of these drives should make anyone who knows what they are looking for question the item. SSD with rotation speed (5400 rpm) which is a specification more in line with hdd. SSD have no moving parts.
So if you see a 16tb or larger external SSD for anything less than several thousand dollars right now, its fake.
I can understand the logic, you look on Google shopping for 8tb and offered a range of prices, $14 all the way up to $1532.00 and you would be left wondering why anyone would buy the expensive one
It is a shame the only real ones there are the expensive ones. Probably, although Samsung drives have changed recently as too many fakes copied their design.
As for USB drives, its much the same.
it costs $235 here.
Ebay shows me a Sandisk drive, 2tb for $15... who do I trust?
Update: Largest official size is now 2tb - https://www.techradar.com/news/excl...y-dollar190-and-delivers-ssd-like-performance
But anything bigger or for a low price, is fake.
If you buy one:
Software to test its size are listed here: https://www.raymond.cc/blog/test-an...b-flash-drives-bought-from-ebay-with-h2testw/
You cannot believe windows as its reading from the Memory controller on drive and is lying to windows. Same applies to any Operating system.
One aspect both types have in common is slow transfer speed. They may be advertised as USB 3 but really in many cases they are USB 2.0. The transfer speed will be super slow and should be a sign the drive isn't what it says it is.
Having a blue tip on the USB connector doesn't mean its USB 3. Having USB C also doesn't mean its a fast drive. These are just connectors, not speed indicators.
So in at least 3 ways these drives are fake:
- Capacity
- Price
- transfer speed
Check the makers site and make sure the drive exists before buying it.
Note: subject to change over time.
The only way to know for sure if its got capacity you paid for is to buy an nvme enclosure, and an nvme, and put it together yourself.
Last edited:
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