Yes, in many cases, data can be recovered from a water-damaged Solid-State Drive (SSD). The success of the recovery depends heavily on the type of water exposure (e.g., a minor spill versus full submersion in saltwater). The most important factor, however, is the steps that you take immediately after damage occurs.
The recovery process involves professionally cleaning and repairing the drive’s circuit board or, in more severe cases, performing a chip-off recovery to read data directly from the SSD’s memory chips. All Datarecovery.com laboratories are equipped with the necessary technologies to perform these procedures (and each one of our offices is a fully outfitted laboratory — we do not operate mailing offices).
Water-damaged SSDs require immediate attention to maximize the chances of recovery. To start the process, call 1-800-237-4200 or submit a case online.
What Happens When an SSD Gets Wet?
Unlike a hard disk drive (HDD), an SSD has no moving parts — it’s entirely electronic. Water and electricity don’t get along (or, rather, they get along too well).
Permanent data loss can occur due to either of the following:
- Short Circuits: Water is an excellent conductor. If you supply power to a wet SSD, the electricity can travel across unintended pathways created by the water, instantly destroying the SSD controller, capacitors, resistors, and other delicate components on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB).
- Corrosion: Even if the drive is allowed to dry, data loss can occur. Water — especially tap water or saltwater — will leave behind mineral deposits and contaminants. These residues are conductive and corrosive. Over time they will eat away at the microscopic solder joints and electronic pathways on the PCB. Corrosion can cause drive failure days or even weeks after the initial water exposure.
As is the case with flood-damaged hard drives, SSDs must be treated quickly; the prognosis for a full recovery is excellent immediately following the water exposure, but the chances drop as the drive corrodes.
What to Do with a Water-Damaged Solid-State Drive
You should replace any water-damaged SSD, regardless of whether it’s functional — corrosion takes time to set in, and trusting the drive with important data is a bad idea.
If you don’t have an up-to-date backup, we recommend contacting a professional data recovery provider as soon as possible. Avoid these common mistakes:
- DO NOT apply power to the drive. Do not plug it into a computer to “see if it still works.” Doing so is the fastest way to cause a catastrophic short circuit and make the recovery much more difficult, if not impossible. A reputable data recovery provider can test the drive in a non-destructive manner — and if the drive is operational, they should only charge you for the file transfer (we charge a minimal fee for this type of case).
- DO NOT attempt to dry the drive yourself. Don’t put your SSD in a bag of rice, and don’t try to use air to blow-dry it. Rice dust can get into components, and it does a poor job of removing trapped moisture. Using a heat source like a hairdryer or an oven can permanently damage the NAND flash memory chips that hold your data. And even if you use something without heat (like a fan), you’re only addressing the potential for short circuits — corrosion can still occur.
Note: If a drive has been fully submerged, especially in dirty water or saltwater, the best course of action is to not let it dry out. Place the drive in a sealed plastic bag and send it to a professional data recovery lab immediately. This may seem counterintuitive, but it prevents the corrosive mineral deposits from hardening onto the PCB.
The Professional Data Recovery Process for Water-Damaged SSDs
When we receive a water-damaged SSD, our engineers take a systematic approach to safely access your data.
1. Decontamination and Component Repair
The first step is to clean the drive. The SSD is disassembled in a cleanroom, and its PCB cleaned with specialized chemical solutions. Engineers work to remove mineral deposits in a controlled, clean environment.
After cleaning, our engineers examine the board under a high-powered microscope to identify any damaged components. Using micro-soldering techniques, they can replace failed resistors, capacitors, or other elements to restore the board’s functionality.
2. Chip-Off Recovery
If the SSD’s main controller chip or the PCB itself is too damaged for repair, we move to a more advanced technique known as chip-off recovery. Contrary to popular belief, chip-off recovery isn’t the first course of action — it’s a last resort, since it requires quite a bit of engineering skill and specialized equipment.
The basic process:
- The NAND flash memory chips, which physically store your data, are carefully de-soldered and removed from the SSD’s board.
- The chips are cleaned and placed into a specialized reader that can interpret the raw data stored on them.
- Our engineers must use purpose-built software to reverse-engineer the SSD’s original data management algorithm (known as the Flash Translation Layer, or FTL) to reassemble the raw data into your recognizable files and folders.
This process is extremely complex and is only possible with a deep understanding of SSD architecture and proprietary hardware and software tools. Learn more about our SSD data recovery process.
Your Next Steps for a Successful Recovery
A water-damaged SSD is often recoverable, but it requires immediate action. If the SSD stored important data, do not attempt a DIY recovery, and don’t attempt to dry the drive.
At Datarecovery.com, we have the specialized cleanroom environments, cleaning systems, and advanced chip-off recovery hardware necessary to handle water damage cases.
Our engineers have decades of experience in component-level electronic repair and have developed proprietary solutions for popular SSD brands and controllers. And with our no data, no charge guarantee, you don’t pay a recovery fee unless we successfully recover the data you need.
If you have a water-damaged SSD, we’re here to help. Contact our experts at 1-800-237-4200 or submit a case online for a free evaluation.
