What is the shelf life of an SSD? [duplicate]

I am planning to stock on SSDs but I will not use them right away. How long can they be kept in storage and what factors play in the degradation of SSDs? ( M.2 NVMe, SATA SSD, U.2 SSD).

Clarification: I am not asking about how long does data last on SSD if left unused, but rather the longevity of the SSD (M.2 NVMe/SATA SSD/U.2 SSD) if bought and stored right away to a shelf.

Solution 1:

If you are talking about just storing them for later with no data on them, they should be fine for a long time.

If you are talking about putting data on them and expecting to get the data back, I believe the JEDEC spec only stipulates that a consumer grade SSD must retain data unpowered for at least a year. So if you expect to get the data back, make sure you power them on for a few hours once a year and run a full set of built in self tests.

Solution 2:

If you are talking years, not many decades, the SSDs do not deteriorate. This is the same for memory modules, and other electronic components like resistors and non-electrolytic capacitors.

They may not keep data forever (never tried) but they will last for many years. Without data, SSDs will last a very long time.

Solution 3:

There is not much difference between the degradation of an SSD with or without data.

An SSD contains electronic components that will degrade over time and magnetic cells that will lose their magnetism over time. It's not the data that degrades, it's the memory cells that die with time.

Your question: At what state of decay does it cease being a drive altogether and "lock in" its unusedness for all time?

Answer: This is when either:

• An electric component has failed, or
• When the number of failed memory cells exceeds the number of spare cells used for remapping dead cells to spare ones.

You will find more data about the statistical failure rate of SSDs in the post Lifespan of an SSD (NAND Flash) for minimal write use archive purposes: Write once, toss in (proverbial or literal) storage closet.