How long can an unpowered NVME hold data?

Hostile_18

Hostile_18

Hostile_18

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Considering putting an NVME I have in an enclosure and using it as backup. How long can I leave it without electricity before it loses data?

The other question is can I plug it in before x number of months/years and be good for another set of months/years or does all the data on it need to be re written?

I did a bit of goggling but the answers were mixed and years old.
 
It Will depend on the exact chips on the board and the capacitors on the board.

I would guesstimate it will do a year, I've had lots of USB drives last longer than that - but for anything I want assurance over I still have that on multiple hard disks personally (in fire safes and at least one off site).

Edit because I hit send before adding this: The only way to get you the correct answer will be to see if the vendor has a detailed datasheet with that parameter listed (something like a WD red or equivalent NAS type nvme might have that detail?)
 
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5abr3 said:
It Will depend on the exact chips on the board and the capacitors on the board.

I would guesstimate it will do a year, I've had lots of USB drives last longer than that - but for anything I want assurance over I still have that on multiple hard disks personally (in fire safes and at least one off site).

Edit because I hit send before adding this: The only way to get you the correct answer will be to see if the vendor has a detailed datasheet with that parameter listed (something like a WD red or equivalent NAS type nvme might have that detail?)
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Thank you. To be fair I don't mind plugging it in every 6 months or whatever the case may be. :)
 
Hostile_18 said:
I did a bit of goggling but the answers were mixed and years old.
Click to expand...
I'm not aware of any reliable information about it, but from what I'm aware it depends on:
- The storage temperature.
- The type of flash technology, e.g. TLC/MLC, with newer tech like QLC less likely to retain it than older tech.
- The age of the cells (i.e. a new drive holds data better than an old drive).
- The sophistication of the ECC/recovery algorithm.

The worst case with a poor quality well-worn QLC drive at high temps was like a few weeks, but a good quality MLC drive at low temps was years.
 
Most solid state/NVME will retain data for at least 4-5 years without being plugged in, but it isn't a medium you want to rely on for long term data storage - in theory a lot of modern NVMEs should last a lot longer than that.

Hard to find good data on it, this one is a bit older and for SSDs but covers the bare minimum requirements for unpowered data retention:


This is why though I have my backup solution doing real time mirroring to HDDs, though using NVMEs as the frontend for performance, which I swap out periodically so I always have 2 offline copies on HDD - HDD data retention is generally around 4x that of NVME and can potentially last several to many decades if stored right.
 
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A lot of vague stuff, i think i'd be planning for a 6 month to 1 year cycle theres nothing conclusive i can find, i imagine its not a primary role they are testing for but check the type of ssd you have as it seems MLC is the only one with a reasonable retention time.

MLC (Multi-Level Cell) Flash Memory uses a single cell to store two bits of data. The average data retention period without power is between 3 to 5 years.

TLC (Triple Level Cell) Flash memory uses a single cell to store three bits of data. The average data retention period without power is between 1 to 3 years.

QLC (Quad Level Cell) Flash memory uses a single cell to store four bits of data. This is a very complex system with huge damage to the cells within pretty short time frames. The average data retention period without power is between 1 to 2 years without power.
 
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