Question *STABLE* NVMe - USB Adapter?

[cyberjedi]

I'm looking to buy a *RELIABLE* NVME-USB external adapter, that doesn't disconnect randomly, can keep up the close to 1GB/s speed.
So far all adapter's reviews contain frighteningly high % of reports of malfunction, random disconnects, sub-par speeds, falling to even under USB 2.0 speeds, etc.
There are 3 main chipsets in the market: JMicron JMS583, Asmedia ASM2362, and Realtek RTL9210 (no product has surfaced with the latter yet, so no REAL reviews, experiences yet UPDATE: it is on the market already).
Also ASUS has a new product, ROG Strix Arion, but there isn't enough feedback about it yet, and I mean real life feedback not just being able to run a few benchmarks, but real stress test to see if the device (adapter) can keep it up, without disconnecting or slowing down hard.
I would really appreciate any feedback from those who have GOOD experiences during stress-tests, like tons of random 4k writes with a stable speed, cloning 100's of GB-s at a stable high speed close to 1GB/s.
I know SSD's very well, so please stick to the point and don't start to educate me on how their speed falls after some writes, etc. I'm aware and this is NOT the point.
You can help if you can point me to a STABLE and RELIABLE NVMe-USB-C adapter that WORKS as expected.
Thank you in advance!

 

[andyhi]

1.29.12 appears to have addressed a series of issues I had when pairing a Sabrent EC-SNVE enclosure with a Samsung PM951 (MZFLV128HCGR-000MV) NVMe device. Previously, transfers would repeatedly stall and eventually freeze, requiring a physical disconnect to resolve hanging connections. This happened even in conditions that didn't saturate device bandwidth. Below were Windows Events generated during this process:

Data corruption did indeed occur. In fact, the entire file system became untrustworthy in terms of data integrity. Additionally, it was almost impossible for the device to be detected by either the BIOS or Windows in certain computers. Replacing the cables that came with the enclosure also helped connectivity. To be clear, both updated firmware and new cabling was required to fully address issues in my case. The downside is that the blue LED no longer lights after the update, but I'm not too concerned about it.

This thread was by far the best resource I found in identifying and resolving my issues, so thanks everyone.

I did the v1.29.12 testing on my EC-SNVE with a 970 evo plus. Led lights up when connected, blinks when reading/writing, but unfortunately stays lit after soft eject.

You might want to check your .cfg file and/or current running config to see if the led flags are different from mine below. Also if you have another nvme drive to try, it might worth seeing if the LED issue is isolated to your PM951.

Here's a copy of the config I used on my EC-SNVE during 1.29.12 update:

;Configure Start
;=================FW Configure=================
U2PHY = 02 f4 9b e0 e1
U3PHY = 02 d4 09 00 d5 00 80

VID = 0xbda
PID = 0x9210

MANUFACTURE = "Sabrent"
SCSI_VENDOR = "Sabrent"
PRODUCT = "Sabrent"
SCSI_PRODUCT = " "

;"0123" for Dec, "0x0123" for Hex, max 12 digits
SERIAL = "631345678940"

DISK_HOTPLUG = 0x0
LED = 0x1
PINMUX1 = 0x0
PINMUX2 = 0x0
U2_MAXPWR = 0xfa
U3_MAXPWR = 0x70
ASPMDIS = 0x0

;1 minute of idle time will disable disk power. Default is 10.
DISK_IPS_THRES = 1

;EN_UPS = 0x0
;PD = 0x0

;CUSTOMIZED_LED is 15 bytes
CUSTOMIZED_LED = 0a 01
;SUSPEND_LED_OFF = 0x0 (Commented out. Setting to 1 will cause the led to power off when in low power mode. See notes below.)
;FAN = 0x0

DIS_SHOW_EMPTY_DISK = 0x1
;FORCE_SATA_NORMAL_DMA = 0x0
UART_DBG_PIN = 5
;FINGER_PRINT_EN = n

;=================Tool Configure=================
;DISCONN_FORCE_USB2 = n
FORMAT_DISK = n
;INC_SERIAL = y

;PARTITION: GPT, MBR
PARTITION = "MBR"
;FORMAT: NTFS, exFAT
FORMAT = "NTFS"
;LABEL max allowed - characters
LABEL = "My USB"


Note - I tried SUSPEND_LED_OFF = 0/1/3 on one of my Orico enclosures. When set to 1, it only turned the LED off when in low power mode, not when software ejected. Also setting to 0 did not disable the feature as expected... I had to comment the line and perform the full config overwrite to get it reset back to the default of led on when in low power mode.

 

[Manilla Dishpan]

Thank you andyhi, I now have a working LED indicator.

 

[formerglory]

I've ordered an Orico M2PVC3-G20 enclosure from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P1B5FQ9 . Looks like this has an ASM2364 chip, similar to the ASM2362 chip in the Samsung T7 1TB drive (which I have).

My main requirement for a NVMe enclosure has been active cooling, and this one has a fan. Hopefully it's more performant than the previous Orico enclosures with a fan that had the JMS583 controller. There's a bug that I noted in my previous post (https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/stable-nvme-usb-adapter.2572973/post-40658419) with the JMS583 and Apple APFS Encrypted on M1 Macs. I haven't had this issue with APFS Encrypted on my T7 drive with the ASM2362, my only complaint is that it gets hot on sustained loads. The fan on the newer Orico drive should resolve that issue.

I'm pairing it with a SK.Hynix Gold P31 1TB SSD. Will post benchmarks and observances this week when I get it.

 

[Krevety]

Hey guys,
is there any general solution of the instability (disconnecting) issue with JMS583 and 10Gbps USB speed?
Mine box is Icybox IB-1817M-C31, very nice piece of hardware except the crappy chipset.
It works well @ 480Mpbs and even on legacy 5Gbps USB ports. But with new PCs available with almost every USB @ 10Gbps it is unusable.
I have seen some firmware updates posted here but Icybox uses some kind of own firmwares starting at 133.xx.xx.xx and is not updatable to regular ones.
Any help will be appreciated.
Cheers

 

[Krevety]

Anyone who might need it here is the 133.01.00.06 version for Icybox. Not as new as generic firwmare, but still might resolve some issues.

JMS583FWUpdater_Win_M2C7_JM1_v1_0_0_0.exe

drive.google.com

 

[Be1n]

NVM.

 

[MysteriousThing]

I found two interesting NVMe to USB adapters

HighPoint RocketMate 110: https://www.highpoint-tech.com/rm110-overview

and this Orico one: https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-NVMe-E...5236&sprefix=orico+nvme+to+usb,aps,179&sr=8-4

I noticed the orico one is cheaper but the HighPoint one is 20Gbs whereas the Orico one is 10Gbs. So thats kinda neat I guess.

 

[Galixte]

1.29.12 appears to have addressed a series of issues I had when pairing a Sabrent EC-SNVE enclosure …

The downside is that the blue LED no longer lights after the update, but I'm not too concerned about it.
…

Hi,

I have the same USB enclosure: http://sabrent.com/products/ec-snve.

I have updated it with the same firmware, version 1.29.12, available here: https://station-drivers.com/index.p...e-USB-3.1-Controller-firmware-Version-1.29.12.

The blue LED is still working well:
- Power LED: Solid blue for power on.
- Activity LED: Flashing blue LED for activity.

I recommend you to flash again this firmware with my config file: https://share.galixte.com/index.php/s/n2XGEmxnRGqMcYn.

In this file I have only reported the original parameter values from the original firmware config file dedicated to this USB enclosure.

 

[fantom3l]

Hi guys, since i had a little time this weekend i did look to see what's new on JMS583 and RTL9210 devices that i own... a few of them.
My surprise was that not so much has happend in the last year but i did not see anywhere the latest firmware for JMicron 583.
I saw that from my last share the 209 version came a custom one but nothing else.

Not true there is a newer firmware , generic that came also on the same time as the custom one, version 00.02.01.02 .

So, for those in need i made a package with all in wonder and a SAFE firmware only upgrader for your devices.
If you flash without eeprom , you will get only firmware update.
I did explain inside the package HERE all with pictures as i know we all love them.

Inside the package you will find a backup tool that will safe your complete firmware and settings, you will find all generic firmwares i collected (04...09 + 01.00 and the new 01.02 ), the custom ones from SSI and Sabrent and the Latest firmware upgrade folder with all prepared to make your upgrade.

Regarding RTL9210 i did not see anyone to put a config explained so i took the liberty to make one but this in another post when i complete my package.

 

[Insomne_Cruzado]

Hi

Fideco sent me a New firmware for M209CPS (RTL9210B)

its version 1.29.38

4.95 MB file on MEGA

mega.nz

 

[pi_1st]

hi guys,

anyone have a copy of RTL9210B 1.29.12 firmware?

www.station-drivers.com seems to be inaccessible.

thanks.

 

[fantom3l]

HERE you will find all you need related to RTL9210 A and B chipsets. Firmwares v1.29.8 for A and v1.29.12 + v1.29.38 for B models, all oem configurations i could find during time in OEMConfig folder, regular general configurations and also AN EXPLAINED CONFIGURATION FILE TO MAKE YOUR OWN in case you do not like the oem or general one you got.
All these infos are public ones scattered in different places, now you have them all in the same place. For some config bits i did not find any explaining so they are as they came.
Let me know if u need more.

 

[pi_1st]

HERE you will find all you need related to RTL9210 A and B chipsets. Firmwares v1.29.8 for A and v1.29.12 + v1.29.38 for B models, all oem configurations i could find during time in OEMConfig folder, regular general configurations and also AN EXPLAINED CONFIGURATION FILE TO MAKE YOUR OWN in case you do not like the oem or general one you got.
All these infos are public ones scattered in different places, now you have them all in the same place. For some config bits i did not find any explaining so they are as they came.
Let me know if u need more.

hi @fantom3l,

you are a lifesaver. i really appreciated it.
i'm using 1.29.38 B right now and so far it's working fine.

thanks.

 

[alkado]

HERE ...

Hello Sir!!!
Im have a problem to get this archive, yandex disk mention that "File access restricted, Files shared by the owner cannot be viewed. This happened due to the fact that his Disk is full."
Can you publish this archive on different resourced or some how fix it on yandex...

Thank in advance Sir

 

[Killkernel]

Hello Sir!!!
Im have a problem to get this archive, yandex disk mention that "File access restricted, Files shared by the owner cannot be viewed. This happened due to the fact that his Disk is full."
Can you publish this archive on different resourced or some how fix it on yandex...

Thank in advance Sir

Hello alkado, you can download the file from my MediaFire :

RTL9210A&B_v1.29.8+12+38+Explained Config

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

Cheers,

KK

 

[PRSXFENG]

Hi there I recently got a Maiwo K1690 enclosure, it came with firmware 1.27.24, unfortunately it did not fix the unsafe removal issue, EDIT: it seems like it still increases when connected via USB2, but not when connected to USB3

Attached is benchmark

the enclosure came with 3 rubber standoffs, a thick thermal pad and a piece of metal, and a c to c cable

I will try to update the firmware later

The config

**************************************************************
Device : [Port19] : Realtek USB 3.2 Device #0
**************************************************************
U2PHY : 02 f4 9b e0 e1
U3PHY : 02 d4 09 00 d5 00 80
VID : 0x0bda
PID : 0x9210
MANUFACTURE : "Realtek"
PRODUCT : "USB 3.2 Device"
SERIAL : "012345680322"
SCSI_PRODUCT : "USB 3.2 Device  "
SCSI_VENDOR : "Realtek "
DISK_HOTPLUG : 0x00
LED : 0x01
PINMUX1 : 0x00000000
PINMUX2 : 0x00000000
U2_MAXPWR : 0xfa
U3_MAXPWR : 0x70
ASPMDIS : 0x00
PCIE_REFCLK : n/a
DISK_IPS_THRES : 0x0a
SWR_1_2V : n/a
EN_UPS : n/a
PD : n/a
CUSTOMIZED_LED : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
SUSPEND_LED_OFF : n/a
FORCE_USB_SPEED : n/a
FORCE_PCIE_SPEED : n/a
EN_U1U2 : n/a
FORCE_USB_QUIRK : n/a
FORCE_PCIE_QUIRK : n/a
FAN : n/a
DIS_SHOW_EMPTY_DISK : n/a
FORCE_SATA_NORMAL_DMA : n/a
UART_DBG_PIN : 0x05
FINGER_PRINT_EN : n/a
RM_INTERNAL_RD : n/a
HS_AUTO_SWITCH : n/a
FP_UART_BAUD_RATE : n/a
CUSTOMIZED_DISK_IDENTIFY : n/a
HW_LED_CFG : n/a
CDROM_CFG : n/a
SUPPORT_HID : n/a
LATE_INIT_DISK : n/a
SCSI_WP_PIN : n/a
SD_MMC_TYPE : n/a
EFUSE :
       00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
       -------------------------------------------------

Boot Mode : Flash
FW Ver : 1.27.24
FW Build Date : 2021.09.07
IC Pkg Type : PCIE_SATA
UUID : n/a

Disconn_ForceUSB2 : 0x00

 

[MrLogan]

Hello, i've got 2 oem adapters with 9210b chipset with same problem - the speed with nvme drives very slow, like they connected to usb 2.0 port. I tried to flash some firmwares with different configs but got the same result. Any idea about that?

 

[Tech Junky]

Question - Thunderbolt / Enclosure

So, I have a TB4 port on the laptop and ordered a TB4 AIC for the server. Now, the problem is how to test / verify. The current enclosure works great but it's a C-10gbps that gets full 1GB/s. Well, that's nice and all but, TB3/4 should hit ~2GB/s+ and require different HW. I would prefer...

forums.anandtech.com

I picked up a TB4 using JHL7440 / RTL9210B and paired it with a SN770 and it performs beyond most reviews topping out at 3.1GB/s x 2.8GB/s R/W. With a longer USB cable though hits 2GB/s speeds and on another system hit 700MB/s on USB.

 

[PRSXFENG]

Hello, i've got 2 oem adapters with 9210b chipset with same problem - the speed with nvme drives very slow, like they connected to usb 2.0 port. I tried to flash some firmwares with different configs but got the same result. Any idea about that?

They seem to be somewhat finicky with some USB 3 ports, for me my enclosure

USB3 10Gbps over USBC works
USB3 5Gbps over USBA works
However USB3 10Gbps over USBA causes it to drop to USB2 or gets stuck enumerating.

Try other USB ports, cables, hubs, adapters.

 

[forstall]

Hi everyone.

My ORICO M2PJ-C3 came with firmware version 1.23.15. It works without any major issues aside from the rapidly increasing shutdown count and power cycles. Now the confusing part is that the IC shows as RTL9210-VB, but the installed firmware has the “SCSI product” and possibly cfg of a RTL9210-CG, all while the actual physical chip on the board simply reads RTL9210 without the B.

My question is, should I bother updating the firmware (and risk instability/bricking) to the latest release or even the 1.27.24 release which apparently resolves the shutdown count issue? If yes, what firmware (A or B) and .cfg should I use?

Here is the .cfg dump of the installed firmware 1.23.15.

**************************************************************
Device : [Port4] : Realtek RTL9210B-CG #0
**************************************************************
U2PHY : 02 f4 9b e0 e1
U3PHY : 02 d4 09 00 d5 00 80
VID : 0x0bda
PID : 0x9210
MANUFACTURE : "Realtek"
PRODUCT : "RTL9210B-CG"
SERIAL : "012345679039"
SCSI_PRODUCT : "RTL9210B-CG     "
SCSI_VENDOR : "Realtek "
CFEXPRESS : 0x00
LED : 0x01
PINMUX1 : 0x00070000
PINMUX2 : 0x00000000
U2_MAXPWR : 0xfa
U3_MAXPWR : 0x70
ASPMDIS : 0x00
PCIE_REFCLK : n/a
PCIE_PWRCUT_THRES : 0x0a
SWR_1_2V : n/a
EN_UPS : n/a
PD : n/a
CUSTOMIZED_LED : n/a
SUSPEND_LED_OFF : n/a
FORCE_USB_SPEED : n/a
FORCE_PCIE_SPEED : n/a
FORCE_USB_QUIRK : n/a
FORCE_PCIE_QUIRK : n/a
FAN : n/a
DIS_SHOW_EMPTY_DISK : n/a
FORCE_SATA_NORMAL_DMA : n/a
UART_DBG_PIN : 0x05
EFUSE :
       00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
       -------------------------------------------------
   0   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  10   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  20   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  30   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  40   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  50   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  60   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  70   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  80   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  90   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  a0   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
  b0   ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff

Boot Mode : Flash NM
FW Ver : 1.23.15
FW Build Date : 2020.11.16
IC Ver : 0xa0010002
IC Pkg Type : PCIE
UUID : ffffffff-ffff-ffff-ffff-ffffffffffff

Disconn_ForceUSB2 : 0x00

Thanks for reading.

 

[PRSXFENG]

I think the software is smart enough to automatically pick the correct firmware for the device but I'm not 100% sure on that

 

[grade86]

Hello, everybody.

i buy custom ssd box for my sigma fp. it using 2242 nvme and using typical pcb with JMS583

I inserted Netac N930ES and get stange things

my laptop (xiaomi 12) type-c perfect working with box.

My PC (asus z170) work only on 3.0 port (blue) and unstable. red port (3.1) - i get fatal device hardware error when trying to initialize.

Camera (sigma fp) - "now connecting" and nothing more (perfect work with samsung t5)

I checked FW version - latest 02.01.02

Maybe i need to modify something?

 

[akaloith]

hello and helppp
I have samsung T7 1TB with asmedia asm2362 ??
had disconnects when was on heavy load
so i tried firmware update with samsung app, did not solve the problem
and install firmware for asm2362 "AS_PCIE_191009_81_0B_20.bin"
now samsung apps dont recognize the samsung T7
and crystaldiskmark shows slow speeds on the first line (238 MB/sec read instead of 900 MB/sec!)

what can i do? newer version of asm2362 firmware? or somehow return it to samsung firmware (samsung apps dont recognize it any more)

its now recognized as
manufacturer_string=Micron
product_string=Crucial X8 SSD because of the.ini in the firmware update

maybe the .ini also has some options that slow down the disk and need editing?

 

[akaloith]

my samsung t7 after i updated firmware on asmedia 2362 chip has drasticaly lower speeds
what can i do? there seems to be a different firmware for samsung and the asmedia chip
and cant find the original of the asmedia chip to revert to it

 

[somedude269]

Hi all So what's the deal here?

I wanted an NVME in an enclosure for reliable data storage (obviously with additional backup).
Got a Crucial P2 2TB and the NVME M.2 SSD enclosure - USB-C 3.1 - 10Gbps - Sky Gray (RTL9210). I don't care about speed.
Copied some files on it and the day after I got the "incorrect function" error as many others reported here.
Updated firmware to 1.29.12 as some suggested but the drive still won't initialize properly.
I don't have a free mainboard slot to "reactivate" it atm, but honestly, if this is not reliable I suppose I would have to switch to a usual SATA SSD + enclosure (if that is any better).

Can anyone suggest a stable solution for this?
I don't understand how these products have thousands of reviews and 4+ stars on amazon...
Is this like a chip lottery? I send it back and the next one will work just fine?

Obviously Orico did not answer my support request...