Samsung tells M.2 NVMe SSD firmware updaters "Download Limit Exceeded. We apologize for your inconvenience." Seriously?

Posted by Paul Braren on Apr 27 2017 (updated on Jul 24 2017) in
  • Storage
  • Virtualization
  • ESXi

    • Trying to go here:
    www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools.html
    or here:
    www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/overview.html
    to get to the direct download URL here:
    ssd.samsungsemi.com/ecomobile/ssd/update14.do?fname=/Samsung_SSD_960_PRO_2B6QCXP7.iso
    for the latest Samsung 960 PRO M.2 NVMe SSD firmware download, and instead of access to the ISO file, I get redirected to
    www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/SSD/notice.html

    Download Limit Exceeded

    We apologize for your inconvenience

    Please try again within 24 hours

    There is a daily limit on the number of this software.
    Unfortunately, the download limit for the day has been reached, please try again within 24 hours.
    We apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused you. Thank you.

    This has been going on for countless Samsung visitors since at least 2015, one of many references to this issue on the Googles, and it's not based on any daily limits from your IP address. Huh?

    Samsung, seriously?

    Just plunked down my hard-earned $1297.99 for a Samsung 960 PRO 2TB, and I can't update the faulty firmware using the ISO today? Tomorrow?

    Admittedly, I run VMware ESXi, an enterprise product. These SSDs are consumer drives. So Samsung reasonably expects you to have something like Windows or Mac OS to run Magician from, which would make these firmware upgrades easier.

    But I want to document the upgrade procedure for VMware purists, who would rather simply boot from an ISO to get this sort of update accomplished safely, rather than have to build a separate Windows install on another drive just to run Magician once in a long while.

    I've thoroughly enjoyed my Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2 NVMe drive for the past 17 months, and my Samsung 960 EVO 1TB is working quote nicely these past 2 months of the latest firmware. Samsung does great 3D NAND, with performance ahead of the rest, listen here. Intel seems intent on trying to catch up from their late M.2 NVMe start with seductive lower prices, see the SSD 600p Series at a recent NYC VMUG, and review at PC Perspective.

    Regrets?

    No, not really. I'm just hoping Samsung fixes their darn web site limitations soon.
    Gladly, I haven't had to request any sort of support on any of my Samsung SSDs once they're operational, and I'd still buy these Samsung 950 and 960 drives if I had to do it all over again, at least today anyway.

    "Update Samsung 960 EVO firmware with ISO for bootable USB drive over iKVM, followed by speed tests" - This lab video is uncut, with some sections sped up. It's messy, as are most lab experiments, but in the end, I get the firmware job done over iKVM, and learn some new stuff the hard way. My 960 EVO is still very fast, and no longer disappears after some reboots.

    May 15 2017 Update

    I was finally able to get the Samsung_SSD_960_PRO_2B6QCXP7.iso file downloaded on May 5, and was able to create bootable USB media from it, to flash my Samsung 960 PRO firmware to version 2B6QCXP7.

    It looked exactly like the Samsung 960 EVO process, other than the exact version number. It does seem to have fixed my [drive disappearance problem](Samsung 960 PRO/EVO/SM961 M.2 NVMe SSD disappearance-after-reboot-or-bios-change workaround is to power cycle, bug fixed in PRO/EVO firmware 2B6QCXP7/2B7QCXE7).

    Jul 24 2017 Update

    My 960 EVO and PRO drives continue to work very well. See also:

    "Update Samsung 960 EVO firmware with ISO for bootable USB drive over iKVM, followed by speed tests" published by Paul Braren on YouTube on Apr 27 2017

    See also at TinkerTry

    See also

    TinkerTry - PCs, EVs, home tech, efficiency and more, including virtualization. My opinions here, not my employer's.

    Paul Braren, MCSE in 1998, VCP #2681 in 2005, vExpert 2014 to 2024, Veeam Vanguard Emeritus, 2015 to 2019.

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    After 6 successful years testing then shipping well over 1,000 Xeon D Bundles, Wiredzone had to stop selling them in mid-2021 due to cost, supply, and logistics challenges. So far, Xeon D-1700/2700 (Ice Lake D) was a minor refresh for 2023, with Xeon D-1800/2800 (Granite Rapids D) refresh looking a little better for 2024. More cores, but still just PCIe Gen4 and DDR4. Looking ahead, I'm glad it's Pat Gelsinger at Intel's helm. I'm also grateful to have had the honor of working at VMware when Pat was the CIO there. I'll leave it at that, given the whole Broadcom thing.

    Easily update VMware ESXi at TinkerTry.com/easy-update-to-latest-esxi