Samsung has released a firmware update for the 980 Pro SSDs. A bug in previous firmware versions can put a drive in read-only mode. The update will not fix broken SSDs, but it will prevent the issue from occurring.
PC Builder Puget Systems says it has worked with Samsung to resolve the issue; As far as is known, Samsung itself has not said anything publicly about it. Puget says it has received a “surprising” number of reports of broken 980 Pro SSDs, mainly on the 2TB version. In most cases, the drive goes into read-only mode, which, according to Puget, prevents it from booting operating systems, for example.
According to a Reddit post the issue went viral on Chinese social media last summer. A Smart scan would show a 0E error, indicating that there are issues with the integrity of the data. The Smart readings would also show that there is less storage space than there should be. Puget is an American PC maker, so the problem does not appear to be limited to China.
Samsung says the problem occurs with firmware version 3B2QGXA7, according to Puget. With the latest firmware version 5B2QGXA7, the problem should no longer occur. The update can be installed without data loss. Puget claims that the problem does not occur with the 4B2QGXA7 firmware version either. Samsung SSDs can be updated with Samsung Magician.
Incidentally, complained on Overclock.net, among others about the Samsung 990 Pro SSD. This would be relatively more worn after relatively few hours of use, reducing the total storage capacity of the disk. This problem seems to be unrelated to the 980 Pro problem. Samsung tells ComputerBase to investigate the issues with the 990 Pro.
