Questions People Ask Before Sending a Failed SSD
Four things we promise, in writing
- The diagnostic evaluation is free.
- You see the actual list of recovered files before you pay anything.
- We don’t attempt a recovery until you tell us to.
- If we can’t get your files back, you won’t pay a data recovery fee.
The evaluation is free, you see the list of recovered files before you pay, and nothing is attempted until you say so. A standard case costs under $450 and takes 3–5 days. No Data Recovered, No Data Recovery Fee. The answers below cover cost, timing, damage, and what to do before you ship.
Before you send it
What Should I Do With My SSD Before Shipping It?
Stop using it, do not format it, and do not copy anything onto it. Pack it in a padded box and send it as it is.
Every write to a failing SSD can overwrite the very area that holds your files. Formatting does exactly that, so a format offer from Windows or macOS is one to refuse. Do not open the case and do not try repair tools on it.
Ship the drive in bubble wrap inside a sturdy box. Questions first? Call 714-225-9700.
Straight answer
Can You Guarantee My Data Will Be Recovered?
No. Nobody can guarantee that, and we will not pretend otherwise. What we promise is a free evaluation, a file list before you pay, and no data recovery fee if we cannot get your files back.
That promise is the same for every drive and every service level. The evaluation tells you what is realistic before you spend anything. Your drive is never worked on without your go-ahead.
The fee promise
Will You Charge Me If No Data Is Recovered?
No. No Data Recovered, No Data Recovery Fee. It applies on every service level, however many hours the evaluation took.
The only charge that stands apart from a recovery is the optional $495 rush fee, which moves a case to the front of the line.
What it costs
What Does It Cost to Get Files Off a Failed SSD?
A standard case costs under $450. Priority and Emergency cases are quoted after the free evaluation, because until someone has looked at the drive, any number is a guess.
| Service level | Turnaround | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 3–5 days | Under $450 |
| Priority | 2–4 days | Quoted after evaluation |
| Emergency | 1–3 days | Quoted + $495 rush fee |
You get a call with the price before any work starts, and you can say no at any point. If you decline, the drive comes back to you. Payment is by credit card, PayPal, personal or business check, or USPS money order once the drive has arrived. Optional add-ons and the secure download prices are on the pricing page.
How long it takes
How Long Does It Take to Get My Files Back?
Standard cases take 3–5 days from the day your drive arrives. Priority takes 2–4 days and Emergency 1–3 days.
A rush moves you to the front of the line. It does not change what can be recovered, only how fast we get to it. Harder cases can take longer, and we tell you when we call with the quote.
What happens next
What Do You Do With My Drive After the Evaluation?
Nothing, until you approve. If you decline, we attempt nothing and mail the drive back. We never write to your SSD.
If you go ahead, your recovered files come back on a new USB or external drive that we mail to you. Need files right away? Ask for a secure download link, priced by size. A full recovery is often too large to download in one piece, so most people download their most important files and get everything on the mailed drive.
Your original SSD is mailed back to the address on your case form, or, if you prefer, we recycle it here.
Drives we handle
Which Devices Do You Work On?
Internal and external solid-state drives, plus the NAND flash chips and wafers they are built from.
That covers SATA drives, M.2 and PCIe NVMe drives, and portable SSDs. SSDs are the only thing we work on. Not sure whether your device qualifies? Describe it in the form at the bottom of this page, or call 714-225-9700.
Water damage
Can You Recover Data From a Water-Damaged SSD?
Usually, and speed matters. Corrosion keeps spreading after a drive dries out, so a drive that is recoverable this week may not be next month.
Do not dry the drive with heat, do not put it in rice, and do not power it on to check. Salt water, flood water, and sugary drinks are the most corrosive. Send it as soon as you can; the evaluation is free and tells you where it stands.
Water is one of several kinds of SSD damage we see. The recovery fee promise applies to it like any other case.
Physical damage
My Drive Is Physically Broken. Is Anything Left?
Often, yes. Damage to the case or the connector does not mean the memory chips themselves were hurt.
Run over, dropped, or splashed, the flash memory can often still be read once the controller and firmware work again. The NAND memory chips are usually the last part to fail. Most of what looks like a broken drive traces back to a damaged board or a controller fault, not damaged flash.
That is a very different case from one where the chips themselves were destroyed. The SSD repair page explains what can be fixed and what cannot.
Repair and reuse
Can a Broken SSD Be Repaired and Used Again?
Rarely, and we do not advise it. Repair here is a way to read your files, not a way to give you the drive back as new.
A drive that has already failed is more likely to fail again. In advanced cases, damaged parts may be replaced so the files can be read, and the drive still comes back to you or is recycled, as you choose. If your SSD still works, follow the maker’s manual for normal use and keep a second copy of anything that matters.
What we recover from
What SSD Problems Can You Recover Files From?
Drives that are not detected, drives that read as RAW or show 0 bytes, drives gone read-only, and drives with physical or board damage.
It also covers broken SATA connectors, damaged boards, corrupted files, and accidental formats. A drive that shows up but reads as RAW has a different fault from one that does not show up at all; our guides to a corrupted, RAW or read-only SSD and to an SSD that is not showing up explain what is happening in each case. The free evaluation tells you which one you have.
Deleted files
Can You Recover Deleted or Overwritten Files?
Often, if you stop using the drive right away. An SSD can erase deleted data quickly on its own, and overwritten data cannot be brought back. The free evaluation shows what is still there.
Stop using the drive the moment you notice the files are gone, because every new write makes recovery less likely. You pay only if files come back. If we recover what you need, it is returned to you on a new storage drive.
Why us
What Makes Recover-SSD Different?
We work on SSDs only, and we put the terms in writing: free evaluation, file list before you pay, nothing attempted until you say so, and no fee if no data is recovered.
Recover-SSD was founded in 2011 by Bruce Cullen, who has worked in data recovery since 1999. You can read more on the About Bruce Cullen page. We work with businesses and individuals, and we tell you honestly what we think we can get back before you commit.
The evaluation is free, and there is no obligation.
Not sure yet? Just ask.
Tell us what the drive is doing and we’ll tell you straight whether it’s worth recovering — no charge, no sales call, usually the same day.