Samsung asks customer to destroy high-end 980 Pro SSD before sending it back for RMA

It is no secret that Germany (and the EU) has one of the strictest data protection laws on the planet. While most of them are centred around how "big tech" handles user data, there are some obscure clauses that cover some offline aspects. Igor's Lab found out about Samsung's interesting new RMA policy when they tried to return a nearly dead, high-end 2 TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe SSD.

Unlike most OEMs who'll simply ask customers to send the SSD back to them, Samsung asked the user to go through some unconventional steps. After filling out the requisite information such as name, serial number, proof of purchase, proof of failure, etc., Samsung asked the user to destroy the NAND flash modules on the SSD for better "data privacy". The company also asked the user to document the process with photos and videos to ensure that the 980 Pro was functional before being sent back for an RMA.

Igor's Lab mentions that there was a lot of correspondence between the user and Samsung, both over email and telephone, neither of which has been published due to privacy reasons. The user in question possibly had some incredibly sensitive data on the drive which could potentially get extracted via the flash modules. This request is likely an outlier and might not apply to most users, who will still be required to send back their dying drives without putting them through a trauma test.

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