Leaving an SSD in an unused laptop, will data deteriorate?

[TheAncientLegend]

Flash storage relies on an electrical charge to maintain data integrity. It can start to lose its charge in as little as a few months.

 

If an SSD is sitting in an unused laptop, does the laptop need to be powered on every couple months in order to refresh the charge on the SSD?

 

Does the laptop provide an electrical charge to the SSD when it's powered OFF, but with a charged battery? Or when it's plugged in but powered off?

[TempestCatto]

I have flash drives I haven't touched in years. Data on it remained in tact, no problem. I've never heard of this before. But no, it won't deteriorate. I have a laptop that sits for sometimes years at a time, I use it very rarely. It has a cheap SanDisk SSD in it, no issues at all. I also have an iPhone 3gs that's been sitting since the 4s came out, just fired it up to see, and no issues either.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Actually, it is possible that the data will deteriorate over time but how long depends on how full the drive is, the age of the drive, the type of drive (MLC, TLC, QLC, Enterprise or Consumer?), temperature, the brand of the drive, the phase of the moon, etc. Data may last anywhere from a few months to well over a year. To be safe, I would power up the computer every few months. It might be easier to remember to do so if you fire it up every month.

 

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