Western Digital, the parent company of SanDisk, is facing a legal backlash over its portable SSDs that allegedly wipe out data and become unreadable. Several customers have filed class-action lawsuits against the company, accusing it of misrepresenting the capabilities and reliability of its SanDisk Extreme and My Passport SSDs.
Customers report data loss and unmountable drives
The lawsuits claim that the SanDisk SSDs have a common defect in their firmware that causes them to suddenly disconnect from a computer and erase all the data stored on them. The drives then become unmountable and inaccessible, rendering them useless. The plaintiffs allege that Western Digital knew or should have known about this defect, but failed to disclose it to consumers or offer any remedy.
One of the plaintiffs, Nathan Krum, says he bought a 2TB SanDisk Extreme SSD in March 2023 and used it to store his personal and professional data, including photos, videos, music, documents, and software. He says he lost all his data in June 2023 when the drive stopped working and could not be recognized by any device. He says he contacted Western Digital for support, but was told that the company does not offer any data recovery services or warranty for data loss.
Another plaintiff, Matthew Perrin, says he bought at least eight SanDisk SSDs of various models and capacities from Amazon, and lost all his data stored on several of them. He says he tried to recover his data using third-party software, but was unsuccessful. He also says he contacted Western Digital for assistance, but was ignored or given unhelpful responses.
A third plaintiff, Brian Bayerl, says he bought at least two SanDisk SSDs from Amazon, and experienced the failure of both drives within minutes of each other. He says he spent nearly $8,000 on partially successful efforts to retrieve his data from the failed drives through various data recovery third parties. He also says he contacted Western Digital for help, but was met with indifference or denial.
Western Digital remains silent and continues to sell the faulty drives
The lawsuits also allege that Western Digital has not taken any meaningful steps to address the issue or warn customers about the potential risk of data loss. The company released a firmware update in late May 2023, but did not mention anything about the customer complaints or the defect in the firmware. The update also did not fix the problem, as some customers reported that their replacement drives still wiped their data and became unreadable.
Western Digital has also continued to sell the SanDisk SSDs on its website and through various retailers, despite knowing about the defect and receiving numerous negative reviews from customers. The company has not issued any recall or refund for the faulty drives, nor has it offered any free data recovery services or compensation for the affected customers.
The lawsuits accuse Western Digital of breach of contract, breach of warranty, fraudulent concealment, fraudulent inducement, negligent misrepresentation, unfair competition, false advertising, unjust enrichment, and violation of various consumer protection laws. The plaintiffs seek class-action certification, injunctive relief, damages, restitution, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
Western Digital responds with a vague statement
Western Digital has not responded directly to the allegations or answered any questions from the media regarding the issue. The company issued a vague statement on August 18, 2023, saying that it is “taking all measures necessary to address any product-related issues” and that it is “conducting a comprehensive review to gain a thorough understanding of the issues”. The statement did not acknowledge the existence of the defect or the customer complaints, nor did it provide any timeline or details for its review.
The statement also did not address why the company is still selling the SanDisk SSDs or whether it will offer any remedy or assistance to the affected customers. The statement did not mention anything about the lawsuits filed against the company or how it plans to defend itself in court.
