View Full Version : Fake flash memory warning
It would appear that ebay is awash with fake Flash memory devices.
Usually the device is a lower capacity one, with the on board micro code amended to report a higher capacity back to the OS, and will appear to format OK, and function perfectly well until you exceed the 'real' capacity.
However as you add data the existing data is overwritten, once you've filled up the genuine portion.
I've just fallen foul of this, with an extremely good SanDisk 32Gb SDHC fake (or it could be a duff one in a batch), and the seller has promised a refund, but strangely enough not a replacement :eyebrows:
However the best way to definitively test the device's capacity is to use some diagnostic software such as this...
http://fightflashfraud.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/h2testw-gold-standard-in-detecting-fake-capacity-flash/
A simple program which writes & reads data in gigabyte blocks to the device and reports back the genuine capacity
It'll save time and pain in the long run...:)
I've found that Amazon is a more reliable source of flash memory at a good price. Cost of SDHC cards are down around £1 per Gb now, and I would be very suspicious of any that appear to cost significantly less than that.
As I feared on the other thread... :( Clever b@st@rds, the only advice really is that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Stick to reputable sources and pay a bit more is the safest option I'm afraid.
bigmarty
12-02-2011, 11:03
Hi Folks,
I don't buy Flash memory cards on Ebay any more either, been there and got ripped off as every body says buy from a reputable sources. This is another link about fake cards I found a couple of years ago about fake Sandisk cards.
http://martybugs.net/articles/fakesandisk.cgi
Marty
I've found that Amazon is a more reliable source of flash memory at a good price. Cost of SDHC cards are down around £1 per Gb now, and I would be very suspicious of any that appear to cost significantly less than that.
It's only £1 a gig for 16gb cards, 32gb is still £58 on Amazon
I paid £40 for this one, so it wasn't shockingly cheap.
I'd still advise testing your card even if it was from Amazon, at what point are these entering the supply chain? Check out the reviews for 32gb cards on Amazon, the reviews are patchy to say the least.
If the card I got was indeed a fake, the packaging was very well done...I know these boys are good but it looked like some duff ones had got into SanDisk's supply chain.
Even reputable suppliers may not be aware of what they are selling, they can't test every one.
I will stick to Amazon in the future, simply because of their no questions asked refund policy. :)
The Vinyl Adventure
12-02-2011, 11:31
What makes it frustrating is some companies seem to mix in fakes with real ones ... Almost like a get out clause ...
A mate of mine bought a 128gb USB stick from hong kong for £35... It was real! Tested perfect, build quality was perfect ... It was real!
We bought 3 of the things from the same company thinking we were onto somthing ...
Fakes, all 3... Emailed them, no response, web site disappears ... Left us money down, what really pissed me off was that when we bought ours the price had gone up a bit, so we lost a good bit over £100 for crap
We have even tried doing somthing to them to return them to thier original capacity (aparently the large memory ones are just small ones with some jiggary pokery done to them to tell windows they have a large capacity) bit gave up after one of them fell to bits ...
We ended up buying more expensive, less capacity corsair ones from a reputable source ... The frustration on top of everything else being if we had bought the good ones in the first place we could have had the largestest capacity corsairs
The daft thing is, I have been buying sd, cf and sony memory sticks for years ... I had my first digital camera 11 years ago ... I have a draw of memory with some cards so small they won't even take 1 photo with my d3 ... All real, never had a problem ... First USB memory stick I buy ... Ripped off... Typical!
And to top it off the corsair is huge, so I don't use it much, I have a free one (with the linn logo on the side funnily enough) that stays in my pocket all the time - 2gb is enough for a lot of things ... So really, I wasted a lot of money and ended up using a freebe :doh:
What makes it frustrating is some companies seem to mix in fakes with real ones ... Almost like a get out clause ...
That's why I think the problem is very high in the supply chain, so it's all down to how rigorous the quality control is of the producer, and that's where the additional cost comes in. :(
I think I'll be avoiding SanDisk in the future...
Mark Grant
12-02-2011, 12:09
Sandisk are fine Will if you are sold a real one.
There is a thread on a photo forum about these fakes,
http://www.realphotographersforum.com/threads/729-Memory?p=4954
I linked to the same card test, none of my cards are fakes which is lucky :)
Mark.
Recently bought a 16gb Transcend SD speed 10 card from MYMEMORY and it is fine. Quick service as well.
The Vinyl Adventure
12-02-2011, 12:57
Yeah, genuine sandisk cards have a great rep ... Almost to thier detriment as they are possibly the most frequently faked ... We use to see so many broken sandisks in the shop we were convinced they were a crap brand and could never understand the premium price ... Until we read about fake cards and put 2 and 2 together ... After that we started asking people where they got thier cards from when they came in broken ... Every time the answer was eBay!
Mymemory is where I got my corsairs from ... I had very good service too
Mark Grant
12-02-2011, 13:09
yep, http://www.mymemory.co.uk/ are OK although I did once have a wait for something that was 'in stock' but took ages...
Good prices :)
...I'll cool my heels until a genuine 32Gb becomes a reasonable price ;)
I'll just have to live with 16Gb of FLAC on my phone for now :)
...I'll cool my heels until a genuine 32Gb becomes a reasonable price ;)
I'll just have to live with 16Gb of FLAC on my phone for now :)
I've just received one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/KomputerBay-Class-Secure-Digital-Memory/dp/B003SGGG2Y/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1297535772&sr=8-11
I've filled it with wav files and it seems fine.
...I should have been more specific, most phones needs a MICRO SDHC card
Techno Commander
13-02-2011, 11:41
Glad to see my cheap 32GB card checks out OK.
Glad to see my cheap 32GB card checks out OK.
Hi Andy, was that a micro one, and if so do you have a link?
Techno Commander
13-02-2011, 15:20
No, a std sized one. I was a bit dubious as San DIsc usually have blue labels. This one was white.
FYI Just spotted this very good fake identification review from Amazon, the fake SanDisk I bought from ebay was exactly like the one the reviewer identified...check out the photos from Dr. Sharma and his review.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-00104374-microSDHC-32GB-Card/dp/B003HIWHN0/ref=cm_aya_orig_subj
...have bought a proper one from Amazon now.
N.B. The original seller 'Turtle Rock' has been binned from ebay
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