Crucial Warranty & Cryptocurrency Mining
We understand the concern currently raised surrounding the CPG Warranty and the potential for our solid state drives (SSDs) to be misused when mining cryptocurrency. The CPG warranty already excludes drives that exceed the “total bytes written” (TBW) per the product datasheet. This exclusion applies no matter the reason the TBW is exceeded. The following is the relevant excerpt from our warranty:
For SSD products sold after August 28, 2017, any claim must be made within three (3) years or within five (5) years, depending on applicable warranty period for the SSD product purchased, from the original date of purchase or before writing the maximum total bytes written (TBW) as published in the product datasheet and as measured in the product’s SMART data, whichever comes first.
For your reference, the full warranty is located here (US English version).
Mining cryptocurrency has the potential to degrade SSD data retention at a rapid pace due to the constant writing demands on them. If there are concerns over large or unusual return requests, the best way to validate if the TBW has been exceeded is through the product SMART data. The SMART data usually can be read, even if the drive’s ability to retain data has degraded. Our Crucial Storage Executive is the recommended way to read this data; however, there are many third-party utilities which can be used. If there are concerns over the state of the drive(s) being returned, ask the customer to send the SMART data as part of the SSD RMA process. Compare the data to the TBW life expectancy of the drive, published in the product datasheet, to confirm the product’s return eligibility status.
For further details click here, or reach out to your Micron sales representative.