This review is for a Samsung 2TB Portable SSD T7 Shield, it being one of three possibilities that I spent much time researching online and at Amazon Comments. The research was a painful process as I'm not a high tech IT person, so (i) much of the detail was over my head, and (ii) I found widely varying positive and negative reviews. This review is an attempt to help someone like me.
1. Storage of 2 TB is enough for most light-user purposes, especially if you store your photos in the cloud and are not a user who needs higher TB for e.g. gaming, music or video production.
2. The 2 TB unit is almost exactly the size of a plastic credit card, but about 6 times as thick (13 mm = 0.5 inch). It's not heavy so easy to take anywhere.
3. The unit comes with two cables to attach to your computer. One described as C to A fits into old-style USB slots on your computer, the other is C to C, which gives much faster data transfer speed and fits more modern computers. So, whatever the age of your computer, unless it's truly ancient, you are covered.
4. The cords are long enough for use on a laptop on a desk or, say, an aircraft seat table. They are not long enough for a larger computer, especially if you have it standing vertically on a desk. Alternative longer cables are easy to find online or in shops.
5. Gamers etc. with very high rates of use report that their T7s reach high temps. My T7 does get warm in use, but not worryingly so, going up only about 8°F.
6. The T7 has a protective coating that gives a rated level of dust, water and drop protection. Some reviews note that it's impossible to write on the coating or attach an ID sticker to it. If you have several T7s that's a problem; it's not for people with just one.
7. The T7 is sold as ‘ready to go out of the box’ for Mac, Windows and Android computers and comes with an Installation Guide and Warranty Statement in 36 languages so has global reach. However, it provides little useful info for first installation and use - (for that search online, there are good guides there) - but it does walk you through the detail of password protecting the T7 if you want to do that. It's somewhat complicated. Do not forget your password, as without it you will not ever be able to access your data.
8. The warranty is 3 years duration. Register the Warranty at Samsung online. Use the numbers on one end of the T7, not the numbers on the pack. They are micro-font. You will need 20/20 vision.
9. My first use with a C to A cable was slow because of (i) the old style slow speed cable, (ii) my 8 year old laptop and I guess (iii) the various clever things that the T7 was doing. Subsequent backups have been much faster.
10. Other reviewers give detail on up and down-load speeds and waste space inside the 2 TB because of the way the T7 partitions data. This is important for high tech users, it's not for me, simply wanting the safety of regular back-ups.
11. After 3 weeks use, yes I would purchase again. Time will tell the longer story.
| Hard Drive | 1 TB Solid State Drive |
|---|
