Windows 11 SSD failures could be caused by glitchy drive firmware – here's what you need to know

• SSD failures might be down to the use of pre-release Phison firmware
• That's the conclusion of an investigation by a PC enthusiast group in China
• We're told it's verified by Phison engineers, but we need to be cautious about this assertion until we hear officially from the drive controller maker

There's a fresh twist regarding the recent controversy around Windows 11 and SSD failures, in the form of a suggestion that problems with drives may be related to the use of pre-release firmware.

Neowin reports that this line of reasoning comes from a Chinese Facebook group for PC enthusiasts called 'PCDIY', the group admin of which – a certain Rose Lee – claims to have got to the bottom of the root cause of SSDs breaking.

Apparently, this is due to pre-release versions of Phison drive controller firmware being used in SSDs out there. This is a conclusion that was reached through testing conducted by PCDIY and seemingly verified by Phison engineers, too, we're told – that's backed up in a follow-up report by Neowin.

Lee writes (as translated from Chinese by Google): "PCDIY testing has revealed that the SSDs crashing and crashing due to the Windows 11 update were using pre-release, pre-final versions of the engineering firmware.

"Because all SSD manufacturers selling products using Phison controllers purchase their products from the original manufacturer and ship them in bulk using mass-production tools, the SSDs delivered to consumers are already using the official firmware. The official firmware has been thoroughly tested and verified, and does not exhibit the anomalies often seen with engineering firmware."

Where does this leave us, then? And why are some of the drives out there using 'engineering' firmware?

Let's explore that next, but we must obviously be cautious about the assertion made here until we hear officially from Phison that this is indeed the case. The statement Phison provided to Neowin still remains vague in nature, and doesn't directly confirm that this is the widespread issue Windows 11 users are reporting.

Analysis: An interesting explanation – but put caution first here

Okay, so when referring to drives using pre-release firmware, are these, say, SSDs sent to reviewers before the official release of these products?

While that would explain the use of earlier firmware, this issue is too widespread for that – and a whole bunch of plain old consumers are complaining about being affected. In short, this glitch is hitting drives sold at retail. The question then becomes: how would such SSDs get an early version of controller firmware?

The prevailing theory seems to be that the affected SSDs are from makers who purchased drive controllers from Phison that had pre-release firmware. Then Phison subsequently updated the firmware, and supplied that update to the SSD manufacturer, but they failed to apply it before the drive was shipped and hit the shelves – hence effectively beta firmware ended up paired with a retail SSD.

While it sounds unlikely, it is a possible scenario. This is all guesswork, though, and as already noted, we'll need to hear from Phison officially to confirm this, so sit tight for that.

This theory does explain why Phison's extensive testing didn't turn up any faults, though – because the controller maker would have been using the latest release firmware, naturally. Microsoft also cleared Windows 11 of any blame with its investigation pertaining to the last update for the OS, and again, that makes sense in this light – if this is a drive firmware issue.

What it doesn't explain is why SSDs other than those with Phison controllers were seemingly affected. The majority were Phison, going by reports, though – and maybe the others are a case of coincidence, it could be argued.

At any rate, if you're worried about your SSD potentially being hit by this glitch, then the simple fix is to ensure that it's running the latest firmware. The glitch can cause the drive to vanish from the system, but maybe just temporarily in some reported cases – it could return after a reboot.

Check the version of your firmware in Windows (in Device Manager) and compare that to the latest release version available on the drive manufacturer's website.

However, bear in mind that updating the firmware of any hardware carries risks itself – so you may want to wait a little longer and see if we get official confirmation of this new theory on SSD failures.

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