My Samsung 990 EVO Plus has failed after only about 136 days of actual use, despite being purchased in 2022. It has around 3,200 power-on hours, and I'm shocked because I specifically researched its reliability before buying it. The retailer in my country only provides a one-year warranty, while Samsung typically advertises a longer limited warranty. Should I contact Samsung directly about a replacement, and are there any reliable NVMe drives worth considering afterward? I've been looking at the WD Black SN850X, but I'd appreciate other recommendations too.
4 Answers
If the drive is still within Samsung’s warranty period based on the purchase date and model, they may be able to replace it. The low number of hours does not necessarily extend the warranty, so check the purchase documentation and Samsung’s terms rather than relying only on power-on time.
This could simply be an unlucky failure; even generally reliable SSDs can die unexpectedly. Check the drive’s warranty through Samsung’s support or warranty lookup, then contact Samsung directly if the retailer will not help. Keep backups of anything important regardless of which replacement you choose.
Samsung Magician is not required for the SSD to work, so not having it installed should not by itself explain the failure. If you replace the drive, the WD Black SN850X is generally considered a strong, fast option, but no consumer SSD is immune to failure. Whichever model you buy, use a backup strategy for important files.
Before declaring the SSD dead, test the rest of the system—especially the power supply, storage cables or adapter, motherboard slot, and another computer if possible. One person had a similar failure that was actually caused by a bad PSU.
The retailer is only offering a one-year warranty, even though the drive normally has a five-year limited warranty. Since it was purchased in 2022, should I go straight to Samsung? It has only around 3,200 power-on hours.