AliExpress SSD drives

Forums › Desktop computing › AliExpress SSD drives

FineWine

3138 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2486

Trusted

Nurse (R)

Lifetime subscriber

#324678 11-May-2026 16:38

As of macOS 27 my venerable Airport Time Capsule 5th Gen - 2TB will become a brick. I am just looking to have an external drive, not a NAS or any such thing, that will macOS format into APFS that Time Machine will accommodate.

I would like to use an SSD >2TB. So I have been researching and they are bloody expensive here in NZ. But I have noticed on AliExpress that there are quite a few listed at a reasonable price.

Lenovo Portable SSD High Speed External Hard Drive 1TB/2TB/256TB USB3.1 for PC Laptop Mac Phone - Solid State Disk - AliExpress

2026 New External SSD 1TB/2TB/4TB Durable Portable Hard Disk High-rate Original Solid-state Drive for PC/Laptop/Phone/Mac - AliExpress

Portable External Hard Drive 1TB Quiet Operation Solid State Drive 2TB 4TB Mobile Disk High Speed SSD For PC Laptop，Home&Office - AliExpress

Lenovo 256TB High-speed 4TB 8TB 16TB SSD Portable External Solid State Hard Drive USB3.0 Interface 128TB HDD Mobile Hard Drive - AliExpress Portable SSD

1TB External SSD Hard Drive High Speed USB3.0 Interface HDD Mobile Hard Disk For Xiaomi For Laptop PC Disk External - AliExpress High-speed SSD 128TB

External Hard Drive Portable 2TB Solid State Drive 4TB Mass External Hard Disk for Laptop/Mac/PC/Phone - AliExpress 44

Has any forum members bought an SSD off AliExpress and if so what was their end experience with the purchase. Or should I just buy a good old Portable HD, say from WD.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

lxsw20

3741 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2238

Subscriber

#3489923 11-May-2026 16:43

Why would you trust your backups (insurance) with a knock off? Not a single one of those drives will really be what they say on the tin.

Get a WD/Samsung/Seagate etc from a local source.

If you want to do it cheap with what will now be an old drive, pull the 3.5" Drive out of your airport and buy a USB enclosure for it.

EviLClouD

312 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 77

#3489926 11-May-2026 16:47

Depends how much you value your data.

i certainly wouldn’t trust a seller selling a 256TB drive for under $100…flash storage capacity is easily faked.

https://www.topdisk.com/how-to-spot-fake-ssd-capacity-a-guide-for-savvy-shoppers/

mentalinc

3408 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1040

Trusted

#3489931 11-May-2026 16:53

There was an article last week about a 4TB? SSD that was nothing more than a USB to micro sd adapter.

CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB: Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

wellygary

9009 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5586

#3489933 11-May-2026 16:58

"Or should I just buy a good old Portable HD, say from WD."

This,...

Also for an incremental backup like time capsule you don't need the speed of an SSD.. a HDD will be fine...

richms

29326 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10408

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3489941 11-May-2026 17:24

I have bought cheap nvme ones for OS drives and found they have software issues that make them get really really slow till they start to time out and the PC bluescreens - fine when restarted and no data loss.

Replaced with "branded" ex lease ones from PB before the prices went stupid - all issues stopped.

Drives work fine as data storage, but 256 gig doesnt go far for torrenting onto.

While a fake capacity thing is quick and easy to test for to get a refund. Things being a bit crap over time is something you will never get a resolution for, and the local market for junk tier ones like netac and similar is about the same price and you have a shop to yell at when it borks.

Also none of those links will open for me because of that skim resources crap that the site puts on links. Just post the number part of the URL

Richard rich.ms

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
81061 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41978

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#3489942 11-May-2026 17:26

Do not buy storage devices from Temu, AliExpress and others. You are likely to end up with a fake, lower-capacity microSD inside a case with a weight to make it feel like a heavier device.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

michaelmurfy

meow
13675 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 11089

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3489976 11-May-2026 19:35

I can tell you now - all the drives in the OP are fake.

Do not buy.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

Behodar

11257 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6281

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3489983 11-May-2026 20:08

FineWine:

As of macOS 27 my venerable Airport Time Capsule 5th Gen - 2TB will become a brick.

For what it's worth, there's a third-party port of Samba 4 which gets it running again.

https://github.com/jamesyc/TimeCapsuleSMB

cddt

2097 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2038

#3490009 12-May-2026 06:35

lxsw20:

Not a single one of those drives will really be what they say on the tin.

This 100%.

openmedia

3509 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 906

Trusted

#3490129 12-May-2026 13:47

I wouldn't touch drives from Temu / Aliexpress

I have bought HDDs from Amazon when they're direct from manufacturer, but I tend to buy SSDs locally

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

FineWine

3138 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2486

Trusted

Nurse (R)

Lifetime subscriber

#3490132 12-May-2026 14:06

As usual freitasm and everyone else, all your advice is invaluable. So off to Noel Lemming or PB Tech to look at Seagate or Western Digital 2TB - 4TB range for my Mac mini m4.

I won’t be touching that third-party port of Samba 4. That is above my pay grade.

Cheers everyone 🍷

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.