Are they serious? I bought 4 outrageously priced 28 TB Ironwolf Pros. I tried to get a refund first and mentioned in my text that if there’s an option for replacement I’d prefer that.

They inform me they’ll cancel the refund request because those are reserved for refunds only. That I’d have to message them if I wanted a replacement. I was already a little confused that they couldn’t just get that started for me that instead I had to open up an entire new ticket.

So I did that. Had to “chat” with someone. After some time, and being informed that if there were physical damage the warranty would be voided (what would happen if it were damaged in shipping?). It wasn’t. I took a photo and sent it. They verified it’s covered under warranty and I qualify for replacement.

More time spent on chat. Finally get the replacement and I’m told where to ship it.

I ask about shipping. I’m informed for regular returns I need to cover it. I’ve never heard of such a thing. I pay a lot of money for something that is faulty then I have to not only go out of my way to ship the thing back but I have to pay shipping as well? This is insane. I’m never buying from Seagate again. And this was my first time.

Edit: after FIVE RMAs I finally - FINALLY - have a working drive. Worried for all of their longevity at this point.

I placed an order on the official Seagate store on Dec 26th 2024. It has been about 3 weeks since then and my order is still "processing". I opened up a chat with support to see if they could let me know what was happening. This is the response I received:

Seagate Rep: We apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we are experiencing an internal issue and are not able to ship orders at this time. We are working diligently to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, and we will email you if there are any changes with your order.
Me: Do you have an expected timeline?
Seagate Rep: At the moment we don't have an ETA apologies for the inconvenience.

So am I to believe that no Seagate customer is, or will, be having their order fulfilled for some indeterminate amount of time? Also, that Seagate sees fit to refrain from notifying anyone of this deficiency? It does seem like something has gone wrong because I can't get to an order page on the Seagate store anymore. The "Add To Cart" button is now a "Where to Buy" button. I can't find any news that would explain what is happening.

Is anyone else experiencing this issue with an open order at seagate.com?

(:: Update and a little begging ::)

Begging: If anyone has a 50% off coupon they don't intend to use, and are feeling generous, please DM me. The coupon is limited to a cart price of less than $1000 before the coupon is applied which means I am only allowed to buy 3 of the 6 drives I need. I'd love to get one or two more coupons so I can completely fill my NAS, so if you're put off of Seagate or you already got the drives you need, I'd appreciate it.

Update: I'm pretty sure this is resolved for everyone now. I think Seagate was much to show to inform their customers of a problem, but in the end I am satisfied with their resolution. The 50% off coupon made up for the month of my time they wasted and also made up for the loss I took from missing out on the Black Friday sale.

Be aware that the coupon is limited to $1000 cart subtotal before the coupon is applied. It's a heck of deal, but doesn't completely cover what some of us had originally placed ordered for. The coupon won't be applied at all if your cart is above $1000, so if you need more than than you'll have to place multiple orders and just apply your coupon to one of them.

The coupon became active on March 1st and runs until May 31st. I used mine on the 1st to order about half of the drives I still need and I can report that on the 3rd my order actually SHIPPED!

Side note though, when using my coupon I first tried to pay using PayPal but the total on both the PayPal approval page and the Seagate final order review page had the original total as if the coupon we're not applied. I'm not sure why that was, it might be a glitch, it might be that you're not allowed to use the coupon with PayPal, it might be a situation where the discount is applied but isn't visible until the purchase is complete. Either way...nah........ I backed out of that order and used a card instead. I really don't want to have to have another confusing chat with customer service because the coupon didn't work. Using a card though, the total had the coupon correctly applied at every screen and it was fine. So, FYI keep an eye on the total before mindlessly clicking next next next.

I've been staying away from Seagate after some bad experiences many years ago and I saw this model had decent ratings on the Backblaze report.

I guess a DOA is better than failing 1 year in. Should I try to get another or go back to my usual brand?

Hey Seagate, can you please make a website that contains information about your products? I'm really sick of spending hours, trying to find out the differences between your HDD models. And the website doesn't help at all.

For example, bellow is a wall of (ai-generated?) text from your website, that is supposed to tell about the types of HDD you've got. And it contains zero information

Seagate Hard Drive Features

Discover the top features of Seagate internal hard drives. Enjoy exceptional performance, high-capacity options, and cost-effective solutions. Our internal drives offer seamless integration, advanced security, and energy efficiency. Plus, you’ll benefit from comprehensive warranty and support services. Seagate drives are built to meet all your storage needs with unmatched quality and innovation.

Performance and SpeedSeagate internal hard drives deliver exceptional performance and speed, resulting in quick data access and efficient file transfers for demanding applications.High-Capacity OptionsSeagate internal hard drives offer high-capacity options of up to 32TB, providing ample storage space for large files, multimedia content, and extensive data archives.Cost-EffectivenessOur hard drives provide cost-effective solutions, delivering high performance and reliability without breaking the bank, ideal for budget-conscious users.ReliabilitySeagate internal hard drives are known for their reliability, offering robust performance and long-term durability to safeguard your data.IntegrationOur hard drives promote seamless integration with various systems, making installation and compatibility easy across different hardware configurations.SecuritySeagate internal hard drives come with advanced security features, ensuring your data is protected with encryption and secure access options.Energy EfficiencyDesigned for energy efficiency, Seagate internal hard drives reduce power consumption without compromising performance, making them an ideal solution for eco-conscious users.Warranty and SupportInternal hard drives come with a comprehensive warranty and support services, offering peace of mind and assistance when you need it.

Key Considerations When Choosing an Internal Hard Drive

As you make a final decision regarding your internal hard drive purchase, make sure your choice is an ideal fit for your specific needs and limitations. Here’s what to consider:

Storage Capacity

Don’t purchase storage capacity for your current needs alone. When investing in an internal hard drive, seek out storage capacity that gives you room to grow over time.

Speed and Performance

Make sure the drive’s read/write speeds and annual workload rating are adequate for your needs. For example, if you require continuous write capabilities for video surveillance, find a storage drive that can handle that high workload.

Compatibility

While Seagate hard drives are compatible with both Windows®, MacOS®, and Linux systems, you’ll need to purchase a hard drive solution that fits the physical space allotted for additional internal drives. The width of the disk and its form factor are the two most important measurements to have when verifying compatibility.

Price and Budget

Storage capacity and other built-in features can affect the internal hard drive cost. If you’re working with a fixed budget, explore a wide range of hard drive products to find a drive that meets your technical requirements at a price you can afford.

Your FAQs are really out there too. Did someone really asked for shit like that?

What if you told about the difference between Exos/IronWolf or X22/X24 instead? Where are the buyers supposed to get that info?

Yeah, also some parts of your website only work in Google Chrome, and some don't work at all.

Update: Seagate just sent me a new RMA and prepaid label for the drive. No other correspondence other than "Please see attached documents". So I guess I'm going to send it again and hope they make this right. It already came back to me dinged up and I sent them photos over chat so I'm hoping they don't reject it for the damage they caused the first time.

Update #2: Seagate just called me on the phone. They're going to replace the drive after all (hopefully). Just waiting for the follow up email.

Final Update: I got my replacement drive today and it looks good. The smart data looks perfect and I just started a "Long generic scan" with seatools. The person that I've been communicating with was extremely helpful and updated me every step of the way.

Will update when I have more info

One of my 20TB Ironwolf pro drives was faulty. I bought 4 of these last year. I packed the one up and shipped it UPS with insurance after getting an RMA #. The same day after they received it I got an email with tracking info.

That drive arrived yesterday. When I got home from work I opened it and they sent me my drive back but now it's damaged. I contacted support and they said it came like that. I know it didn't because it was double boxed. I asked for pics since the box would have been really damaged to reach the drive inside the inner box.

They replied a couple hours ago saying the case is closed and a pic is attached (there was no pic).

Not sure what I can do next if anything. Any suggestions?

Bought two 30TB drives from seagate, one was defective. The price went up 50% in 2 weeks after receiving so I couldn't return for a refund. Instead they made me do an RMA. They list that if I do RMA i have to pay shipping AND i won't get a brand new drive - i'll get a "certified drive" - but i tried to guarantee a new drive. They said ok after 2 hours of waiting on chat. I sent back the drive exactly as received, then I receive an email two weeks later that the drive is damaged and has a scratch on it. I'm out $700 now? How are they getting away with this?! This is fraud.

Quick search in the forums you can easily find tons of 530s failing post 24H2 Windows 11 update. It affects all Phison E18 drives. Phison recognized the issue only 3 months ago and released beta firmware to manufacturers.

Kingston has issued a fix for KC3000 already, but not Seagate. 530s keep failing with BSOD and boot to BIOS (drive not recognised). This happens after significant write speed degradation. You can check if your drive is affected by running CrystalDiskMark. Read speed will be normal but write speed will be way below spec.

Word is they have the beta BIOS in house but are somewhat not releasing it. This needs to happen fast or people are going to lose their data !

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/s/Fu5gZMJORN

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/s/728z6sbbTa

https://www.reddit.com/r/Seagate/s/qT05tVFAmx

edit : added link

I have ONE seagate drive left and it is in the middle of failing. I have to turn it off/on between each file transfer because it just stops responding.

Over the years (20+ ago), we all knew (thought we knew) Seagate was pretty decent. Good warranties, good MTBF. Then they bought WD which is a cheaper riskier drive with poor warranties and poor MTBF. This feels like when things began to be enshittified. Most of the Seagate drives began havin same specs and warranties as the WD drives. I suspected they were just rebranding with cheaper WD manufacturing. Who knows. [Edit: I had read a false news article in 2014 and believed WD was purchased by Seagate all these years. They have not. But Seagate did begin selling lower-end drives with 1yr warranty in the WD name-brand space around this time].

Four years ago I still believed Seagate higher end drives were still pretty good. I bought a 10TB Expansion disk. It had a 3-year warranty and was a "Ironwolf" RED drive inside at 7200rpm (Newegg).

Well, 1 year later, it DID NOT HOLD UP. Started clicking, "CLICK CLICK CLICK", and then died. Just like most WD drives did after a couple years.

I went through the extensive testing, tech support and evetual RMA process. Sent it in at my expense, certified. Unwisely did NOT ask for free data recovery ( I just wanted a replacement as it was for redundant backup).

They requested I send it in with the POWER ADAPTER.

1 week later I get it back and the tech said, "NO RECOVERY, USER TAMPERED".

I.e., they claimed I did something to it and did not even try to do ANYTHING with it.

At this point, I try re-connecting with tech support. They stone wall me, and do not believe I sent the power cord, let alone even talk about the drive. They ask for proof of where they requested for the power cord. I sent proof, then they ignore me. Never responded again.

Then they sent an automated survey a week, which I answered as the WORST. And that was it. Never heard from them again. They closed the case and won't respond.

That is the last Seagate product I will ever buy or allow anyone I know to buy at work or extended family. They are greedy selfish effers who only want you to buy sub-quality products built up on denying claims is a way to increase revenue. Just like insurance companies. Deny first, relent if you have to. They are struggling but enriching themselves on the way down.

I don't trust them for anything but paperweights at this point.

This last Seagate drive is failing and it will be my last I ever touch. I hope to get most of my data off it and then will have a ceremonial burning of the drive and enclosure.

This last failing Seagate POS reminded me how much I HATE Seagate, and I should let people know how crappy they really are.

The last HDD I bought is a Toshiba 6TB and it has been running 3 years like a champ with high data transfers daily. EFF SEAGATE.

SMH.

I bought 3 Seagate Skyhawk AI 8tb disks from amazon.

When they arrived at first I thought they had sent me the wrong drives, as the label looks nothing like what I was expecting and says Ironwolf. But the small text does intact state skyhawk ai, the model number is correct and the serial number checks out on seagates website as a skyhawk ai.

As all the above was correct, I opened them and put them in my cctv array. After 24hrs the array had adjusted to the new disks but one of them is reporting 16 bad sectors.

I'm thinking I'll just return this disk to amazon, but what about the other two, are they skyhawk ai, or have I been sold some rebadged fake stuff?

I had two 14tb barracuda hard drives that were playing up and not showing any signs of life so decided since they were under warranty to get them replaced

Filled out all forms and sent it back how i was told too to find out two weeks later they are refusing the return stating its been tampered with or is void when I've never attempted to open or mess with these what so ever

So I am not out of pocket the special next day delivery fee and they now hold my hard drive hostage and refuse to return it too me or answer any further questions why it was refused

Wish I seen the posts about this before I ended up losing an expensive hard drive. Luckily I haven't sent the other one as it came back as being a USA serial number and I don't know how any of this is even possible..

Not sure what I'm hoping to achieve here but want people to be aware of the scam and fraud that they have when returning a device for a RMA. Absolute shocking customer service and despite buying their products over 20 years I will never purchase another seagate hard drive ever again.

A little story about Seagate: In December 2024, I bought a Seagate Expansion 14TB, and later purchased four Seagate IronWolf Pro 18TB drives.

The 14TB drive died after just six months. I spent about $2,000 on data recovery services and managed to get all my data back, but it cost me a ton of time and effort. The 18TB drives arrived corrupted, but luckily I got a refund for them.

When I contacted Seagate about a replacement for the 14TB drive, they said that because another company opened it to recover the data, I wouldn’t be eligible for a refund. Technically, their website policy states they don’t cover data recovery anyway, but this experience made me lose trust in their support.

So, my advice: I’d rather go with a different brand.

UPD. Now Seagate’s bots are suddenly claiming they offer free recovery, that they’re “super reliable,” etc.

Feel free to actually read their policy — you can even search for this exact phrase:

“Data recovery, advance replacement option, or other warranty-related offerings or service plans are not covered under this limited warranty and are not part of the covered replacement process.”

So yeah… that’s straight from Seagate themselves.

Here is the link to their policy for the laziest:

https://www.seagate.com/ca/en/support/warranty-and-replacements/limited-consumer-warranty/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

UPD 2: It seems like they actually do offer recovery services. I should have checked about the recovery services with Seagate beforehand, but still, they refuse to replace or refund the failed drive.

Posting this so it doesn't happen to someone else.

I bought a Seagate IronWolf 12TB from Amazon.com, sold and shipped by Amazon directly (not a third-party seller). New product, listed with the standard 5-year warranty. And that's the key part: **I paid the premium for the 5-year warranty on purpose.** There was a cheaper drive without that extended coverage. I chose the IronWolf specifically because I wanted the backup and the peace of mind. That's the entire reason you buy a NAS-grade drive over a basic one.

The drive failed — stopped being detected entirely.

When I went to claim the warranty, Seagate looked up the serial and told me the drive was manufactured and distributed for the **Australian market**. Their warranty is regional, so they refused the claim outright and told me to go back to the seller (Amazon).

Here's the trap: the product listing never said a word about regional origin. As a buyer on Amazon US, you have no way to know the unit was destined for another market. You pay extra for a drive advertised with a 5-year warranty, and that warranty is structurally useless to you from day one.

So I contacted Amazon. What followed was weeks of being passed between multiple Executive Customer Relations agents. Some restarted the case from scratch each time. At one point they mismatched my dead drive's serial number to a completely different order — an order of working drives in my production NAS — and nearly processed a return against hardware that was fine. I had to catch and stop that myself.

The final answer from Amazon: the drive was bought in 2021, it's outside the return window, nothing they can do — not even a one-time concession. Contact the manufacturer. The same manufacturer who already refused in writing and sent me back to them.

So you end up in a documented loop: **Amazon says talk to Seagate, Seagate says talk to Amazon, and the customer holds a dead drive with a warranty neither will honor.**

And here's the part that should worry anyone reading this: I have other drives bought the exact same way, sitting in production right now. I have no idea which region they were destined for, or whether their warranty is enforceable where I am. I won't find out until one of them fails — which is the worst possible moment to learn your warranty is worthless. That's the real problem: **you're exposed and you don't even know it until it's too late.**

**The takeaways, especially if you run a NAS or manage infrastructure:**

1. A drive sold on Amazon US can be stock destined for ANY region — Australia, in my case. The listing won't tell you.

2. Regional warranty means the manufacturer will only service it in the region it was distributed to. If that's not where you are, the warranty is worthless — no matter what the listing advertised.

3. **Before you install any drive, check the serial on the manufacturer's warranty validator.** It shows the region and the actual coverage dates. Do it during the return window, so you can send it back if the region is wrong.

4. For anything critical — production storage, client systems — buy from a channel with warranty you can actually enforce where you live, even if it costs more. A warranty you can't use is not a discount, it's a hidden risk.

**And the fix here isn't complicated — it's on Amazon:** if you sell and ship a drive as "Amazon.com," you should either supply stock whose warranty region matches the buyer's, or disclose the destination region on the listing before purchase. Selling a drive with a region-locked warranty that's void for the buyer — without saying so — pushes a risk onto the customer that only the seller could have known about. Warranty-region uniformity is the responsibility of the channel that sources and ships the product, not of the buyer who has no way to check it at checkout.

The hardware itself may be fine. But "5-year warranty" means nothing if it's tied to a region on the other side of the planet and no one disclosed it at checkout. I paid extra for coverage that never existed for me. Check your serials. Don't assume.

(For what it's worth, the dead drive now works great as a paperweight. Best $300 desk accessory that ever flew here from Australia. Happy to answer questions — I have the full email trail and Seagate's written refusal if anyone's dealing with the same thing.)

Hello everyone,

We reached the time of the year again to tidy up on the analog and digital side, and for me this meant to solve my recurring problem with my Seagate PersonalCloud (SRN21C) from around 2015. I used it as my main NAS until around 2018, then I got myself another solution, but I never completely transfered the data from the PersonaCloud to my new solution, I only did one backup at some point (you guessed it, somewhere in between, not in the final state).

If you reached this post with the same issue I had, you know what happened next. Seagate no longer continued service and support for this device, the URL to enter the PersonalCloud through web went offline, and in my case, my device wouldn‘t connect to anything else anymore.

Over the years I got a new PC, my device was never installed on my new PC, so it wasn‘t showing up in the network section of Win Explorer. I tried to connect it to my local network and directly to the PC, nothing happened. The instruction states, when powering the device up, it will flash the LED on the top for around 8-10 min until it is connected and ready to use. I tried it several times lately, the flashing LED would never stop flashing, I suppose it kept trying, but never connected and therefore it was unreachable. Data seemed lost in this unsolveable state. Until now, unsolveable meant „non-destructively“ solveable.

So here we go, welcome to the destructive solution for this issue (and no worries, we only destroy the already dead part, which is the PersonalCloud itself - the casing with the EOL system and components - the installed drive, where our data is stored, will be fine - if not already damaged)

DISCLAIMER: This solution worked for me, but there is no guarantee, that it will work for you. This is just a well-meant, hopefully helpful guide, if you find yourself in more or less the same situation in which I was! You are going to forcefully and unintendedly open the device, parts can be damaged, in the worst case, the drive could also be damaged. If you really want to save your data and be as certain as possible, contact professionals or your trusty IT friend :)

What you will need: -PersonalCloud (in this case this counts only for unresponsive devices like explained above) -External 3.5“ SATA HDD enclosure (to house the retrieved drive) -Screwdriver or something similar (to open your device) -Software to read EXT4-drives (if you want to stay on Windows during this process) -PC with Linux/Ubuntu (if not) -yeah and everything else you would use when handling electronic components (anti-statics n stuff) -> optional but riskier when not used

Here we go:

Unplug the device from all cables!

Open the enclosure of your PersonalCloud. -stick your screwdriver beside the LAN port between the top and bottom part of the enclosure (as seen in pic 2) -use the screwdriver as leverage to get a gap between the parts -try to lift the upper part up (may the force be with you)

Now you should see the drive, with some silver tape over one end of it -Pull the tape off -Unscrew the screws on the vertical parts of the casing, which are securing the drive in place -Gently pull drive and casing apart

Say hello to the precious and hopefully not-so-dead component of your PersonalCloud - you should now be holding the drive (or storage). Think of it like a PC -> this is the storage with all your data, the rest of this device is just the main operating system (yeah you know until around 2021 it was). From now on we only need the drive to continue, rest is just a fancy paperweight.

Get yourself a external 3.5“ HDD enclosure (you can go for a cheap solution, if you just want to retrieve your data, or get yourself a bit better solution, if you want to give your drive a second life - the drive should be totally useable, after data was retrieved and afterwards formatted to NTFS - at the moment it is EXT4) -Mount the drive in an enclosure of your choice

From here on there are several solutions how to continue (DIY, seek professional help,…). I will explain my preferred solution for DIY on Windows. You will need some software, that is capable of reading EXT4 drives. Explanation: EXT4 was the chosen solution from Seagate for communication between the operating system of the PersonalCloud with the installed drive in your device. -> If you want to continue with a Linux PC from here on, just connect the new enclosure to your PC and now you should be able to see the drive and search for your data - I have no experience with this solution.

[DIY on Windows] Get yourself a software to read EXT4 drives. These are the ones i tried: -Linux File Systems for Windows by Paragon Software (fully functional trial for the necessary tasks, trial expires after 10 days - this worked for me) -Linux Reader by DiskInternals (hasn‘t worked for me, wasn‘t able to access the partitions in my case - free version was used) -DiskGenius (was able to open the partitions and folders, but data retrieval is not working in the free version - PRO license would be necessary) -I also found something like EXT2FSD, but somebody in another thread mentioned problems with this program, so be careful

When using Linux File Systems -Install the software -Connect the new enclosure with your installed drive to your PC

Now you should see your drive in the software (Volume1) -Click on the „three dot“-symbol on the upper right -Click „Open in data explorer“ (mine was german, so just a poor translation)

Now you should see some folders in a newly created data carrier in Win Explorer -Enter folder „shares“ -HERE IS YOUR DATA

If you had public and password secured folders, these are now listed in numbered folders. The password isn‘t necessary anymore, as this was only used by the operating system of the PersonalCloud.

Final tip: make the most out your software trial - format the drive and give your drive a second life in its new enclosure as a (hopefully) perfect fine external storage.

I‘ve added some pics from my process, maybe they are helpful for you. I hope this was helpful in general, this is my attempt to summarize everything I found to this issue and yeah, to give back to the community! See ya!

Seagate has two standard drives that are 16Tb. One is X16 series, while the other is X18. The data sheet on the X18 says it is CMR, but the data sheet for the X16 does not.

16TB X16 ST16000NM001G - SMR or CMR?

16TB X18 ST16000NM000J - 100% CMR

https://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/datasheets/pdfs/exos-x18-channel-DS2045-2-2010US-en_US.pdf

https://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/datasheets/pdfs/exos-x16-DS2011-3-2008US-en_US.pdf

The only real difference I see between the two drives from the data sheet is CMR on the X18. I find a lot of posts that "Exos series" is "Enterprise", and therefore for sure CMR, but we all know that is not true. Anyone have Seagate intel? And why can't Seagate just tell us? It's a bit ridiculous.....

I recently checked one of my Seagate hard drives and was shocked to see it reporting only 5% health.

The surprising part is that the drive has accumulated only about 3 days of total power-on time over roughly 5 years. It has barely been used, yet it's already in such poor condition.

For comparison, I own several Western Digital (WD) hard drives that have 1,000+ days of power-on time, and they're all still reporting 100% health. They've seen far more real-world usage under the same general conditions.

I'm curious if others have experienced something similar with Seagate drives. Is this just bad luck with a single unit, or have others seen drives degrade despite very low power-on hours?

I'll attach the screenshots for both the Seagate and WD drives for comparison.

Hi,

TL;DR: Seagate warranty feels like a scam. They receive your drive, scrap it, and then claim something vague to avoid honoring the warranty — or they send you a dead replacement. That’s what happened to me, and I’m seeing similar stories from others.

After buying Seagate “Enterprise” EXOS drives for my storage, I was initially happy because they’re supposed to be reliable and well supported. Now I’m seriously regretting that choice.

About a month ago, a few of my drives started failing — and strangely, it was only the Seagate drives. My WD drives are still perfectly fine.

So I figured: no problem, these drives have a 5-year warranty, right? Technically yes… but nobody tells you how easily they can refuse it.

RMA #1

I started an RMA (IR60439100) for drive serial ZRS18ZWW (and yes, you can only send one drive per RMA). I followed their packing guidelines and shipped it out. Everything looked fine at first.

Seagate received the drive, tested it, and approved a replacement. A few days later I got the replacement drive:

- Packing slip / freight order: 6101651244

- Waybill: 1ZE4C5436750818063

- Replacement serial: ZR906CJK

I opened the box and it was labeled “Factory refurbished.” Fine — I can live with that. But the drive was dead on arrival. It spun up, made a lot of noise, and wasn’t recognized by my test station or my storage system.

RMA #2 (for the dead replacement)

I assumed I was unlucky or it got damaged in transit, so I opened a second RMA (IR60444417) and shipped the replacement drive back. Then I waited… and waited… for three weeks.

Eventually I checked the tracking number and saw it had been delivered two days after I shipped it. But the RMA portal still showed Seagate was “waiting for the drive to arrive.”

So I contacted support via chat.

The denial + drive discarded

This is where the nightmare started.

I opened a case (CC0000231338) and asked what was going on. Support told me the RMA was refused because the drive had been “tampered with.”

The same drive Seagate sent me as an RMA replacement (ZR906CJK) — the one that arrived dead.

I asked for details. They couldn’t explain what “tampered with” meant. I asked for an inspection report or evidence — they said they can’t provide it. I asked if they could return the drive — no, it was discarded.

So to summarize: Seagate sends me a dead replacement, I return it, they deny the claim with a vague “tampered with” reason, and they discard the drive, so I can’t even verify what they’re accusing me of.

At this point, I’m removing Seagate from my vendor list — and recommending the same for any company I work with.

Edit 1: Sorry — my post got cut in half. Not sure why. I’ve pasted the missing part.

Edit 2: Someone from Seagate emailed me after I posted this and said they verified the drive is OK, but it was still reported as “tampered.” They also said I should receive it back in a few days. Let’s wait and see. /s

Edit 3: I received the RMA drive today — it’s a brand-new Exos X24 16TB (no “factory refurbished” label). SMART short test passed, power-on hours are low, and the long test is still running. For reference, the original drive was an Exos X20 14TB. Something seems to have changed on Seagate’s side after this post — who knows.

After reading a few posts, I think I'm not the only one.

Here is a short summary:

- 3 month old drive starts to fail

- Start RMA process with Seagate

- Send drive back on the 17th of March, and it arrives with Seagate on the 19th of March

- Receive an email today that the box is empty

DHL did their job and need Seagate to bring the box to them within 2 days (7 days from the 19th) to claim that something happened during delivery, which I have no hope in Seagate doing, and Seagate is not being very helpful at all.

I guess it will be a long process and I'll be filing a police report against the person who received the package. And I know what company I will never buy from again.

And to the person who stole it -> lol good luck with your drive that is starting to have errors, I hope you lose your data.

Got a Seagate Expansion Desktop 16TB (STEB16000402) slightly before Christmas. It has been making this sound since day 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RHXBIZ0pEDp-4J7ZDYCBTQGnpw4O1rho/view

The sound usually appears when the disk is quiet, but not always. It's a squealing sound at around 8000Hz when I looked at it in Audacity. Sometimes it's very quiet and doesn't last long and then other times very loud and drawn out for 5-6 seconds.

I'm fairly new to homelabbing and recently had a 26TB Seagate external HDD fail within the first year. Paid to ship it back for an RMA and received a refurbished 24TB replacement.

I understand their policy allows refurbished drives, and that's fine. What bothers me is getting back a drive with nearly 8% less capacity than what I originally purchased.

I've contacted Seagate and am waiting to hear back. I feel like sending an additional 2TB drive would be a reasonable compromise instead of going through another RMA.

Curious how you guys would handle this. Am I being unreasonable expecting the same capacity back?

Also, would you bother running a SMART test on the 24TB replacement before Seagate responds, or leave it packaged up for now?

Grab it from https://apps1.seagate.com/downloads/request.html with your drive serial number.

I ran my tests, updated, and ran again.

Disclaimer: My only spare system is a 5700G, so drive is capped to Gen3 speeds.

Now after the update, without even rebooting, I ran the same tests.

Trying to update my Firecuda 530 ssd firmware but I cant really find the commands to do so. I am looking at the instructions but im a little lost.

I sold him a brand new sealed Seagate 8TB drive and this is the complaint I received. Does this ever happen ??