Flash memory cards, monolithic USB sticks and portable SSDs are all branded with SanDisk but they differ greatly. Which type of item you have will dictate the path to take, the cost you pay and the realistic prospects. Therefore, it is worth understanding each type of device correctly.
Cards are single monolithic units, read through test points. Sticks may be monolithic units or made up of multiple parts. Portable SSDs are a controller problem (and on some models there exists a well-documented issue).
SanDisk manufactures flash memory in every configuration that currently exists. The method used to recover from failure is entirely dependent upon how each individual product was designed and manufactured, not on its name. There are two ways to design a flash memory based product: using a discrete configuration (where the controller and memory are separate components on a board) and a monolithic configuration (moulded together into one die).
Discrete construction allows us to remove the memory and read it on a programmer. Monolithic construction means that we locate the test points on the die and connect them by hand under a microscope. Same brand. Same capacity. Completely different job.
There is one product line we should give special mention to. The Extreme Portable SSD line was widely reported as experiencing sudden failure in 2023. Those failed units arrive here dead, with no prior symptoms whatsoever.
Extreme Portable SSD 2023 failure reports. Units arrive completely dead with no warning. Send the whole enclosure.
Cruzer Blade, Glide, Ultra Flair These are basically just USB flash drives. On smaller capacities, most are monolithic constructions, even though the Flair has a metal case.
Extreme and Extreme Pro USB They are higher-end sticks that feature discrete controllers in several of their models. Easier to work directly with.
Extreme SD and microSD Cards used for cameras and drones. The full-size Extreme is frequently discrete while microSD is monolithic.
Ultra microSD For use in phones, dash cams and trail cameras. Almost always monolithic.
iXpand and dual-connector drives Sticks that combine Lightning and USB-C. Damage to connectors is the most common cause of failure.
SanDisk is the most frequently copied of all flash brands in the world, and fakes reach our bench regularly. These fake devices report a false storage capacity to your operating system, and once you write beyond the true capacity of the device, it will silently discard what you write. Thus when you write a file to the device, the OS thinks it has done so but actually the file does not exist.
Counterfeit capacity is worth investigating before you look at anything else if you purchased a card/stick cheaply from an online marketplace and some files are missing that were apparently saved successfully; we can diagnose it during our testing process, and where that is the fault, often there is no data to recover because it was never stored.
This is consistent with the 2023 reports on this range. Please send us the entire enclosure, as the flash controller is mounted internally on the printed circuit board and the assembly could affect recovery success.
In general, a file system problem rather than a problem with the flash memory itself, and generally recoverable. Never allow the camera or Windows to format the card.
We test at our diagnostic stage. Flash counterfeits report false capacities and discard data written past their actual size, which would explain how files appeared to be written successfully to the card and yet disappeared.
Generally recoverable. Shearing a connector is typically a board-level issue with the flash behind it being fine.
The cost for recovering cards/USB media is from £250 +VAT, and for recovering portable SSDs from £300 +VAT. The cost is fixed after the free diagnostic.