SanDisk Ultra Fit 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Category: Gadgets & Tools
Price: $26.85
Total Reviews: 127 customer reviews
Average Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
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Product Description

Big performance in a tiny package. This USB 3.0 flash drive from SanDisk can write up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 drives. That means transferring things like full-length films is possible in less than 40 seconds... [Read more]

Top Reviews

Serious overheating issues - shutdown / disconnects
by Techno Nerd (1 out of 5 stars)
September 10, 2015

Unfortunately, the bad reviews are true. This thing really does get blazing hot during use. Copying 5GB of files to the 128GB drive resulted in a surface temperature of 67C, which is way too hot to touch / hold. The ambient temperature at the time was 23C. This high temperature wouldn't be so bad, except that the drive also shuts down / disconnects when it gets that hot. That means that copying any large file will result in file corruption / deletion. This makes this somewhat large storage device completely useless except when used to store a handful of small and only occasionally used files.
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Permanently Damaged my USB Port
by Lie2me (1 out of 5 stars)
July 7, 2015

I purchased this knowing that it would be compact for an application that I have. Unfortunately, it permanently damaged my USB port on my monitor. The device is so small that it gets very hot when writing data into with no where to dissipate the heat. It transfers the heat into your USB port which may be made of plastic. I pulled it out and it took the plastic tongue with it. I am now afraid to use it with my laptop and almost any other device for fear that it will damage those ports. Looking back, I wish I had gone with a much larger device that has some capability of dissipating heat. Its size makes it difficult to remove and insert. I am probably going to return it now. If you plan on keeping yours, you should get a USB hub or a USB extension cable to make it easier to plug in and out. I can't recommend leaving it in your USB port given how much heat can be generated.
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More Solidly Built than the 2.0
by C. Tiensivu (5 out of 5 stars)
March 28, 2015

Works like a charm! Fits more snugly into my USB ports than the 2.0. The black part of this thumb is also a little big bigger than the 2.0, but this is probably due to the hole where you can loop a cord through it. The 2.0 had a tiny metal hole that was not only difficult to loop anything through, but one of mine also broke off after nearly a year. The design on the 3.0 does not incorporate a separate metal piece, but is part of the black plastic mold as a whole. I feel as though this will be a more solid design that is less likely to break down the road.
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Serious heat issue
by Wonkyu Kim (2 out of 5 stars)
May 23, 2015

The speed of this product is fast, but be aware that it generates a lot of heat and hot to touch after a few minutes of use.

Because the thumbdrive gets unusually hot, I measured current with USB current meter. I connected usb current meter to USB 2.0 port, and connected SanDisk Ultra Fit 16GB on the other side.

When the thumbdrive is in idle, 0.06A is constantly measured.

When the thumbdrive is in active, measure current fluctuates between 0.16A and 0.10A, so the average current looks to be 0.13A.

The power consumption rate of the thumbdrive is P = VI = 5.04V x 0.13mA = 655 mW. Because the power mostly dissipates as heat, the power consumption rate can be regarded as heat generation rate. If you are an electrical engineer, you can find that 655 mW is quite a high power for the small devices as thumbdrive. Note that the power limit of a normal resistor used in breadboard is 1/4 Watt. The power consumption of the thumbdrive is twice to the allowed power consumption of a normal resistor.

Furthermore, my computer is equipped only with USB 2.0 and the above current measurement is implemented in USB 2.0. In USB 3.0, much more current will flow through the thumbdrive, generating even more heat and increases temperature further.

High temperature in thumbdrive means shorter lifetime. Thus, I recommend this product for occasional use, but not for continuous or extensive use.
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Not the SanDisk quality I have come to expect but still better than the competition
by Chris L. (3 out of 5 stars)
August 24, 2015

Reviews say that this little bugger runs hot - yes it does. Some state it is slow - yes it is - after it gets hot. Other reviews say it will not work on a car stereo - no issues with that at all but I replicated the issue.

Precursor - I use SanDisk USB keys exclusively for work and car audio. I also use their SDHC Ultra cards exclusively for my digital photography. They are (IMHO) the best on the market. That being said - my review of this item.

First - when it is in-use - I mean really in use - like a large or numerous files - it gets HOT - Way hotter than the 35 degrees celsius (95 degrees F) that the SanDisk people refer to in the reviews...hot enough that you cannot touch it for a few seconds (again where the SanDisk people say to let it sit for 15-20 seconds before touching - Why???). After a large file transfer, it cools quickly. When using it in an auto receiver - it does not heat up as the data is randomly being accessed in short bursts. That being said - it does get hot. The older USB-2 versions (Cruzer Fit CZ33) does not get hot. Guess the data moves so fast that it scorches the copper pathways.

That brings me to the second point. USB-3 quickness. It is USB-3 quick on the transfer start but it slows down relative to the heating of the USB key. The hotter the USB key, the slower the transfer. When transferring 12gb data, it got very hot - stopped transferring for a minute (the USB key cooled down) started up quickly and then slowed down again to a crawl and finally - stopping again for the key to cool. I was able to do this on a laptop, desktop and MacBook - same results with all three so it is not a computer issue. So - is it USB-3 quick? Yes - until it overheats and stops to cool.

Third - Car stereo. Works like a champ! No issues at all. I have about 80 CDs on the key, roughly 12 songs per CD. It plays properly, is small enough that it does not stick out (The older Cruzer Fit CZ33 fits even closer to the faceplate of the car's receiver) and does NOT get hot. Minimal data transfers fed to the buffer of the receiver means that the key is not being pings as heavily and does not overheat. I have no issues at all with playing back MP3s on my receiver. But - I replicated the 'not playing' issue. My receiver only supports 128 folders (albums) of data. For giggles, I put 140 folder on the key and fired up the receiver. It failed to read the key. I pulled 12 folders off - leaving 128 and it worked fine. I added one (making 129 folders) and it worked sporadically. Not saying this is the cause for all - just something I noticed.

So - Three stars...

Pros:

Quick on short bursts

Slim fit

Plenty of storage

Works great with car stereos.

Cons:

Overheats on large transfers

Slows down when overheating

SanDisk support - No need to tell me to "open a case" - it is obvious that this USB key has flaws (just look at how many people report the same issue). Redesign or get a firmware fix. Not the usual SanDisk quality I have come to expect.
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Cannot transfer large files via usb 3.0
by Chasis (1 out of 5 stars)
September 15, 2015

The heat issue is real with this drive. If I try to transfer any large files 3-4+gb the drive will overheat, disconnect itself from the computer momentarily, and come back on. Small files work fine but honestly I'm not buying a 128gb drive to put small files on it. Attached is a photo of the drive right with a thermocouple showing how hot it actually gets (154F) right before it shuts itself off and keep in mind this is just the outer case of the drive no idea how hot the inside actually is. I love sandisk products and use nothing but their memory cards and thumb drives but this one is no good.
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Don't buy this!! Needs to be recalled!! Overheats rapidly with data read/write failures. Cannot main
by Overly Taxed (1 out of 5 stars)
September 13, 2015

This device has serious THERMAL problems. During sustained writes the device gets incredibly hot. So hot that write failures begin to appear. I discovered this while try to build a MAC OS X install disk using this device as the media to hold the information. While copying an nearly 4GB file the writes kept failing with an error -36. I removed the device from my Mac's USB port and it was very hot. Not warm - HOT. I put it into an external USB 3.0 hub and it again got hot and the writes failed. I removed it again and to cool it down I simply blew on it for a while until it was room temp. The 4GB file then copied more than it did before, but the device rapidly heated up again and the write failed once again. I've elected to return this to Amazon. I'm dismayed and disappointed that Sandisk would even ship something like this. I've never had problems with them before, but not I'm less likely to buy there stuff and I'll look at other brands. I don't have time for this stuff.
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Small 3.0 flash driver, but always overheats
by TheVitruvius (4 out of 5 stars)
January 26, 2016

I have used this flash driver for a while and my only complaint is that it overheats really quickly. I like the facts that it is USB 3.0 capable, and its small dimensions (about the same size of a penny). It comes with a cap so you can protect it from getting damaged while carrying it (but I lost it). Also, it has a hole in the back so you can attach it to your keychain or to a lanyard, and it has a red LED which indicates when it is in use.

I attached some photos to show you guys how hot it gets after being connected to my laptop for 3 minutes (117.3 F or 47.5 C).

Given that it overheats in such a small amount of time, I recommend not to leave it connected to any USB port for more than 30 minutes, otherwise I think your data might be at risk.
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Small and fast - worth buying.
by Pelle (5 out of 5 stars)
October 25, 2014

Had the previous version of this model, the Cruzer Fit.

Loved the size of that one but was not thrilled with read and write speeds.

This version is MUCH better and is worth buying for sure. Did a speed test (see attached pictures) for both drives and this version is more than 10 times faster.

Cruzer had 3MBps read speed and about 14MBps write speed. This is painfully slow to be honest.

This newer version has 45/146MBps which is comparable with a normal hard drive.

I keep drive always plugged into my MacBook pro and use it as a backup disk for important information.
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GARBAGE! The first one overheated to the point of ...
by Joe (1 out of 5 stars)
January 12, 2017

GARBAGE! The first one overheated to the point of Windows kicking the drive off. I asked for a replacement and that one overheats just the same. contacted SanDisk support and they are WORTHLESS! They gave my some nonsense boilerplate response that did NOTHING to address the root cause. Here's the support chat transcript with names truncated:
"K.: Hi J

J: Thanks K!

K.: You are welcome.

K.: Have you tried to use the flash drive with any other computer?

J: Yes. 4 different computers, Windows and Mac and this is my second of these drives. They both overheat badly. Reviews on Amazon, Newegg, etc. are LOADED with complaints about this too.

K.: SanDisk® drives comply with industry specific standards and are tested to remain in acceptable temperature ranges under normal operating conditions in host and USB flash drive devices.

K.: SanDisk drives are tested to comply to the safety standards in "Safety of Information Technology Equipment, IEC 60950-1", where the ambient temperature range is between 0°C and 35°C. SanDisk SDCZ43 can run a little warmer than other similar drives due to its high performance and compact form factor, which can limit the immediate dissipation of heat from the circuitry.

J: Uh, the drive gets so hot it disappears from Windows Explorer and comes back after a few seconds. They are both doing that.

K.: In that the best thing I can do for you is, I will replace your flash drive with a new one.

K: case*

J: Okay, and what if the replacement still does the same thing? What then?

K.: I understand J. That is why I have already told you the reason of overheating.

K: If the drive is getting to much hot and effecting the host device than the best thing I can do for you is replacement of the drive"

so I'm just getting a refund via Amazon.

You shouldn't waste time with companies that don't take responsibility for their products.

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