Microsoft said its investigation found no connection between the August 2025 Windows 11 security update and the SSD and hard-drive failures reported on social media. The reports involved Windows 11 version 24H2, particularly updates KB5063878 and KB5062660, but neither Microsoft nor SSD maker Phison established a verified cause for individual incidents.
What Windows users reported
After Windows 11 24H2’s August 2025 security update, KB5063878, users reported SSDs or hard drives disappearing or becoming inaccessible during heavy write activity. Some also described data corruption. The preview update KB5062660 was mentioned in the reports and in Phison’s statement.
BleepingComputer said early reports included drives that were more than 60% full and described writes of around 50 GB. Those details are reported observations, not confirmed trigger conditions or a demonstrated failure mechanism. The reports also named products including Corsair Force MP600, Maxio SSD, SanDisk Extreme Pro, Kioxia Exceria Plus G4 and Kioxia M.2 drives, as well as drives using Phison and InnoGrit controllers. That is not a verified list of affected models.
What Microsoft said
August 21: Investigation under way
On August 21, 2025, BleepingComputer reported that Microsoft was aware of the reports, had not reproduced the issue on up-to-date Windows 11 24H2 systems and was asking affected users for more details. BleepingComputer’s report on Microsoft’s investigation described the early response.
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August 29: No connection found
On August 29, Microsoft’s stated conclusion was: “After thorough investigation, Microsoft has found no connection between the August 2025 Windows security update and the types of hard drive failures reported on social media.” BleepingComputer reported that Microsoft said its internal testing and telemetry showed no increase in disk failures or file corruption after the update, and that it had worked with storage partners to try to reproduce the issue. Microsoft said it would continue monitoring feedback and investigating future reports. Read BleepingComputer’s report of Microsoft’s conclusion.
What Phison’s testing found
Phison Electronics said it reviewed potentially affected controllers and worked with industry stakeholders. In its August 25, 2025 statement, it reported “over 4,500 cumulative testing hours” and “over 2200 test cycles” across drives reported as potentially impacted, without reproducing the issue. Those figures are Phison’s own account; they are not independently audited results. Phison also said it did not recommend changes to product distribution. Read Phison’s official statement.
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Microsoft’s finding that it could not connect the update to the reported failures and Phison’s inability to reproduce them are evidence of what those organizations reported. They do not prove that users fabricated their accounts, independently verify a particular failure, or identify what caused an individual drive to become inaccessible or lose data.
What to do if your drive is affected
The available statements do not establish a confirmed fix or a recovery procedure for drives affected in these reports. They also do not show that either update damaged a particular user’s drive. Because device-specific recovery steps are not established here, avoid treating a generic workaround as a proven remedy; consult current Microsoft support guidance or the drive manufacturer for advice relevant to your system and symptoms.
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Does a heatsink help?
Phison advises users running extended workloads, such as large file transfers or archive decompression, to ensure the storage device has a suitable heatsink or thermal pad. The purpose is thermal management and sustained performance. This is general cooling guidance—not evidence that a heatsink prevents or repairs the reported Windows update issue.
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