A reader asks: “Do solid state drives ever fail?”

Reader Raleigh K. is wondering about the longevity of solid state hard drives (SSDs).

Early SSDs did have some problems, not least because the operating systems of the day treated SSDs as if they were standard spinning-platter hard drives.

SSDs are fundamentally different, so trouble cropped up: Mismanaged by the OSes, SSD performance would seriously degrade over time; and some memory locations would be grossly overused (while other parts of the drive sat idle) leading to premature wear, and failure.

But that was then.

Today, all current, major OSes understand SSDs, and know how to properly maintain them. Many new SSDs also ship with some built-in intelligence to take over proper maintenance, if the OS fails to do so.

With proper maintenance, and because they have no moving mechanical parts, current SSDs can outlive current-generation HDDs! For example, Samsung is starting to discuss 10 year warranties for its SSDs, as opposed to the standard 3-5 year warranties for HDDs. (See links at end.)

But do SSDs ever fail? Yes, of course! All of todays SSDs, HDDs, smartphones, TVs — in fact, all electronics — will eventually suffer some kind of failure: Perhaps an insulator fails, a plasticizer degrades, a contact oxidizes or wears off, etc.

But those issues affect all electronics, and aren’t specific to SSDs.

So: Will an SSD eventually fail? Yes. But they usually won’t fail for quite a while — and quite possibly could outlive any comparable, current HDD!

• Do Solid State Drives Fail More Often Than Hard Disks?

• Is it Time to Stop Worrying about Flash Wear Out?

• The life span of an SSD – how long does it last and what can be done to take care?

• How long do ssd drives last?

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