Samsung NVMe SSD fake or real?

hcccs said:

This is what it looks beneath the sticker.
View attachment 130944

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hcccs said:

I suspect that means that it's a fake drive, right?

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Could be it just means that you need to update its driver to get Samsung Magician to read its serial number. Tool & Software Download | Samsung Semiconductor Global
Updating the firmware on the SSD should be your next important step. Also be aware that removing the sticker from a NVMe SSD is not recommended, and, if you do that with a modern NVMe SSD from Samsung, then it's bye-bye warranty.

EDIT: There is no NVMe Controller driver supplied by Samsung for the Samsung 980, it uses the in-box driver, StorNVMe. (In-box = the one that belongs to Windows itself.)

Seeing your firmware number 4B4QFX07 , you have a newer firmware for the SSD then whats on the website itself. 3B4QFXO7
Perhaps thats the reason why the software does not recognise the SSD. Like i said before, not all SSD's are recognized by the software.

Tester said:

Seeing your firmware number 4B4QFX07 , you have a newer firmware for the SSD then whats on the website itself. 3B4QFXO7
Perhaps thats the reason why the software does not recognise the SSD. Like i said before, not all SSD's are recognized by the software.

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I found the firmware here and a description how to install it using a USB stick with Ubuntu here.

Is this the way to do it or is there an easier way?

hcccs said:

I found the firmware here and a description how to install it using a USB stick with Ubuntu here.

Is this the way to do it or is there an easier way?

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No, don't try to install the older firmware on it. Even though the model number is still the same (MZ-V8V500), the part number (MZVLQ500HELU) of this particular 500GB 980 SSD you have is different from all the other 500GB 980 SSDs that I have seen. I found another detailed photo of what you have, there's some differences that are clearly visible in the design compared to all the other ones which probably explains why the firmware on it also isn't the same.

I am guessing that the reason why Samsung Magician doen't report that the SSD is genuine is because Samsung hasn't bothered to fix the problem in Samsung Magician. Normally if you go on Samsung warranty site you should be able to find out if the SSD is genuine. However, if it turns out that it's not possible for you to find out, then IMO you should try to get in touch with Samsung support.

I would wait until they update Samsung Magician, don't downgrade the SSD. You already got the newer one.

Is it possible to downgrade the firmware from the latest version to a previous version?

No. Once the firmware is upgraded, it cannot be reverted to the previous version. All firmware versions are thoroughly tested before release to ensure optimization in terms of performance, stability, and compatibility, so there is no need to go back to the previous firmware version.

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Samsung Storage Firmware

On the Samsung support site it shows this

NVMe SSD 980 Firmware
ISO 3B4QFXO7 | 26MB Download

*The 980 model will be manufactured with a revised V6 process starting December 2023.

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Is it possible that the new Samsung 980s with the revised process have newer firmware?

Firmware 4B4QFXO7 is mentioned here: Samsung SSD 980 500GB Firmware Versions

hcccs said:

I haven't touched it. What makes you think it's been tampered with?

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I wasn't suggesting that you had messed with it.

What I meant is that if that was the "fake" drive in your picture, it looks like the label has creases in it where it might have been taken from another drive and attached to yours. Maybe, maybe not.

I was just suggesting that you might have been sold a fake drive.

Catnip said:

I wasn't suggesting that you had messed with it.

What I meant is that if that was the "fake" drive in your picture, it looks like the label has creases in it where it might have been taken from another drive and attached to yours. Maybe, maybe not.

I was just suggesting that you might have been sold a fake drive.

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OK. Now it has been tampered with. I pulled off the sticker (very slowly) to see what chips were underneath and they look legit.

I certainly wouldn't even consider loading firmware! If it happens to be a fake, that's liable to brick it! If it's not, why would you want to downgrade?