SSD Lifespan: How Long Can You Expect Yours to Last?

Summary: The lifespan of Solid State Drives (SSDs) depends on factors like Total Bytes Written (TBW) and usage patterns. The truth is that every time you write data to your SSD, the cells responsible for data storage wear out by a tiny degree. However, modern SSDs are manufactured to be reliably usable for many years. On top of that, you can regularly monitor your drive’s health to predict potential failures. This guide explains how to track your SSD’s condition, extend its lifespan, and safeguard your data.

Solid State Drives (SSDs) have become very popular for data storage. They offer superior performance and reliability compared to traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs).

Hard drives rely on magnetic platters and a mechanical read/write head assembly. Since a hard drive has many moving parts, it is always vulnerable to internal damage. SSDs, on the other hand, use flash memory, a non-volatile technology. They offer faster data access speeds and greater resistance to physical shock.

However, like all electronic devices, SSDs have a finite lifespan. Though they are expected to last many years, their lifespan depends on how frequently data is written to them.

This article discusses the lifespan of an SSD and how to extend it.

We shall cover: 

1. Key Factors Impacting an SSD’s Durability
2. How Long Will an SSD Last?
3. How to Get Your SSD Data Back with Stellar Data Recovery?
4. FAQs 

Key Factors Impacting an SSD’s Lifespan

The factors that influence the lifespan of an SSD are primarily related to technological limitations and usage patterns. Here are the most important factors:

1. Total Bytes Written (TBW)

SSDs have no moving parts and rely on flash memory, which stores data in microscopic silicon cells. However, each cell has a limited number of program/erase (P/E) cycles. Over time, these cells wear out, which can cause SSD failure.

The total endurance of the drive is measured by a parameter called Total Bytes Written (TBW). This rating indicates the maximum amount of data that can be written to the SSD before its reliability decreases. A 1 TB SSD with a TBW of 300 TB can have a total of 300 terabytes of data written to it before it is deemed unreliable for data storage.

2. Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD)

This metric indicates how many times you can overwrite the entire capacity of the SSD each day during its warranty period.

Here is how to calculate DWPD:

A 1TB SSD has a TBW of 300 and a warranty of five years.

So 300 terabytes can be written over 5 * 365 = 1825 days.

Hence, DWPD is 300/1825 = 0.164 TB per day.

Since this is a 1TB SSD, the DWPD is calculated as:

DWPD = Daily writes in TB/SSD Capacity in TB = 0.164/1 = 0.164 DWPD

This means the drive can handle 0.164 full drive writes per day during the warranty period.

3. Usage Patterns

The frequency and volume of data written to the SSD affect its lifespan.

Let’s understand this with the help of an example.

• At an outlet store in a mall, a 512 GB SSD records feed from five CCTVs. At any time, the drive holds three days of recording. Older recordings are erased automatically, and new data takes their place. This is intense usage.
• On the other hand, a similar 500 GB SSD records daily sales. About 900 transactions are recorded, which take up 50 MB. Data is never erased. This is very light use.

SSDs used heavily for writing data, such as for CCTV recording and video editing, will wear out faster than those used primarily for read operations or light usage.

4. Wear Leveling

An SSD stores data in silicon cells. But what happens if some cells are used more than others? Frequent writes to specific blocks of an SSD lead to failure.

To combat this problem, SSDs utilize a wear leveling algorithm to distribute write and erase cycles evenly across memory cells. This helps prolong the lifespan of the drive.

Next, let us understand how you can find out the lifespan of your SSD.

How Long Will An SSD Last?

Modern SSDs are designed to last anywhere from 5 to 10 years under typical usage conditions. This estimate is based on the average user who writes about 20 GB to 40 GB of data per day.

Consider a drive with a TBW rating of 300 TBW. If you write 50 GB of data per day to this drive, it would take roughly 16 years to reach its TBW limit. Of course, not all users write this much data daily. Therefore, an SSD could easily last beyond the 10-year mark.

But how do we know the condition of an SSD at any given time?

You can use handy software like CrystalDiskInfo. It is a free, open-source software that measures the attributes of storage devices like hard drives and solid-state drives.

Steps to use CrystalDiskInfo: 

1. Visit the official CrystalDiskInfo website and download the latest version.
2. Install and launch the CrystalDiskInfo application.
3. The window will display health, temperature, and other attributes.
4. Go to Function > Advanced Feature > Raw Values >10 [DEC]

Now look at the right-most column. It will display raw values. These are the principal metrics:

Metric	Definition	Significance
Raw Read Error Rate	Number of errors while reading data.	A high error rate can indicate hardware issues or data corruption.
Power On Hours	Total hours the drive has been on.	Excessive usage can contribute to wear and tear, but not a definitive indicator.
Power Cycles	Number of times the drive has been turned off and on.	Frequent power cycles can stress components and accelerate wear.
Device Temperature	The current internal temperature of the drive.	High temperatures can shorten the lifespan and increase the risk of data corruption.

This image shows:

• Health: 94%
• Temperature: 37°C
• Power-On Cycles: 729
• Power-On Hours: 3175
• Raw Read Error Rate: 0 (It means the SSD is reading and writing without any errors)

If there’s a problem, the Health Status button on top will change to amber. At this stage, you must back up all your data immediately.

Once it turns red, retrieving all the files intact will be difficult.

As the health begins to decrease and drops below 90%, you should maintain full backups daily. Since SSDs are not very expensive, it is best to change the drive at this stage.

But what if the SSD life drops sharply or you do not have monitoring software installed?

In such a case, physical issues with the SSD could cause some of your data to become corrupted, inaccessible, or lost. Unfortunately, you can’t recover your data even with a data recovery software in such situations. You will need SSD data recovery services to help you.

How to Get Your SSD Data Back With Stellar Data Recovery?

When recovering your valuable data from SSDs, we at Stellar Data Recovery Service understand the urgency and criticality of your situation. With over 30 years of excellence in data recovery, we have established ourselves as the #1 data recovery service in India.

Our expert engineers can recover data from M.2 SATA and M.2 PCIe NVMe drives, utilizing state-of-the-art algorithms. Whether your data loss is due to hardware failure, accidental deletion, or firmware corruption, we can handle it all.

We know how stressful it can be to lose important data. Expect us to tailor our service to match your requirements. If you’re facing data loss, reach out to us today.

We hope you found this guide useful. If you have questions about your SSD, please comment and someone from our team will do their best to help you.

FAQs 

1. How to extend SSD Lifespan? 

Your SSD’s lifespan depends on data write cycles. However, you can take steps to protect it.

First, know the operating temperature range to avoid damage from excessive heat. Do not operate it above 35°C. Hard drives do not respond very well to heat. Every manufacturer has a spec sheet on their website detailing operating temperature. For example, Samsung SATA III SSDs have an operating temperature of 0-70°C.

If you use a desktop PC, consider getting an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). This helps prevent damage from power outages. If you have a laptop, a UPS is not necessary.

It is also wise to leave at least 25% of your SSD storage empty. Filling the SSD completely can harm its lifespan due to wear leveling.

2. Can you perform data recovery from a damaged SSD? 

SSDs are lightweight and usually unaffected when dropped from hand. They might stop working if you spill liquid over them. But the data can be recovered. Provided the flash memory within the SSD remains intact, data recovery is entirely feasible.

3. Is it possible to recover data that has been completely deleted or overwritten?

Data deleted or overwritten on Solid State Drives can still be recovered. We only charge a recovery fee if we successfully retrieve your data. After we recover the information you need, we will return it to you on a USB or external hard drive as desired.