Sandisk CF Card Rattle?

[ktuli]

I have two SanDisk Extreme 60MB/s 16GB CompactFlash cards that have developed an audible rattle. I believe both still work to store and transfer data, but the rattle makes me nervous that something internal has broken free and is moving around inside and could potentially cause a short circuit. I just purchased a third of these cards and it does not have the rattle. In addition, I have three Extreme III 30MB/s 8GB CompactFlash cards (one of which has even gone through a cycle in the washing machine in a pants pocket) and none of them exhibit the rattle.

Does anyone know the construction of CF card enough to know whether there is any potential for a short circuit to happen and damage either my camera or card reader/computer? I'd figure this is a long shot, but I don't know enough about the internals of CF cards to rule it out.

Additionally, does anyone else notice this with any of their SanDisk cards? I notice the rattle if you gentle tap on the card or shake it (hold it by two of the corners on a diagonal for the most noticeable rattle if it is the same as mine).

Lastly, if you have had this happen, did you try getting it replaced under SanDisk's lifetime warranty on these cards? According to their website, these cards are "Tested in harsh conditions this card is temperature proof, shock proof, and x-ray proof" - I would figure something breaking inside would violate the 'shock proof' aspect of that... but I wonder if still reading data means it is still functional enough to not be covered under the warranty.

Thanks in advance!

- Bill

[Colin Southern]

Hi Bill,

My first thought is that they're possibly a counterfeit cards. Where did you buy them from?

Mostly they're just a single circuit board inside with all components surface mounted, so I'd think a short is unlikely.

http://martybugs.net/articles/fakesandisk.cgi

http://greenbeanfx.wordpress.com/200...t-flash-cards/

http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/FAKE-SanDi...00000001456526

[Andrew1]

Sandisk is all I use and none of them have a rattle. Sandisk's Extreme model of cards are pro level built to standards of high reliability and endurance. I've never had the experience but have read there are lots of counterfeits around. Rather than potentially jeopardize some important shots I'd return them. They may or may not be knock-offs but if they are Sandisk you'll get replacements. If not, at least they will tell you for sure and you can replace them with legitimate ones you can rely upon. For almost anything, if the price is too good to be real, it probably is.

[ktuli]

Hi Bill,

My first thought is that they're possibly a counterfeit cards. Where did you buy them from?

Mostly they're just a single circuit board inside with all components surface mounted, so I'd think a short is unlikely.

http://martybugs.net/articles/fakesandisk.cgi

http://greenbeanfx.wordpress.com/200...t-flash-cards/

http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/FAKE-SanDi...00000001456526

Colin,

All of my SanDisk cards came from Adorama - which I would think is a reliable distributor of SanDisk cards (heck - I think I got rebates on all of them - so I hope they were real or SanDisk was paying me rebates for knock-offs!). I'll still double check them from the sites you linked, but I'm hope I can trust buying them from Adorama... I'm nervous enough about knock-offs (on memory, batteries, etc) that I will only buy them from sources like Adorama, Amazon (direct from Amazon, not 3rd party sellers), etc.

- Bill

[ktuli]

Sandisk is all I use and none of them have a rattle. Sandisk's Extreme model of cards are pro level built to standards of high reliability and endurance. I've never had the experience but have read there are lots of counterfeits around. Rather than potentially jeopardize some important shots I'd return them. They may or may not be knock-offs but if they are Sandisk you'll get replacements. If not, at least they will tell you for sure and you can replace them with legitimate ones you can rely upon. For almost anything, if the price is too good to be real, it probably is.

Andrew,

I agree - all I use are SanDisk cards as well... Ok, technically I have a couple old Lexar 1GB cards from my old Rebel XT, but they never get any use any more.

As I said before in response to Colin - I don't think these are knock-offs as I bought them from Adorama (perhaps I should contact them). I'll definitely be contacting Adorama if these cards turn out to be fakes, but again I have to doubt that.

I do have an email out to SanDisk support and I am waiting to hear back from them. I'll share my findings once I hear anything.

- Bill

[Hero]

Does anyone know the construction of CF card enough to know whether there is any potential for a short circuit to happen and damage either my camera or card reader/computer? I'd figure this is a long shot, but I don't know enough about the internals of CF cards to rule it out.

Additionally, does anyone else notice this with any of their SanDisk cards? I notice the rattle if you gentle tap on the card or shake it (hold it by two of the corners on a diagonal for the most noticeable rattle if it is the same as mine).

Not on a CF-card, but one of my SD-cards had a similar problem. After cracking it open I found that part of the read-only switch assembly was broken off.

[ktuli]

Well - it seems SanDisk agrees that these cards should not be making this rattling noise...

Response Via Email(Bruno T.) - 06/27/2012 05:43 AM
Dear Bill,

Thanks for emailing SanDisk Technical Support. It is our goal to make sure
you have all the resources you need to get the most from your product.

We understand that 2 of your Compact Flash Extreme 60MB/s - 16GB cards
make a rattling sound. Even though these cards still seem to be
functioning, we advise you to no longer use them. We assume that these
cards will need to be exchanged. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

......

They go on to ask some additional questions to prepare for getting some RMA service on these cards. We'll see how that is handled and I guess confirm that these are genuine SanDisk cards (hopefully!).

I'll continue to update as this progresses, but already this seems like a good sign that SanDisk has good warranty support and makes me glad that I paid the bit extra to stick with a known & trusted manufacturer.

- Bill

[ktuli]

Just a final follow-up on this thread...

I received my two replacement CF cards from SanDisk yesterday - which means the entire RMA process (from initial inquiry email to replacement product in hand) was handled in two weeks time. This seems like pretty fantastic customer service to me - and much faster turn-around time than I expected. This definitely makes the extra premium paid for SanDisk cards worth-while, and I can't recommend them enough. I may still contact them one final time to ask if they can provide any analysis of what happened with the cards so I can hopefully avoid situations that would cause the same problem in the future.

Either way, I'm quite happy with SanDisk right now.

- Bill

[krispix]

Just a final follow-up on this thread...

I received my two replacement CF cards from SanDisk yesterday - which means the entire RMA process (from initial inquiry email to replacement product in hand) was handled in two weeks time. This seems like pretty fantastic customer service to me - and much faster turn-around time than I expected. This definitely makes the extra premium paid for SanDisk cards worth-while, and I can't recommend them enough. I may still contact them one final time to ask if they can provide any analysis of what happened with the cards so I can hopefully avoid situations that would cause the same problem in the future.

Either way, I'm quite happy with SanDisk right now.

- Bill

Well done, Bill.

If only all manufacturers stood by their products like this.