Bad USB sticks?

[Qqmike]

WTH is this about? If true, this is concerning. 😲😟
It is all based on one report from one company.
But if true, how to circumvent or avoid issues? ...
Maybe buy low-density flash drives from top brands, like Samsung, Kingston, etc.? Avoid discount, no-name drives?
This is one of those times when you might want to pay to buy top-drawer products versus cheaper commoditized models.

Tom's Hardware ...

More and more USB sticks and microSD cards are being made with dubious components — data recovery firm uncovers no-name, low-quality NAND inside many devices

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-comp...rce=SmartBrief

[Snowhog]

Buy from known, well established, reputable, and highly rated companies, even if it means you pay a bit more. Any site offering "AMAZINGLY CHEAP" prices on these devices is to be avoided like the proverbial plague!

[TWPonKubuntu]

I've experienced this kind of failure too. But, Walmart offers cheap USB drives, brand name: ONN, 32Gb, $4.88ea. These are working for me, so far.

TWP

[TinyTim]

I've experienced this kind of failure too. But, Walmart offers cheap USB drives, brand name: ONN, 32Gb, $4.88ea. These are working for me, so far.

TWP

Correct, every cheap 128g I have gotten from Amazon sellers, failed immediately once after the first formatting, three times after a second formatting, 4 was my limit. Every Walmart USB I have gotten, Sandisk or ONN, works correct and is still working. (I formatted to ext for backups)

[Schwarzer Kater]

Thank you for this info.
As a matter of principle I don't buy no-name stuff anyway.

No problems with SanDisk USB sticks here during about the last 10 years.
The durability could have been a bit better for their cheaper ones, though - I will go with Samsung next time, I think.

[Snowhog]

I've had good experience with PNY. I purchased two 5 pack 32GB USB Thumb Drives last year from Amazon for $33.98 (not including shipping and tax), which was a good deal at the time (March 31, 2022). These same USBs, today on Amazon, are $17.48! See https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

[TWPonKubuntu]

I've had bad experience with Sandisk USB sticks and avoid them hence. The sticks either would not format or would not show full capacity as sold. The source was Walmart, in two instances, over two years ago.

TWP

[Qqmike]

So far, no problems with Kingston, Samsung, SanDisk.
I use Crucial memory for some of my builds, and if they make flash drives, I would trust that brand, too.

The article I linked is new info, though; but it is not clear what name brands it applies to or would affect.

[Schwarzer Kater]

[…]
I use Crucial memory for some of my builds, and if they make flash drives, I would trust that brand, too.
[…]

Crucial = Micron.
And AFAIK Kingston normally uses memory chips from Micron.

[Qqmike]

Crucial = Micron.
And AFAIK Kingston normally uses memory chips from Micron.

Yes, that's probably right, as I recall.
Similarly, Samsung makes many components for many retailers/wholesalers, too.