SanDisk - Extreme 500GB External USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A/Type-C Portable Solid-State Drive

When I read the reviews they said it was small but when I opened the box...dang. It hooked up fast and I was able to back up all my photos in a matter of minutes. Worked perfect and it doesn't take up any room at all...

The drive exterior size is very good when thinking about the storage size. It is indeed very fast writing and reading. Power consumption is acceptable (very important when connected to smartphone device). It connects directly to my Android smartphone (through USB-C connector). Easy to back-up phone data to the disk without using a PC. The drive would get warm to hot when used (mostly writing). According to the specifications, it is water resist, shock resist! I am not going to try the limit but looking at its structure, it is indeed sturdy and well sealed. The drive is coming with a small USB-C connection and an adapter to USB-3. Working well with Linux, Windows, Chrome OS and Android Systems. The drive is delivered with SanDisk volt software that can be used to encrypt personal files. Handy if you are using the drive for saving confidential data. Price wise, it is really acceptable (taking in count the connection to android phones. Special cable is required to connect to Apple phones).

Please take note that I received this product for free in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. It's Sandisk - the name that I trust for long-lasting storage in all walks of my electronic life - phones, cameras, solid state hard drives. I had no doubts when I received this product that it would change my perception of Sandisk's products. It didn't! First thing I noticed - it's so tiny! I can fit in your front jeans pocket or your front shirt pocket! It includes a USB-C cable as well as a USB-C to USB-A adapter. The only device I have that accepts USB-C is a Chromebook, so benchmarking was out of the question there, BUT, I can say that some rather large video files I put on the drive played without any issues. Attached are the screenshots from my PC using USB-A USB 3.0 ports. I found the results to be impressive! Roughly 3x faster than mechanical hard drive attached via USB 3.0 to the same computer! If you're looking for a fast drive that's portable and reliable, don't waste your time with anything else - this is the one to buy!

Very good experience with this device. Works well on iPad and pc.

Great storage device to use as large "Thumb Drive"

UNBOXING: Upon unboxing this drive I was immediately taken with the appearance and build quality. I knew it would be small, but not this small. It is very nice looking and has a corner loop so you can attach it to a key ring or a carabiner to easily find it in your bag. EXTRAS: Not much extra in the box. It comes with a small USB-A to USB-C cable and a USB-A to USB-C adapter. There is no pre-installed software. When you insert the disk into your device, you will be prompted to download the Sandisk SecureAccess software. THIS IS NOT REQUIRED TO USE THE DRIVE. It is only recommended. However, for users who have security concerns, SecureAcess will set up a password-protected vault that will automatically encrypt all your files. I'm not storing sensitive files, so I elected not to use this software, but I think it's a huge bonus to have that sort of protection available in an automated, easy access package. People who are always security conscious will have their own protections in place and they will likely be more stringent as well as multi-layered, but the average user who may just want to have added protection for their files will find SecureAccess very easy to use. PERFORMANCE: While testing this device for review, I had the average (read not tech savvy) user in mind. I plugged the drive into my MacBook Air, and without any thoughts of formatting, I just starting dragging files into the drive. The word fast is not sufficient to describe this thing. It's light speed fast. I mean seriously, really, really fast. I then plugged the drive into a Chromebook. All the files played perfectly. I then switched to a windows laptop with the same results The drive gets warm, but not hot. It is water resistant which is nice, but don't jump in the pool with it. Caught in a heavy rain or accidentally drop it in a puddle? You'll be fine. From Sandisk Site; The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is IP55-rated, which means it’s built to withstand water and dust. It is also certified to stand up to 2-meter drops (That's 6.5 feet for the metric impaired like me!) I am a one bag, ultralight traveler and this device has been permanently added to my packing list. I will keep it on a carabiner inside my bag. This device is so easy to use, I would have no problem giving it to a parent or grandparent, with nothing more than a simple lesson on dragging and dropping.

Full disclosure: I received a 500 GB SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD in exchange for an honest and timely review. The device is about the same thickness as my iPhone X, but perhaps an inch narrower and about 2 inches shorter. It is very compact and light weight. It has a nice rubber edge for absorbing shock and a little eyelet for attaching it to a carabiner or something similar. It has a IP55 rating, so it can withstand some adversity without being damaged. I connected my unit to my 2017 MacBook Pro with the included USB-C cable. The “drive” also comes with a USB-C to USB-A adapter for use with systems that don’t yet have a USB-C port. My first test was to export 256MB of photos and videos from the Apple Photos app on my Mac. That took around 20 seconds using a very rough measurement with the stop watch on my my Apple Watch. That export includes processing by the Photos app, so I’m sure most of that very quick time (IMHO) was due to the Photos app rather than transfer speed. I then proceeded to look for files to transfer to the SSD and found that everything I dragged and dropped to the drive was transferred as soon as I dropped it. I couldn’t detect any delay at all. Wow. Boom and it is on the SSD. A 200 MB video transferred before I could say “one thousand two” as I counted up. Very nice! That confirms my assumption about the export from Photos. I know I’m not taxing this device in the least. It is fast! I have purchased portable storage devices since the days of 3.5” floppy disks…hard drives, iOmega Jazz drives, and more recently the many generations of USB drives and “sticks”. I have two 2TB USB drives that I use most often these days for backups. The SanDisk Extreme SSD is by far the fastest portable device I’ve used. The compact size/light weight and ruggedness make it even more attractive as a new “go to” portable storage device for my needs. I tend to take a lot of photos and video while traveling. This drive will likely be a nice repository for them when I need to offload or backup my memory cards from my cameras. So far I would definitely recommend this for people who are looking for fast, compact and rugged storage …and are willing to pay extra for those attributes.

I was expecting it to be compact being a SSD but this exceeded my expectations. It also has rather rugged look and feel. With the number of free or low priced "cloud" options portables dont have the same desireability as they once did for a lot of people, but we find them very useful. We many times travel to areas that there is not that great of WiFi available to take a ton of photos, so having an external to back up the SD cards from the cameras is really a must for us. And this being the size it is makes it even more portable than many others we have had in the past as its only .042 inches thick. I can carry it in any pocket and its so light its hardly noticable, does not weigh you down at all. It even fits in my cell holster with my iPhone X in it as well. It can handle speeds up to 550mbps on the transfer of data and has an Ip55 water/dust resistant rating so splashes, rain sprinkles, spills or sweat is no problem at all. Included is a USB Type-C to Type-C cable and a Type-C to Type-A adapter, and I have a few USB C to C and USB C to A with us that we carry with us for one of the other phones and othe equipment so whatever device we need it on we are good to go.