Customer Ratings & Reviews

Great hard drive, works well with my macbook and offloading lots of big video files from gopros.

Great so far. Plenty of space and tank like durability. Splendiferious value when bought at a big discount.

Samsung - T7 Shield 4TB External USB 3.2 Gen 2 love this device very fast recommend . That hard drive

Great quality, doesn’t slide around, smooth mouse operations. Nothing wrong with it!

This the fastest Ssd I have to date. I’m using it as media server storage on the Nivida shield pro.

Rugged construction feels like you could drop it 50 feet and it wouldn’t hurt it.

Very fast to transfer and very reliable to store .

I needed another external portable drive for doing backups and decided to grab the new Samsung T7 Shield 2tb SSD. Unboxing and first impression: The drive came nestled in a standard Samsung logoed box, and a recyclable pressed paper container. Well protected but doesn’t need that too much as this thing is built to be rugged. There’s also a pair of cables, USB C to USB C and a USB A to USB C, nice that they include both, and some paperwork, that’s it. The drive itself is smaller than I expected, it’s also heavier than expected to when comparing it to an internal SSD drive. The drive feels very solid, no flex to it at all “brick like strong”, and is coated with a non-slip rubber coating making it very easy to hold on to and it sure won’t be sliding around very easy either. There’s a single USB C port on one end along with a power/activity light. Use: My computers all have USB C ports so am trying and benchmarking this on my desktop unit that has a USB C 3.0 port. I’ve run a complete series of Crystal Disk Mark benches on it and it maxed out the port speeds on this desktop without a hitch. The drive is extremely fast compared to any of my spindle drive based external drives “way faster, and during the benchmarking the drive never felt hot to the touch, just barely warm. And in typical SSD fashion all the benchmarks look almost identical no matter what the file size. Conclusion: If you are looking for a rugged “very rugged” external drive to store files or use as backups. The drive also supports 256bit encryption and has the software already on the drive ready for you to install. Our security camera setup saw it with no issue and I could configure it for backing up files if we wanted. The size of the drive really impressed me, it’s small “about the size of a credit card” but it’s naturally thicker “around 0.5” at the thickest part”. This is a little on the spendy side but it’s well worth it, and I won’t complain as I paid that much for the old 256gb spindle one I got when they first came out “actually more than that”. I do like that it has a IP 65 rating which means it’s completely sealed from dust and can take direct water spray “just no immersion”, but I don’t plan on keeping this around a pool or near water where it could be dropped in. I think you’ll be happy with this drive if you don’t need something with more storage “then you have to go to a spindle based drive” and want something that’s easily portable and can slip into your pocket easily, plus not having to worry too much about dropping and damaging it.

To echo my title, I will start by saying I really like this drive. It has more or less everything I am looking for in external storage. Simple. Compact. Fast. Clean design. Reputable name behind it. Peace of mind. I have been running a couple of 1TB Samsung T5’s for a while now and they have been great for me. I have been eyeing the T7’s since their arrival but had not committed given how similar they were, and, frankly, did not have a need for the Touch model. Given the changes with the T7 Shield, it seemed a good option to both pick up some improvements and consolidate my ever-growing pile of drives. As you would expect given the name, a huge draw of this drive is its durability. Now, while I have not really purposely tossed it around, I can say it does feel quite solid, and “feels good” in hand. The rubber-like grip material (elastomer apparently?) makes the drive rated for drops of 3 meters, and I think it helps protect from the repetitive bag tosses and bumps in my day to day. Being sealed in the elastic polymer also gives you IP65 rated protection against dust and water. A nice add. Lastly, despite some concerns going in, all of this protection does not seem to bring any thermal issues with it. Admittedly, I was a bit (happily) surprised. It gets warm under use, but about what you would expect. Design-wise, it is mostly all positives for me, with a few small nit-picks along the way. I love the size. 3.5” by 2.3” by 0.5”. 3.47 ounces. Slightly larger than my T5’s, but still small. Light. Still solid. A great size for use at home, or on the go. Perfect stick to a laptop size. I also love the look. Minimal branding. Black. Clean. Plain. Boring? Exactly what I was looking for. Perfect for me…almost. My only minor dig is that the material is a bit of a dust magnet. It is not really bad, more of a personal thing for me, but a little different than the all-metal drives I have been used to recently. Worth a mention. Lastly, and not in relation to this drive, I wish Samsung would stay consistent with their color offerings in their SSD space. They seem to slightly change it up with each iteration. In the box Samsung supplies the drive itself, two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 cables (roughly 17” in length, A to C, and C to C), and an installation guide. The drive is more or less ready to go, plug and play, for Windows PCs, Macs, and Chromebooks. The drive comes preinstalled with some nice software that allows you to password protect your drive as well as perform some basic drive monitoring/data functions. (Samsung Drive Management Software and Samsung Portable SSD software). While I generally choose to run my drives without the protection, it is a fantastic add here to give you some built-in ability to protect your data against possible loss or theft of the drive. The software itself is simple and easy to use. All in all, I couldn’t really ask for more here. Proper, quality cables, plug and play, and some nice, provided software. As a longtime Samsung SSD user, I should add they also offer a piece of software called “Samsung Magician.” Some of the functionality is lost with these external drives, but you get an overall picture of “drive health,” it is the easiest (only way I know of) way to check and/or update firmware, and you can see the total write data on the drive. To me, it is absolutely worth the download and install. As for speed? Well, it is quite good. It comes rated at 1050/1000 Mbps for sequential reads/writes, which is about what you would expect for drives with this tech in this class. While I generally came up a little short in my few benches (averaged at 991.13 / 949.42), they were in line, and I am happy with the results. Gigs of files move…quickly. Ultimately, I really do like this drive. Compact, lightweight, but solid, with added protection. A nice clean design. Fast data rates and sizable capacity. There are some faster drives out there, but you get a COMPLETE package here, with comparable speed, as well as added data security. All in all, a great drive.

Awesome. Durable. Great for international travel.

Fast, portable, rugged and dependable-all the necessary boxes check for must-have dependable digital storage.

The speed description of this product is misleading. According to the product specifications, the maximum read speed is 1050 MB/s and the maximum write speed is 1000 MB/s. However, after testing the drive speed using CrystalDiskMark with both USB-C to USB-A and USB-C to USB-C cables on several computers, I was only able to achieve speeds of around 460 MB/s for both read and write operations. This has led me to consider returning the product. Upon further research, I discovered a review that stated the maximum speeds can only be achieved with a Thunderbolt 4 cable, and that with USB-C and USB-A cables, the drive can only reach speeds of around 460 MB/s. Given that the product only includes USB-C to USB-A and USB-C to USB-C cables, I believe that the product description is quite misleading. Therefore, I advise potential buyers to be careful and aware of these limitations before making a purchase.

I haven’t had the chance to try to transfer anything on to it yet. It was on sale, great value for the amount of storage for the price.

it brought this T7 to replace my T5 that I was using to record 6K footage

This ssd is amazing. It’s capable of storing my pc games and video files with no issues at all.

I bought this purely with the intention of using it as an external SSD for my PS5. Unfortunately, it would seem that the drive is incompatible with the PS5. I receive 2 error messages as I attempt to use it: 1) “The data transfer speed of this USB drive might not be fast enough to use it as USB extended storage.” 2) When I proceed anyway, it tells me I “Can’t format the USB drive.” Please see the relevant photos. Thus, I cannot recommend this SSD to anyone who plans to use it with their PS5 as it simply will not work.

I picked up this SSD prior to a deployment in Sep. When I finally got around to using it in Dec I connected it to my iPad, the blue light came on then consecutively turned off. I asked another friend to use his Mac & the same thing happened. By the time I got home in Feb there was no sending it back so I contacted Samsung. They started a return/repair exchange with me so technically I have not had a chance to experience how the drive functions.

Features provided gives enough for multitasking usage

This a solid, solid state drive (pun intended). Plug and play ready to go, or install Samsungs software (installer included on the drive) to encrypt and secure your data. The drive comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB-A cable, so you can plug it into a computer that just has a traditional USB port, or a computer or phone with USB-C. The drive itself is pleasantly small, and has a unique, soft rubbery/silicon that actually feels kind of nice to the touch. I'd be a bit concerned about how it handles abuse (cosmetically), but it otherwise feels solid, and is rated for moderate impact, and is dust proof and water resistant. Meaning this drive can be used or stored in otherwise harsh environments. Also, since it is an SSD, that means no moving parts, meaning increased reliability and durability. Also, being an SSD, it's way faster than your run-of-the-mill SD Card, Memory Stick, or external hard drive. I measured 300mb/s using a standard USB3.0 port, and 500mb/s connected to a USB-C port.

The Samsung Portable T7 Shield is Samsung’s newest model of small, portable, high-capacity Solid State Drives (SSD), with incredibly fast data transfer speed capabilities. Samsung has long been a dominant manufacturer of semiconductors and is a highly respected and popular choice for flash memory and SSD devices. Samsung developed many improvements in solid state memory technology and has cultivated an outstanding reputation for their solid state drives. The new T7 Shield is really a standout for several important reasons! I have been using a Samsung T7 Touch portable SSD for over two years, and have been extremely impressed with that drive’s speed, security, durability and reliability. Upon this new Samsung T7 Shield becoming available, I was confident that it too would be an excellent portable SSD, and a smart choice. The T7 Shield is available in 1 TB and 2 TB models with black, blue or beige cases. My 2 TB model has a black case with a rubberized elastomer material over a rigid shell, and it appears that it should prove to be both rugged and durable. .This ruggedized device is IP65 rated for water and dust resistance and is claimed to be tested as drop resistant up to 9.8 feet (3 meters). The dimensions of the T7 Shield are 3.5” in length x 2.3 in width” x 0.5” in thickness. It weighs only 3.47 ounces. It is lightweight, compact, rugged and fast, which are the primary reasons that I like the T7 Shield a great deal. Portable SSDs are extraordinarily convenient and useful for many purposes. Video content producers and photographers find them to be essential. Given their large capacity and high data transfer rates they are ideal for those purposes as well as data backup and storage, and notably, for use as a portable file store when using multiple computers, and particularly when travelling away from home or primary workplace. Creating several hundred still images and video files in an average week, as well as creating many large editing and workflow project files demands large capacity, fast, reliable drives. Coupled with the need for portability of all of that data, and more, selecting the best and most reliable portable SSDs that I can find is extremely important. I rely on Samsung portable SSDs and thus far, I remain very satisfied with them. The Samsung T7 Shield is ideally suited to both working with your primary computer as well as when away from a primary computer. The T7 Shield is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Android devices, as well as gaming consoles. I have not used the T7 Shield with a Mac or a gaming console, but I have used it with Windows and Android devices, as well as Chromebooks. One of the very significant advantages of the Samsung T7 Shield, and of major importance when selecting the best SSD for travel, is the security features embedded in the T7 Shield. Password protected AES 256-Bit hardware encryption makes this a very secure storage device, especially if travelling with sensitive data. Furnished in the box with the T7 Shield are two high-quality USB 3.2 Gen 2 cables. Both a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable and a USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable are included. The USB cables are a generous 17.5” long which is very convenient and useful, and much better than the ridiculously short USB cables which are supplied with drives from some other manufacturers. There is a printed Installation Guide included, but the PDF only User Manual must be downloaded from the Samsung website. Once attached to a computer, the Samsung T7 Shield immediately mounts and displays a read-only partition containing the Samsung Drive Management Software. I also located the Samsung Android App in the Google Play Store. The T7 Shield is preformatted in exFAT, which is appropriate for Windows PCs, Macs and Chromebooks. Once the software is installed, the process of password creation is simple and straightforward. The T7 Touch can also be used without password security (unlocked drive). Password creation and management requires the use of the pre-loaded Samsung Portable SSD Software. I have been using an outstanding Samsung T7 Touch portable SSD for over two years. The user interface screen of the Samsung Portable SSD Software recognizes all attached compatible drives, and allows easy and efficient administration and management of each of the attached drives from the home-screen. The management software functionality is used for setting up or modifying the drive security, and for obtaining updates for the software and drive firmware. The drive management software is not compatible with, and thus not installable on some devices, such as Chromebooks, but that only limits administration of security features. The software was compatible with my Android phones, but none of my Chromebooks, including a very new Chromebook. The T7 Shield SSD hardware works perfectly well with all of my devices including my Chromebooks. The installed software runs as a background process occupying 0.4 MB of RAM on my laptop when the drive is mounted. In addition to the preloaded Samsung Portable SSD software, Samsung Magician Software is an SSD management utility that is available for download from the Samsung website. It is an excellent utility for monitoring the health of all compatible Samsung SSDs and for easily reading the drive specific information including current firmware version. Unfortunately, other features of the Samsung Magician, including diagnostic scans and performance optimization are not available for use with the T7 series drives. Samsung Magician monitors and displays the drive temperature (in °F or °C). The data from Samsung Magician validated my personal observations that the T7 Shield has excellent temperature control. The Samsung T7 Shield does of course become warm when attached to a computer, and generates heat in proportion to activity when it is actively in use. However, the empirical data demonstrates that the Samsung T7 Shield runs relatively cool for a portable SSD, even when there is significant drive activity. The T7 Shield was running at 83°F the majority of the time, and did not exceed 97°F even when there was a very high level of drive activity. Samsung employs their Dynamic Thermal Guard technology to monitor drive temperature and degrade performance when the pre-defined threshold is reached. It is probably safe to assume that the drive has internal heat sinks and/or phase-change material to mitigate thermals. It is my understanding that Samsung employs a single layer PCM (Phase Change Material) to somewhat mitigate the heat generated by active use (presumably encapsulated paraffin wax). The T7 Shield has a small LED lamp on the end of the housing next to the USB-C connector. Blue LED illumination indicates drive activity, and red illumination indicates stopping/dismounting the drive. The high transfer rate specifications for the Samsung T7 Shield are a very impressive 1050 Mbps for Sequential Reads and 1000 Mbps for Sequential Writes. Those fast data transfer rates are attributable to the PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) bus, NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) memory and USB 3.2 Gen2 connectivity. Testing the Samsung T7 Shield with CrystalDiskMark 8 produced results of 1065.91 MB/s Sequential Reads and 1003.14 MB/s Sequential Writes. Samsung Magician reported 977 MB/s Sequential Reads and 965 MB/s Sequential Writes. Of course there are even faster SSD drives available, notably those using the faster Thunderbolt 3 interface, such as the Samsung X5. However, the T7 Shield supports the fastest data transfer rates available for USB interface SSD drives, and further the Samsung T7 Shield actually does achieve the extremely fast data rates claimed by the manufacturer. The Data transfer rates did not appear to be affected at all by AES 256 Bit hardware encryption. Overall, the Samsung T7 Shield is absolutely great. It offers large capacity, fast data transfer rates and password protected AES 256-Bit hardware encryption. It is very compact and lightweight and is ruggedized to offer protection from the perils of portability. Additionally, being a Samsung SSD is in and of itself a strong motivation for selecting the Samsung T7 Shield. The Samsung T7 Touch is outstanding, and I highly recommend it!