Question WD Red Pro from China

[banger696]

I opened a thread on the WD Community about some cheap WD Red 3TB from China. Only had one respondant and he reckoned they were fake. I ran them through Grok the X.com AI bot and it reckoned they were legit Red standards with HGST influence 99.5% certain. I would like another opinion I have asked WD support but the answer was inconclusive and still waiting to see if they can honour the 5 year warranty. Anyway here is a couple of pics.
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[USAFRet]

I opened a thread on the WD Community about some cheap WD Red 3TB from China. Only had one respondant and he reckoned they were fake. I ran them through Grok the X.com AI bot and it reckoned they were legit Red standards with HGST influence 99.5% certain. I would like another opinion I have asked WD support but the answer was inconclusive and still waiting to see if they can honour the 5 year warranty. Anyway here is a couple of pics.
Front
Back

Ignore what AI bots may spout.

The person you were collaborating with in that forum, fzabkar, is a frequent commenter here.
If he says fake....it is fake.

 

[fzabkar]

Unscrew the PCB and show us a photo of the other side, as I've asked you twice already.

Otherwise, post your question to HDD Guru. That's where data recovery pros hang out. They work on the firmware and hardware, so they have an intimate knowledge of these drives. In fact, they have the tools to make their own fakes. Moreover, they have already told you that your drives are fakes, and you have already identified one for yourself via the typo in the firmware.

 

[banger696]

I dont want to unscrew the board. 1 Havent got the tools and 2 I have returned them.

 

[fzabkar]

I understand that it's difficult to accept that you've been cheated, but ask yourself, would Western Digital send a drive out the door with a label covering the breather hole, especially when the label carries a warning "do not cover any drive holes"?

 

[banger696]

I've sent them back for refund. So nothing lost other than a bit of time testing.

 

[fzabkar]

Just FYI, if you search through WD's forum, there are posts from people who have sent in their drive for a warranty claim, presumably after having been issued with an RMA, only to have WD retain their drive after it was determined to be a fake. They received no compensation and no replacement drive.

What is particularly galling is that WD created the DCX parameter (on the label) specifically to detect fakes. WD's agent should have been able to spot this.

 

[banger696]

Just as well I have returned to seller for refund as AliExpress has 90 day buyer protection. I will be examining the Seagate drives and not as cheap as the Reds but cheaper than normal retailers.

 

[BFG-9000]

Why buy drives from China?

At least Seagate has two HDD factories in China, in Suzhou and Wuxi. WD no longer does after converting their HGST one to only SSD and Sandisk flash products. The labels on those even claim made in Thailand, so you have to ask then why are they so much (~50%) cheaper in China?

Be aware that the Seagate warranty may only be valid in China, so try to register them right away to see if the warranty is valid where you are. Seagate drives destined for the US are assembled in Korat, Thailand.

 

[Zerk2012]

Just as well I have returned to seller for refund as AliExpress has 90 day buyer protection. I will be examining the Seagate drives and not as cheap as the Reds but cheaper than normal retailers.

Good luck with that unless Allied keeps the money for 90 days

 

[banger696]

That is the UK Ebay sellers problem. He bought from AliExpress and sold on Ebay with some cash for himself. But now he has to refund or Ebay will as there is Buyer Protection included in the price.

 

[fzabkar]

That's the trouble with these traders. All they understand about their wares is the price and how many they can move. IMO, the only stuff you should buy from AliExpress is the stuff that's not worth faking.

 

[banger696]

The Seagates are also on Ebay and seller claims they were ordered by mistake. I will be posting pictures on here when they arrive and checking Power On Hours with smartmontools when I am back in Windows. Anyone got a dummies guide on how to read the FARM data with Smartmontools?

Why buy drives from China?

At least Seagate has two HDD factories in China, in Suzhou and Wuxi. WD no longer does after converting their HGST one to only SSD and Sandisk flash products. The labels on those even claim made in Thailand, so you have to ask then why are they so much (~50%) cheaper in China?

Be aware that the Seagate warranty may only be valid in China, so try to register them right away to see if the warranty is valid where you are. Seagate drives destined for the US are assembled in Korat, Thailand.

 

[QyInvoLing]

Unless you come to China and buy some products by yourself, don't trust anyone saying he's selling cheap electronic products because these products are from China.