SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD… 1 being used for cloning (formatted APFS) and 1 for Time Machine backups (formatted HFS+).
When connected to my MacBook Pro, using either a TB3 or SanDisk’s provided USB-C cables, the SSDs heat up, in the lower half of the SSD where cable connects, more than I would expect, regardless whether actively working or simply connected but dismounted. [The SSDs are laying flat with the top (perforated) side face-up; so, heat easily escapes.]
It seems logical the SSDs would heat up when actively reading/writing, but I would expect the SSD, when not actively working, to cool down from the heat level it reaches when actively read/writing. The SSD (even when connected, but dismounted) maintains the same heat level rather than the heal level lowering.
The amount of heat is notably warm - almost hot, but certainly less than really, really hot; so, somewhere between really warm and a lower threshhold of hot. …If I disconnect the SSD, the heat level completely drops off.
Long term & reliable SSD usage seems will be best by disconnecting it after principal tasks have been completed, in order to control the SSD from long periods of being overly warm.
I had intended to actively use these SSDs and then, dismount them (keeping them connected), as I’d like to avoid continual, cable disconnecting / reconnecting that might cause deteriorating wear of the USB-C port. …Am I correct these SSDs are not designed for continual, cable connection to the computer source?
Yes, these Extreme Portable SSDs will heat up (and get hot) when connected for extended periods (hours +).
I use 2 of these SSDs, one for backing up using, macOS Time Machine ™ & one for Carbon Copy Clone 5 (CCC) clones.
TM SSD is usually mounted for up to an hour; when I feel it getting too warm, I dismount it (& physically disconnect the SSD from its connecting, TB3 cable) to let the SSD cool.
CCC SSD is auto-dismounted by CCC5 when cloning completed (& then, I disconnect the SSD); so, this SSD is only mounted for weekly clones.
When I’ve completed initial (1st time) backups, either for TM or a clone, the SSD will get hot since the time to complete can approach an hour. And when these drives are worked hard for an intensive task, they get hot, but I disconnect it once the task completes.
Experience has also shown me these SSD drives should be dismounted by using the macOS Finder; and if remounted, only doing so after waiting several minutes (lets macOS Finder complete what it does when a drive has been dismounted).
While I don’t precisely know the potential (damage) issues of long-period mounting (say, all day or overnight), which would let the SSD get and remain hot for an extended time, I can verify my methodology has been working without any hardware consequences.
And while my method is really a work-around which minimizes extended heating, it’s been a small price for using these SSDs in the way I do. And, I’ve had these SSDs in service for a year now, and they’ve been very reliable.
I just bought 2TB SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD, and I wanted to use as After Effects cache disk. Same thing it is quite hot, is more than just warm. Warmer than my WD. It is hot even when my iMac is sleeping. Is it normal?
That means i have to keep removing it every night before I sleep… Any SanDisk official support can have an answer for this please?
The 2TB version of the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD, that I had on test, provided plenty of capacity and speed. At the start of the test, I was a little worried about the amount of heat that would be generated by the ultra-fast Nvme hardware when video editing.
But, through the test, the temperature of the enclosure while warm never got to the scolding temperatures that I’ve felt from other Nvme drives and the MacBook Pro.
Besides, The design is also slim and lightweight, and the silicon outer provides just enough grip to sit and stay on most surfaces happily. If it does fall, and I did drop it several times to test how robust it was, the rugged design seemed to hold out well. At least it’s still working fine.
I am having the same issue. I have a Sandisk Extreme Pro 2TB SSD. I was sent this replacement drive from Sandisk after my first drive stopped responding. Now with this new drive, it gets extremely hot and disconnects itself. I am trying to backup my data to another external drive and this Sandisk drive disconnects after 2-3 minutes. I suspect it’s due to the drive being hot.
I just bought a 2T Extreme Portable, and have the same heat issue. Even my MacBook Pro is idle, the Extreme SSD stayed warm. I also tried to dismount the SSD (without disconnect it, so Mac Finder doesn’t show it anymore), but the SSD stayed warm. Could someone at SanDisk Customers Support comment/explain why it’s so? I’m not sure if I should keep it or simply return it …
Hi Sandisk support people…if anyone is reading this forums…I got a Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD v2 2TB (the one that claims to reach 1000 MB/s) to use with my new M1pro MBP and I find that it gets very hot when rendering video…it gets warm just connected but hot during work…I can see other posts here talking about this issue and NOT one single response from Sandisk support…I understand heat is always part of the equation but is it a defect that it gets-in my opinion-abnormally hot? I bought it from amazon and I’m considering returning it and getting something else…I hope to hear from someone at Sandisk about this issue. Thanks
Hi All! I am wondering why there are no comments from SanDisk on this issue. I paid a lot of money for 2 x 2 TB Extreme SSD drives. I spent the money cause I wanted something fast and reliable to back up my photographs. Both these drives overheat almost immediately. This results in slow performance and then the drives just disappear. This is very frustrating. Its sad to see that this issue goes back to 2019 and there are no solutions. Or redesign for that matter - I bought mine in 2022. Am I missing something??
DO NOT BUY
Few days ago I have purchased SanDisk Extreme Pro 2TB Portable SSD, formatted the drive to “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)”, and installed music libraries from Spitfire Audio, for use in my music production. Everything seemed to be OK for the first day, on the 2nd day I started getting strange loud sounds in my production from the libraries installed on that drive, I unmounted the drive, and after that my computer could not recognize the format of the drive. Thankfully I have a copy of those libraries. And yes the drive was extremely hot. I am now in search of more solid solution for a drive that can be connected at all times without failing due to heat or whatever.
New here and just got my SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD and it heats up more than just warm(2 backups using Time Machine Mac Pro). I can’t see how this would be good for long term use at all. Why will no one from scan disk reply to our comments???
I just moved two of these drives while my MAC was sleeping and the drives were hot. My digital thermometer says they are 126.6F and 128.4 respectively. My Crucial SSD drives were ambient temperature, 71F.
