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jedivulcan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 15, 2007
424
60
I got a Samsung T7 external SSD yesterday. It's a USB 3.2 Gen 2 device. Speeds were great. Now, the write speeds are capped at around 431Mbps. Anyone know what's up with this thing? I think I'm going to return it and stick with the T5.
eVMTjvT.png
 

Taz Mangus

macrumors 604
Mar 10, 2011
7,815
3,504
If you plug your T5 in its write speed is better? Maybe check if there is a firmware update for the T7.
 

jedivulcan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 15, 2007
424
60
If you plug your T5 in its write speed is better? Maybe check if there is a firmware update for the T7.

Firmware is up to date. The T5 is roughly the same depending on how it's formatted. Nudges ahead when using ExFAT or HFS+.
 

Taz Mangus

macrumors 604
Mar 10, 2011
7,815
3,504
You mentioned the T7 speeds "were" great. What was the initial write speed of the T7?
 

jedivulcan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 15, 2007
424
60
You mentioned the T7 speeds "were" great. What was the initial write speed of the T7?

847.4 MB/s ExFAT (Uploaded Screencap)
704.4 MB/s APFS (Encrypted)
816.2 MB/s APFS
815.6 MB/s HFS+
755.7 MB/s HFS+ (Encrypted)

Wouldn't go above ~440 MB/s after using it for a few hours. Unplugged it. Came back the next morning. Same thing. Doesn't matter what I format it to.
Screen Shot 2020-06-01 at 3.34.09 PM.png
 

Taz Mangus

macrumors 604
Mar 10, 2011
7,815
3,504
Does the drive get hot after using it for a few hours? Have you contacted Samsung directly about it?
 

jedivulcan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 15, 2007
424
60
Does the drive get hot after using it for a few hours? Have you contacted Samsung directly about it?

It got hot after about 20 minutes of sustained use (transferring files to the T7). Haven't contacted Samsung directly.
 

Taz Mangus

macrumors 604
Mar 10, 2011
7,815
3,504
It got hot after about 20 minutes of sustained use (transferring files to the T7). Haven't contacted Samsung directly.

Maybe the drive is overheating and that could be why it slows down. Could be a defective drive. Did you notice if the T5 got hot after using it a few hours?
 

jedivulcan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 15, 2007
424
60
Maybe the drive is overheating and that could be why it slows down. Could be a defective drive. Did you notice if the T5 got hot after using it a few hours?

The T5 got warm but I never had an instance where it dipped in throughput because of it.

T7 might be defective or overheated. There were instances where it slowed down to a halt but never corrupted anything or panic'd MacOS.
 

Taz Mangus

macrumors 604
Mar 10, 2011
7,815
3,504
The T5 got warm but I never had an instance where it dipped in throughput because of it.

T7 might be defective or overheated. There were instances where it slowed down to a halt but never corrupted anything or panic'd MacOS.

That does not sound normal or good. I would certainly be frustrated with a drive that acted that way. I would just return it for another unit.
 

jedivulcan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 15, 2007
424
60
That does not sound normal or good. I would certainly be frustrated with a drive that acted that way. I would just return it for another unit.

I'm sending the T7 back and sticking with the T5.

The T5 is more consistent all around. I did two tests with random files (100gb and 318gb). I know it's sort of extreme to test them like this.

The T7 beat the T5 in the 100gb transfer.

but the T7 tanked in the extended 318gb and the T5 finished first by a huge margin. Yeah. Frustrating.

Screen Shot 2020-06-03 at 3.27.03 AM.png
 
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chrfr

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Jul 11, 2009
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XRayAdamo

macrumors newbie
Sep 9, 2020
20
9
I am having same problem. Write speed is very low. It is about 56MBps. Read speed as good as it was when I bought the drive.; Samsung support is not existing at all. They verifying my warranty for more that month and still doing it. My T5 works perfectly. I have forced to buy TB3 external enclosure and add into it 2Tb NVME drive. Now I have 1600MBps write and 2600 read! Still have no idea what to do with T7. Return time is expired already :(
 

trevoz

macrumors newbie
Jan 4, 2021
22
10
Same issue with a Samsung T7 - initially fast writes, but now ~134MB/s (it actually manages ~700MB/s in tiny bursts but falls to 16MB/s most of the time). Read speed is still 900+ MB/s.

Samsung support have issued an RMA and are replacing it (it was just 6 months old). Will see how long the replacement lasts, but I'm not feeling too confident.
 

trevoz

macrumors newbie
Jan 4, 2021
22
10
No - I used online chat. First attempt was 17 Dec, was told an RMA would be arranged and I'd be emailed in 24-48 hours. Second attempt was 2 Jan, was told they'd email support again and an email turned up yesterday 4 Jan.
 
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