Data recovery from SSD & NVMe
SSD not recognized, 0 capacity, gone after an update, soldered MacBook SSD. Flash recovery has nothing in common with a hard drive: no platter, but a controller, a volatile translation table and NAND chips. We handle them all, from SATA to NVMe PCIe.
Does your SSD show one of these signs?
The SSD no longer appears or reports zero capacity: corrupt controller or lost translation table (FTL).
82% with a repairable controllerThe SSD shows under a generic name or stays busy: a well-known firmware bug requiring a Safe Mode entry.
82% with firmware reprogrammingEmpty or "bricked" volume after a firmware or OS update. The data is often intact but unaddressable.
80%+ if no secure eraseA T2 or Apple Silicon (M1–M4) MacBook that won't boot: soldered SSD, encrypted by the Secure Enclave.
75–92% with board-level repairWhat the laboratory actually does.
Reverse engineering the FTL
When the SSD shows under a generic name (SATAFIRM S11) or stays busy, it's a corruption of the mapping table linking logical sectors (LBA) to the physical pages of the NAND chips. We short-circuit the controller to force Safe Mode and load a loader into RAM that virtually rebuilds the translation table from residual metadata — without the original firmware.
Read Retry & LDPC decoding
Memory cells wear out electrically and cause read errors the corrector (ECC) can no longer handle. Our Read Retry algorithms dynamically shift the voltage thresholds during raw chip reads, then fix bit errors via soft LDPC decoding.
Board-level NAND extraction
If the controller is unrecoverable, we desolder the NAND chips in a BGA station (chip-off), read their raw content, then reconstruct in software the interleaving, scrambling and error correction specific to the controller. It's the most complex SSD operation.
Board-level repair & DFU read
On Macs since 2018, the SSD is soldered and inseparable from the processor. We identify dead power rails from schematics (PPBUS_G3H, PP3V3_S5, PP1V8_NAND), repair blown MOSFETs and PMICs at component level, then read the SSD through a hardware DFU interface. Decryption requires a working Secure Enclave and the key/password.
Immediate shutdown & imaging
On an SSD, the TRIM command can permanently erase freed blocks as soon as it's powered. So we cut all writes, image the readable zones first, and work only on the copy — never on the original device.
SSD success rates across 120,000+ cases.
Averages observed since 2004. The free diagnosis refines the prognosis for your model.
All formats SATA, M.2, NVMe.
Phison, Silicon Motion, Marvell, Samsung controllers and TLC, QLC, PLC and stacked 3D NAND chips. MacBooks with T2 and Apple Silicon M1 to M4.
What you must never do to a failing SSD
- Leave the SSD plugged in "to retry" — while powered, TRIM can permanently erase deleted data.
- Run a secure erase or low-level format — these commands irreversibly destroy the NAND cell content.
- Put the SSD in the freezer — dangerous myth: condensation short-circuits the electronics.
- Mount it read-write to "copy what's left" — every write can overwrite still-intact pages.
- Keep retrying a failed firmware update — repeated restarts can permanently freeze the controller.
The golden rule: on an SSD, time works against you. Unplug it immediately and send it to the lab.
Specialist answers on SSDs.
Can data be recovered from a failed SSD?+
Why did my data suddenly disappear?+
My SSD reports 0 bytes or "SATAFIRM S11" — recoverable?+
My MacBook's soldered SSD won't boot?+
How much does SSD recovery cost?+
Understand flash memory.
This page describes the service. For the practitioner methodology and the physics of NAND, two resources complement this device.
Step-by-step SSD methodology
Diagnosis, reverse FTL, Read Retry, chip-off, Apple decryption: the full approach, practitioner level.
Read the Guide chapter →How an SSD works
SLC/MLC/TLC/QLC cells, FTL table, wear leveling, TRIM, ECC: the anatomy of flash memory and its points of failure.
Read the Manual chapter →Is your SSD no longer recognized?
Unplug it immediately — TRIM can erase your data every second it stays powered. Send it to our lab for a free diagnosis within 24h.