Linux Support for SanDisk Extreme 55AE Portable USB SSD 1TB Capacity

Hello All,

Just wondering if we could get some support for the SanDisk Extreme 55AE Portable USB SSD in Linux? Downloadable firmware would be great, but even being able to obtain the information regarding the bridge controller would be a good start. I am currently using Debian 11 (Bullseye) as my OS, and when I tried to get info on the S.M.A.R.T. features of this drive, by running sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda from a terminal, I get this output: /dev/sda: Unknown USB bridge [0x0781:0x55ae (0x3001)].

I’m pretty sure that this is the USB to SSD host controller inside the enclosure, but without opening up the case (therefore voiding my warranty), I cannot identify the chipset that controls this drive. The firmware is unavailable without having a Microsoft Windows or Apple/Mac to run the Dashboard software, and I don’t use either of those OS’es, nor do I have access to either one, so I guess I’m at the mercy of WD/SanDisk to come up with a solution to this problem.

Does anyone (who reads this) know what controller this drive uses? If you have a dead one that SanDisk will not warranty (for whatever reason), if you could possibly (as gently as possible) open the case, and take a (good quality, preferably hi resolution) picture of both sides of the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) of this drive so that I might be able to ID the chipset, and at least provide other developers (and users) with the information necessary to create a solution for this problem?

Many Thanks in Advance!
J.M.Wall

Update - (Feb. 04, 2022)
No need to disassemble your un-warrantied drive! I have found the details of the internals of this drive, and here they are for anyone concerned:

USB Bridge Controller: ASMedia ASM2362 - USB 3.2 Gen 2 to PCIe 3.0 x2 bridge
Disk Controller: Marvell 88SS1074
SSD: WD Blue SN550E M2 NVMe interface 3D NAND SATA SSD
NAND: 64-layer BiCS TLC flash, 16 dies

Hi @mtinman ,

Our SSD drives are tested in Windows and Mac OS only.

Have you opened a Support Case? If not please click here and open a new support case to assist in the best possible way.

Hi @mtinman,

Did you manage to get your SanDisk Extreme 55AE Portable USB SSD recognized by smartd?
Could you please share the arguments to be used with smartctl?

Thanks,
Luca

me too

#SanDiskUserRewards

Hey, I was looking for that USB controller info too. Thanks! I have a Sandisk Extreme portable Pro 1TB (55AF). Using Garuda Linux (Arch Zen), I’m now able to access the S.M.A.R.T. info of the drive.

$ sudo smartctl -ad sntasmedia /dev/sdd (replace sdd for your own drive allocation)

In my case it returns the whole shabang and even stuff I was curious about. For more info about smartctl checkout:

https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-check-an-hard-drive-health-from-the-command-line-using-smartctl

#SanDiskUserRewards

@lpaolini @googoh
To get the S.M.A.R.T. info of the Sandisk Extreme Protable Pro (55AF) in linux, you can use the following syntax in the terminal:

$ sudo smartctl -ad sntasmedia /dev/sdx (replace sdx by the drive allocation on your system)

This should work the same for the 55AE version, since it uses the same type of USB-bridge-controller, according to @mtinman above.

In case you would also like to query an internal SATA SSD or HDD, you can use:
$ sudo smartctl -ad ata /dev/sdx (replace sdx by the drive allocation on your system)

The SanDisk Extreme 55AE Portable USB SSD 1TB has good Linux support, with compatibility with popular distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, and Debian. It should be recognized as a storage device upon connection, allowing you to use it for data storage and transfer on Linux systems.
Find a guide on recovering data from broken SanDisk Extreme SSDs.
SanDisk Extreme SSD Failure: Tips to Prevent from Further Damage This page provides detailed instructions and tips that can help you recover your lost data. I hope this information helps you to resolve the issue and recover your important files.