When you don’t use it, you should put it in a cool place. Therefore, you should make sure the air can flow freely around the drive when you connect it to the PC. You need to know that USB flash drives generate heat while running, especially over extended periods of time or when you transfer large files. For example, the operating temperature of SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drive ranges from 32☏ to 113☏ (0☌ to 45☌), and its storage temperature ranges from 50☏ to 158☏ (-10☌ to 70☌). USB flash drives have their own operating/storage temperature ranges. Tip 2: Pay Attention to Its Temperature Ranges If you need to take it out, you’d better keep it in a padded pouch or other secure containers. You should put your USB flash drive in a safe place. However, it’s not a wise decision, as they could get banged around and be broken. Tip 1: Treat It GentlyĪs the USB drives are small enough, it’s common to see that users put them in a pocket.
To protect your USB flash drive from wearing out due to external factors and extend its lifespan, you need to follow the tips below. Therefore, your USB drive is possible to break down before the write cycles are running out if you treat them rudely or put them improperly.
Besides, oxidation could also lead to certain problems. Although the components are built to withstand years of use and not so fragile, they can still be broken for various reasons.įor example, if a USB flash drive exposes to extreme heat, cold or humidity, it could get corrupted and you might lose data stored on it. In addition, USB drives can be worn out due to physical damage.Īs mentioned, most USB flash drives are designed with durable plastic or metal bodies, which allows them to survive from shock damage, dust, scratch and other forms of wear and tear. There are also some USB drives which exceed that number on the market. In industry standard, most USB flash drives should be able to be used for 10,000-100,000 write cycles. With time going by, the chips will begin to fail and the USB flash drives’ performance can degrade. The connection between them could have a physical effect on your memory chips. Specifically, it means you are connecting the USB flash drive to a host device and having data uploaded, accessed or erased from it. It encompasses the process of writing and erasing data on a NADA chip. A write cycle is the measure of endurance or lifespan for most flash-based storage devices, such as SSDs, USB flash drives, and so on. What is a write cycle? It is also known as write/erase cycle and P/E (program/erase) cycle. However, after a number of write cycles, the chips will begin to break down. These chips are designed to be durable and with an extra layer of protection with the hard outer body so that they won’t be easily damaged by external factors. The good way is to buy a drive with great reputation for long-term use, and you’d better buy it in an official flagship store or on a legal platform such as Amazon and eBay.ĭata are saved on NAND flash memory storage chips of USB drives. USB flash drives with bad materials could be damaged easily after a short period of time. The quality of different brands is various. They are able to last for theoretically ten or even more years, but the truth is that USB flash drives differ in a number of characteristics and the lifespan of a USB flash drive could be influenced by the following factors: How long do USB drives last? Actually, there is no exact number. How long does a USB drive last in your case? Let’s figure out the answer in the following contents. Some users find that their USB drives slow down or get corrupted after a period of time and they lose data on it, while others have used their USB flash drives for a long time without any problems. Create a bootable USB drive including an operating system.Users prefer them due to their portability, low price and reliable performance, and USB drives are commonly used to: USB flash drives (also known as pen drives and thumb drives), one of the most popular storage devices, are small and light, and with different storage capacities which vary from 2GB to 2TB. What Should You Do When a USB Flash Drive Is Corrupted.