Do unused SSDs degrade over time?

I have a spare SSD which I keep at home in case one breaks. I've seen articles about SSDs losing data over time even if they are not being used, but can unused/empty SSDs degrade over time too? (and is there a difference if the SSD is plugged in and powered on or not)

I am wondering whether I should just wait for signs that an SSD is breaking before buying a new one in the future.

Solution 1:

Yes, all physical things degrade.

Professional archivists, when preserving important data on digital media, regularly test that media. Possibly they have more stringent requirements than the restore objectives of your organization, but this seems like a good idea:

Read a statistical sample (3% minimum) of recorded media annually to identify and correct any loss of data. Re-copy batch if errors appear.

Solid state storage technology is new enough where it is unlikely your model has been tested for the several years it might take to wear under light stress. Reliability expectations are from a brutal write workload with temperature extremes, and extrapolating from there. See for example JEDEC SSD test procedures.

In practice, replace media when any of these happen: errors reading from it, self health metrics look bad, or nearing end of warranty. Presumably, the data is more valuable than any one drive it happens to be stored on this year.