We had already reported in detail on defective SanDisk SSDs at 
in May and at August. Various SanDisk/Western Digital products are at risk of total data loss, which can represent a production risk for every media producer.
So far, SanDisk and Western Digital have not seemed very keen to clarify the situation. Although there was a firmware update, this did not solve the problem for many users. And there was simply no further communication such as a statement. Quite the opposite: the affected models are still on the market today without any further comment. This has even led to a class action lawsuit, but not to the cause of the problem.
However, a third party may now have succeeded in doing so. Every week, the data recovery company Attingo from Vienna receives at least one external SSD from SanDisk or WD that no longer works. Now that a number of defective models have been received, the company is daring to make an assessment:
Some of the SMD components on the defective models are said to have become detached from their solder pads on the circuit board. This could indicate a change of supplier, whose components are slightly too large for the layout of the board. This could ultimately result in unreliable solder contacts. A fairly detailed analysis can be found at Futurezone.
Western Digital / SanDisk is still keeping a low profile on the causes, but there is reason to suspect that the problem has been known in-house for some time.
In the meantime, newer models seem to have received a technical fix: There are still components on the circuit board that are too large, but these have been "better fixed" with epoxy resin in addition to solder. But even models modified in this way still seem to end up at Attingo.
;)