The upgrade has become dangerous: the market has been flooded with indistinguishable counterfeit Samsung SSDs.
In recent months, the IT community has been raising the alarm: the solid-state drive market has been flooded with a wave of high-quality Samsung counterfeits. Distinguishing a fake from the original visually, and even with standard checks, is practically impossible—up to a certain point.
How do counterfeits work?
Windows and specialized programs identify such drives as completely original Samsung SSDs with a capacity of 1 or 2 TB. They pass SMART checks and display the correct model number and serial number. However, the real problem appears suddenly.
According to reviews from affected users and expert testing, counterfeits work reliably only until approximately 120 GB of data has been written. After that, the write speed drops sharply to zero, the drive stops responding and, as a rule, "dies" permanently. In most cases, data recovery is no longer possible.
Why is this especially dangerous?
- Most users buy SSDs specifically to upgrade their system and transfer important data.
- The problem does not appear immediately, but after several days or weeks of active use.
- The price of such "Samsung" drives is significantly lower than the market price, making them very attractive to buyers.
What do experts recommend?
- Buy drives only from large, reputable stores with an official warranty.
- Immediately after purchase, run a stress test: write at least 150–200 GB of data using programs such as H2testw or CrystalDiskMark.
- Pay attention to the price: too large a discount is almost always a sign of a counterfeit.
According to specialists, this is a new level of fraud. If previously mostly little-known brands were counterfeited, now technology allows even top manufacturers to be copied with high quality.
Conclusion:
Upgrading a computer or laptop today requires special caution. A cheap SSD can end up costing you far more than you expected.
