How do SSDs fail?
A solid state drive has 3 main components: an array of NAND flash memory chips, a controller chip, and the supporting electronic circuitry. Any of these can fail.
In a general sense, a solid state drive is essentially a flash drive built with more NAND flash memory chips and a different interface. Each of the NAND chips can be thought of as a component of a RAID array, with a separate controller chip that organizes the data as it is saved to/moved off the drive.
If the NAND memory on one of the flash chips begins to degrade causing unreadable sectors, it can cause the drive to become unresponsive and/or unrecognizable by a computer. Most of the failed SSDs we receive fall into this category and recovery cost is towards the lower end of the pricing scale.
A more serious condition is when the controller chip or supporting electronic circuitry has failed. These recoveries can be much more invasive, technically demanding, and time-consuming. Due to the variance in device types and configurations, a custom price quote is usually required for these failures.
Pricing
Level 1 Recovery
Device is relatively functional but has suffered from accidental data deletion, format, or file corruption.
$275-$375 Depending on total capacity.
Level 2 Recovery
Device is minimally or completely non-responsive.
$375 to custom quote Depending on type of failure.
