While we don’t want our computer hardware to fail at all, or even during its warranty period, it’s a fact of life that some of them do.

In my case, I thought solid-state drives (SSDs) would be more reliable than conventional ones because the former has no mechanical or moving components.

I was dead wrong.

In a week, two (2) of my SSD drives failed: one (a 120 GB PNY CS1311) as a backup on a Mac, and the other (a 480 GB OCZ-Toshiba ARC100) as the primary drive in a custom-made PC. It led me scrambling to find their invoices in our attic.

Luckily, I had saved those receipts, and both SSDs are still within their warranty periods.  Most SSD manufacturers nowadays offer a 3-year warranty for their entry-level to mid-range models.  Some high-end units (usually the ‘enterprise’ models) come with warranty periods ranging from 5 to 10-years.

So this was my RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) experience for the two products:

For the 480 GB ARC100 by OCZ-Toshiba, my expense was zero, and I had my replacement SSD in hand after four (4) days of filing the RMA. They have the best warranty program in the industry with their “Advanced Warranty Program” for most of their SSDs, including some ‘legacy’ (aka: obsolete) models.

After they received a copy of the receipt (proof of purchase as well as confirmation that it’s still under warranty) via email, a UPS Ground return label was included with the RMA number. 

The next day, they promptly shipped a replacement SSD via UPS 2-Day service.

OCZ-Toshiba’s customer support was very professional, straightforward, and excellent. No nagging and unnecessary questions.  Moreover, you are constantly notified via email of the entire RMA process.  This is what customer service/support is all about.

For the 120 GB CS1311 made by PNY, my expense came to about $10 –shipping back the defective unit via USPS Priority Mail to their support center in Parsippany, New Jersey- and I had the replacement SSD in hand eleven (11) days after I filed for an RMA number.

It could have taken more time had I not sent the defective unit back via USPS Priority Mail which usually takes just two (2) business days.  PNY shipped the replacement only after they had received the defective SSD and utilized the cheaper but slower UPS Ground service.

To its credit, PNY’s customer support was also prompt and straightforward, but it lacked the same attention to detail as OCZ-Toshiba.  And, they didn’t send follow-up emails to inform how the entire RMA process had evolved.   You had to constantly go to a link they had provided after the RMA # was issued to check on its status.

VERDICT: Hands down, OCZ-Toshiba was the winner with its “no cost to the consumer approach“ and speedy turnaround.

That’s why a product’s warranty is the only protection consumers have for their hard-earned money.

And, how companies honor their warranties spells the difference between respectability and plain money-grab.

When buying a solid-state drive, be sure to save the receipts and store them in an envelope, as most of them are printed on thermal paper.  Prolonged light exposure will erase all the information and render it useless.

NOTE: OCZ-Toshiba and PNY replaced their defective units with brand-new, retail-box sets.