Fake 2TB USB from AliExpress

Purchased what was advertised to be 2TB USB drive from AliExpress:

Nothing special about it, simple plastic box, USB-C to USB-A cable… Ok ok, I know its will be fake at 101% probability, but let’s say it was purchased for experiment and to have a new theme for post.

With fake USB drives (or if you dont know that its fake) first thing to do is – scan the drive using H2TestW. You can download it from official website H2TestW- Download. In my case, the drive was tested and the results are:

There is more text, but its not visible in this screenshot, I just paste it here:

Error reading file 'D:\1546.h2w', offset 0x9000000.
(A device which does not exist was specified. Code 433)
Warning: Only 1999933 of 1999936 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
8.1 GByte OK (17065728 sectors)
1.5 TByte DATA LOST (3223329024 sectors)
Details:20.2 MByte overwritten (41430 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
1.5 TByte corrupted (3223287594 sectors)
18.8 MByte aliased memory (38679 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x00000001f8d18000
Expected: 0x00000001f8d18000
Found: 0x00000001f8d17e00
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 18.3 MByte/s
Reading speed: 2.13 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

Now we can quickly analyze what H2TestW found. First of all, let me say, that scanning took really long time, almost 2 weeks. Its not because H2TestW did something wrong or slow, its because that USB drive is slow. And in the end, when almost two days left to finish the scan, USB drive disappeared, so everything stopped. I did not started it all from the beginning, because we already see the most important information. I would expect to see 8GB drive inside the plastic shell, because report says we have 8,1 GB OK, can be written and read. The rest of the memory (at least the scanned part of it) is corrupted 1,5 TB, meaning the test files there cannot be read, thus this memory is fake, visible only because USB drive reports to OS that it has this capacity, but in fact it doesn’t. That;s why I did not scanned the drive again, no use to wait so long, just to confirm what I already know – 8,1 GB is working, the rest of 2 TB drive’s capacity is fake.

Now we can say with 100% confidence, AliExpress seller „Shop1105159234” is selling fake USB drives with fake capacity, do not purchase from this store, nor from other stores, which sales similarly looking drives. Complete information about the seller:

Business licence link view:

Now, the most interesting part – what is inside that fake USB drive? A knife and a heavy pliers used as hammer helped to crack open the shell:

You schmuck !!! You put some cheapo no-name USB drive with PCB to convert regular slow speed USB-A to what should be considered fast USB-C, without real USB-C speed possibility . It only physically uses a USB-C connector but operates only at the slower USB-A speeds. All is fake about this drive. Lets try to remove some of that snot and take it all apart.

And here it is. Some cheapo PCB with TOPC-USB-55 marking, no-name USB PCB with USB connector pins, flash memory and controller IC. It’s not even a proper drive, this type of things are inserted into USB drive housings, to have a fully assembled USB drive.

To the person who sold me this fake USB drive — whether you are the manufacturer or just a reseller, you must know it’s fake. There is no way you are unaware. You chose to cheat a stranger for a small profit, and in doing so, you have brought immense shame upon yourself and your entire family. Your ancestors must be turning in their graves, their faces covered in disgrace because of your lack of integrity. You have lost all face, and that stain will follow your family name. In this life, what goes around comes around. Heaven sees all — every deceit, every lie, every dishonest sale. You may think you have gotten away with it, but bad karma is already building against you. It will follow you like a shadow and, when you least expect it, it will strike. You will face misfortune after misfortune until you learn that virtue is the only path. May your dishonesty bring you nothing but trouble, and may your fate serve as a warning to others who choose to cheat. And from this moment on, every single misfortune that happens to you — whether you just stub your toe little finger against the doorframe, or get into a serious car crash — I want you to stop and think: this is because of my words. This is the price of your dishonesty. It will follow you, every day, for the rest of your life.