For several weeks, Windows 11 has been making headlines due to its August 2025 update. The update is accused of causing malfunctions with SSDs. Reports of SSD failures under Windows 11 have been rampant, with users experiencing serious bugs.
Quickly, Phison conducted tests, and Microsoft later confirmed that the August 2025 update for Windows 11 was not responsible for the issues. The examinations took place in a laboratory involving specific SSDs from Corsair, Silicon Power, and APSR, with no issues reported.
Why SSDs Fail with Windows 11?
However, a Chinese Facebook group decided to conduct its own investigation and shared its findings. In response, Phison released an official statement: “In response to the recent Facebook post PCDIY!, Phison contacted the group to investigate. The results show that Phison examined the exact SSDs used in the PCDIY! tests and determined that the group was using a preliminary engineering firmware that is not the final firmware used in the consumer-available Corsair Force Series MP600, 2 TB, and other drives with E16 controllers.”
Phison even replicated its tests with the same SSDs and stress tests, which included writes between 100 GB/1TB. The company utilized market-available SSDs, and no failures or crashes were observed with the final commercial firmware. Hence, Phison confirms the theory regarding the failures: the bugs only occur on SSDs with an engineering firmware version that is not meant for retail.
In short, this clarification resolves all the mysteries surrounding Windows 11, which postponed the release of the 25H2 update. It’s possible that those affected by these SSD failures were using units equipped with development firmware instead of the final versions for the general public. Phison thus proved that it bore no responsibility amidst what appeared to be a controversy that had generated significant discussion from the outset among the affected users.
In conclusion, another indication that preliminary firmware versions can sometimes cause issues compared to final products. Unfortunately, Windows 11 was not spared from this controversy, which now finally finds its resolution.
Source: Neowin
