Samsung 870 Evo 2.5 inch SSD

[maza098]

Buyer Beware: 2021-2022 Samsung 870 EVO Failure Issue

Buying Samsung 870 EVO (2.5") SSDs from 2021-2022? Read this first.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to post a quick PSA for anyone looking to buy or sell the Samsung 870 EVO (2.5-inch SATA) SSDs on eBay. There is an issue with units manufactured between January 2021 and mid-2022 that many buyers (and sellers) are completely unaware of.

The Problem:

Large batches from these years suffer from a hardware defect causing rapid "Uncorrectable Error Counts" and "Reallocated Sectors." Essentially, the drive eats itself. It starts with small file errors and ends with a complete drive failure or a "read-only" lock.

The "Grey Area" Trap:

No Official Recall: Samsung never issued a formal recall. They released a firmware patch (SVT02B6Q), but reports show that if the drive has already started degrading, the patch won't save it.

eBay Protection Gap: Because there’s no recall by Samsung, these aren't "prohibited" items. If you buy a drive that seems fine today but fails months later you are outside the eBay 30-day Money Back Guarantee window.

Warranty Issues: Samsung’s warranty often doesn't transfer to second-hand buyers without the original receipt, leaving you with a paperweight.

Advice for Buyers:

Check the Label: Before bidding, ask the seller for a photo of the drive label. If the manufacture date is in 2021 or early 2022, proceed with extreme caution.

Ask for S.M.A.R.T. Data: Ask the seller to run Samsung Magician or CrystalDiskInfo and send a screenshot. Look specifically for "Reallocated Sectors." If it’s anything other than 0, do not buy it.

Firmware: Ask if the firmware has already been updated. If not, the drive has been "at risk" for years.

Advice for Sellers:

Please test your drives before listing them! You might unknowingly be selling a defective unit that will lead to a frustrated buyer and a negative feedback loop once it fails.

It’s really disappointing that Samsung hasn't done more to protect consumers here, leaving eBay buyers to gamble on what should be a "reliable" brand. The right thing would have been a recall on these units. Instead it's 2026 and people are paying AI inflation prices for risky units. Maybe this post will save someone from buying an at risk unit and instead looking for late 2022, early 2023 onwards. People don't have a lot of spare cash and I would hate for them to be stung where it can be avoided.

[thesmokingrunner]

Thanks for the heads-up but to be totally frank:

 What you wrote may well be true and you could be giving some genuine publicity about an issue which has not to date received much exposure but - and it's a big BUT - what you wrote could just as easily have been written by someone with the aim of knocking sales.

Whilst there's enough in your post to cause concern to owners/potential buyers of this particular SSD (manufacture date range, the issue, the 'fact' that there's been no official recall and so on) your post is, to a cynic like me, suspiciously lacking in detail.

The manufacture date range, for example, covers January 2021 to "mid-2022". Not very specific, mid-2022, is it? And the post later mentions both "early 2022" and "late 2022". Ok, so define "early": February? March? April? A specific month would be better. Actually a Batch No would be even better, but there is no mention of one anywhere in the post.

Although there's a lot of "information" in your post there is no supporting evidence or reference. To be honest this post needs citation to support it because if you don't have an independent reference source for the information you've posted it looks suspiciously like a troll post.