Back in early 2023, information appeared about SanDisk drives that reset data and fail. Western Digital has released a firmware update that should prevent the issue – but that didn’t seem to help. Several lawsuits have been filed against the company, which may develop into a collective one.
Western Digital’s SanDisk Extreme V2 and Extreme Pro V2 portable SSDs are often recommended by specialized sites, and information about them is easy to find on the Internet. However, numerous owners, including Lee Hutchinson of Ars Technica, have experienced loss of data and drive performance. In the latter case, two SSDs failed, which were about half full. Disconnecting and reconnecting showed that the drives were unformatted and empty, erasing and formatting did not help.
Complaints about the drives appeared on the SanDisk forum and on Reddit for at least four months before Western Digital released a firmware fix in May. The Verge and some users managed to get the SSD replaced, but the company did not comment on the complaints. Here are the drives that failed:
SanDisk Extreme Portable 4 ТБ (SDSSDE61-4T00)
SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable 4 ТБ (SDSSDE81-4T00)
SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable 2 ТБ (SDSSDE81-2T00)
SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable 1 ТБ (SDSSDE81-1T00)
Western Digital My Passport 4 ТБ (WDBAGF0040BGY)
On Wednesday, August 16, user Nathan Crum filed a lawsuit against Western Digital in federal court in San Jose, California. Complaint Seeks Certification as a Class Action on behalf of Customers of SanDisk Extreme Pro, SanDisk Extreme, and Western Digital My Passport 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB SSDs that were “Designed, Manufactured, Distributed, Advertised, and/or Sold” from January 2023. Curiously, the complaint concerns SanDisk and My Passport devices, which the company does not consider affected.
According to the complaint, Nathan Kram purchased an Extreme Pro 2 TV drive for $180 from Amazon. But the device “has failed, the plaintiff can no longer trust the use of the drive, so it is useless for him. However, he cannot return it for a full refund, restore lost data, or obtain a replacement.”
The complaint states that Western Digital is “participating in a consumer deception scheme” regarding the Extreme and My Passport SSDs and that both series SSDs are still faulty after a firmware update. The lawsuit seeks compensation, including damages and legal costs.
The lawsuit alleges that Western Digital is aware of these defects and notes that it could affect its business. According to him, Western Digital has put customers in an “impossible situation” where data is suddenly lost forever, and the best that owners can count on is replacing their media.
On Thursday, two more lawsuits were filed against Western Digital over the SanDisk Extreme series and My Passport portable SSDs. They also require certification as collective. Complaint by Matthew Perrin and Brian Byerle states that Perrin bought eight SanDisk Extreme SSDs from Amazon, including the 2TB, 4TB, and 4TB Extreme Pro models, and eventually “lost all data stored on multiple SSDs.” SanDisk.
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Brian Byerle purchased two Extreme SSDs, including 4 Extreme TVs, also from Amazon. According to him, the drives still had corrupted firmware, despite its announced update.
Saif Jafri, the initiator of the third lawsuit, purchased a SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD because he was on a long trip and needed space for recordings and drone photos. The drive failed just a few weeks after purchase. According to the plaintiff, he wrote data to the SSD only a few times, but still lost it.
The main claims of the plaintiffs against Western Digital relate precisely to the sudden loss of data, which the replacement of the media is not able to compensate for. The companies are also accused of misleading customers through advertising that noted the reliability of SSDs. If the complaints develop into a class action lawsuit, other victims will be able to join it. Western Digital notes that the company does not comment on pending lawsuits.
Since March, SSD prices have fallen by 25%: in the US, 1 GB costs from $ 0.035 – $ 36 for 1 TB and $ 65 for 2 TB drive
Source: Ars Technica
