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Latest Samsung 960 Pro Firmware Update Causes Application Freezes, Instability

Raevenlord

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Users of Samsung's 960 Pro SSD's that have updated to the latest firmware version (3B6QCXP7) have been reporting far, wide, and through a variety of outlets, the existence of problems that lead to application instability and OS freezes lasting for several seconds before the system resumes normal functions. Apparently, there's no hard-crashing involved as of yet, though the issue seems to be widespread enough that it's generating discussion in Samsung's forums, our own, and some other tech publication's. It seems the 960 Pro is getting stuck with 100% activity reports in the task manager with read and write speeds of 0. At the same time, some users are reporting performance degradation by sometimes up to 1,400 MB/s in read speeds when benchmarking the drives, which also doesn't bode well for the firmware's pedigree.

The issue has been replicated by users running Perfect Disk while running SSD Optimization modes. A Samsung representative in the Forums seems to be on top of the issue, asking users for information on their systems and configuration before escalating the situation and reporting, though so far, it seems that the problem is being dismissed as being not widespread enough to be considered a cause for alarm. Samsung''s 960 Pro firmware can't be rolled back by users to a previous version, though, so take this post as a heads-up and maybe wait for a newer firmware revision, just to play it safe. A statement from Samsung follows after the break.



Update (December 1, 2017): In response to our story, a PR representative on behalf of Samsung provided us with the following statement:
Samsung is aware of the issue with the Samsung 960 PRO SSD and the latest firmware version (3B6QCXP7). Samsung is working to solve the firmware issue, and those affected should contact Samsung customer service at 1-800-726-7864 or Samsung.com/us.
Time will tell how soon the fix comes, but this is a good first step. If anyone here is affected by the issue and has contacted Samsung, please let us know how it went.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
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While not being widespread enough by Samsung's counts, at least come up with some sort of workaround for those that spent quite a few amounts of currency on a high-ned product and are facing the situation. A simple dedicated product recall, for example, special RMA case, idk. All those devices should still be under warranty.
Just because a manufacturer feels like it's not worth it, to invest engineer time on this, shouldn't also mean a percentage of consumers are to be left in the dark after a legitimate maintenance operation issued by the former...
 

Keullo-e

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Reminds me of the problems with 840 Pro back in the day.
 
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Well, at least they're not exploding or catching fire, like their washing machines and phones.
 
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Thx for the mentioning. lol
 
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I can't catch a break. I am just about to upgrade from the 840 EVO, which had a lot of issues and 2 firmware updates to fix them, to a 960 Pro... Hopefully my 960 pro that I bought is not on the new firmware.
 
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"Samsung''s 960 Pro firmware can't be rolled back by users to a previous version."

What a terrible policy.
 
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It happened to me yesterday. it was weird.. it reminded me to the XPS 9550 NVMe SAMSUNG 2.2 driver for 940 PRO.. but there is no permanent freeze.
 
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My 960 pro does not give the option to even update. Says the latest is 2B6QCXP7
 
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My 960 pro does not give the option to even update. Says the latest is 2B6QCXP7


Samsung has removed the problematic firmware from all download source.


ATTENTION.

I have found a temp workaround. Remove ALL Samsung NVMe drivers. This can greatly reduce the occurrence
of system hanging up/freezing.
 
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lucky break for 960 Evo users, I guess...
 
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That is why I usually don't touch bioses, firmwares, etc. If the product that I bought is stable and has no issues with its stock firmware then I am not touching it.
 
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That is why I usually don't touch bioses, firmwares, etc. If the product that I bought is stable and has no issues with its stock firmware then I am not touching it.
I've flashed motherboards BIOS dozens of times over the years without any problem, sometimes adding new or upgraded capabilities(NVMe, faster RAM speeds, etc). The one thing that screwed me was a firmware upgrade on a Plextor M6e, one of the first M.2 PCIe drives, but they RMA'd the bricked drive, so all was well. But I no longer trust firmware updates on SSDs, and this isn't Samsung's first SSD firmware screwup.
 
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"Samsung''s 960 Pro firmware can't be rolled back by users to a previous version."

What a terrible policy.

Don't think it's a "policy", more likely they are re-arranging data in a fashion that previous firmware won't recognize. Just guessing. In any case, they should be issuing a new firmware ASAP...

Also, from what I read, this won't "brick" the 960 Pro, just render almost unusable.
 
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Don't think it's a "policy", more likely they are re-arranging data in a fashion that previous firmware won't recognize. Just guessing. In any case, they should be issuing a new firmware ASAP...

Also, from what I read, this won't "brick" the 960 Pro, just render almost unusable.
That I'd understand. Boneheaded if it's reversible and they choose not to allow it.
 
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Starting to loose faith in Samsung after the 840 Evo's fiasco. And now this.
This is UNACCEPTABLE for the top SSD product they have. Planed to buy one but now not anymore. Looking to Toshiba's new SSDs instead.
 
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As I've already stated in the Samsung forums - In your own life you weigh the consequences before you take an action.
In this case Samsung took an action without regard for their loyal clients, hung them out to dry, and with no plan B for them to fall back on.
Perhaps Toshiba will be the way to go.
 
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Can anyone explain this image?
After 3B6QCXP7 some of my programs are now reporting that my Samsung 960 Pro 512 is a Samsung 960 EVO 1TB!

3B6QCXP7 weirdness.JPG
 
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As I've already stated in the Samsung forums - In your own life you weigh the consequences before you take an action.
In this case Samsung took an action without regard for their loyal clients, hung them out to dry, and with no plan B for them to fall back on.
Perhaps Toshiba will be the way to go.

The folks that bought OCZ and didn't honour the OCZ warranties? Hmmmm.
 
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Can anyone explain this image?
After 3B6QCXP7 some of my programs are now reporting that my Samsung 960 Pro 512 is a Samsung 960 EVO 1TB!

View attachment 94475

Check to see if it is actual 1TB in your windows explorer. If not then it is just some software glitches.
 
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This means that there will be another firmware update in the near future, to correct this one. Alright! Another chance to screw it up. Maybe they'll go for full brick this time and spend another billion or so on RMAs. They can afford it. Maybe you should leave it alone now, since the drive still works fine.
 
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