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WARNING: All high capacity SD cards from HK are fake!

10K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  SonicPLD 
#1 ·
Okay, maybe not all of them are entirely fake, but the majority of them are. I recently created two AliExpress accounts and with 10x $20 coupons I managed to secure 8 different SD cards of all different sizes and "makes" and as I expected, every single one of them that I purchased ended up reporting capacity larger than what the seller exclaimed they were. 32GB Transcend SDHC Class 6 = Real size 8GB Class 2-416GB Transcend SDHC Class 4 = Real size 2GB Class 416GB No Name SDHC Class 2 = Real size 4GB Class 2-48GB No Name SDHC Class 6 = Real size 1GB Class 2I knew exactly what I was purchasing when I did buy all of the different SD cards...but I'm only out of pocket about $9 USD and I now have 8 SDHC cards that I can potentially repair by rewriting the firmware and fix back to normal. If anybody asks why I decided to purchase 8 different cards knowing they would most likely all be counterfeit, it's because I'm going to use my data in a school paper for my upcoming Ethics class and I knew it would be good information to have around.It seems all of these Hong Kong sellers are only out to make a few dollars at the expense of the stupid Americans, and are completely unsympathetic to us when we figure out they are fake. You can bet that most if not all of these guys knew what they were sending out when they were shipped. If anybody asks me why I would never buy one of these Android tablets from overseas, this is going to be my answer why. I'm just not going to risk sending someone in HK $150-200 and receive an inferior product, which unfortunately some of you already have - such as buying a tablet you expected to have a Rockchip only having a VIA processor. If you live in the USA like me, you're almost always going to be better off buying your products from within the country to avoid counterfeit products, and the ability to dispute your purchases with your credit card company or Paypal. They might cost more in the US than in China, but at least you can always send the device back to the buyer for a refund.Just my 2 cents.
 
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#3 ·
I ordered from 8 different sellers...funny thing is, I made sure to buy them all from different sellers, but THREE of the SD cards I purchased came in the same envelope! Shows you that there are probably a shitload of sellers on AliExpress who have multiple accounts, so if one gets banned or shut down they just move to the next one.
 
#4 ·
[quote name='bmurphr1;21231]Okay' date=' maybe not all of them are entirely fake, but the majority of them are..[/QUOTE'] No shit? And here I thought HK was known for producing genuine products. To hear that they produce knockoffs is just, well, shocking tbh. Looks like the A in Apad probably doesn't stand for Apple..
 
#5 ·
supersauce;21236]You didn said:
http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/700406[/url]
Ordered 16Gb Micro SD from the Same seller & can confirm it is Fake Memory' date=' only 2Gb Usable & when trying to write more than 2Gb it corrupts the file system thereafter.Use this Program to Test the Memory:[url']http://www.heise.de/ct/Redaktion/bo/downloads/h2testw_1.4.zip[/url]It will tell you the Correct Memory & what is Fake.Also do not buy from: guojiansheng jason (Aliexpress) http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/320852560-NEW-16GB-MICRO-MEMORY-CARD-OEM-wholesalers.htmlHis are Fake also.Lucky I used vouchers for these so i am only out of pocket $6.00
 
#6 ·
If it seems too good to be true, it is. That doesn't mean all chinese sellers are dishonest. In fact, there are lots of good deals that aren't "too good to be true" that turn out fine. Interesting question about the fake sd cards - why don't they just keep your money without sending anything?. There is some strange distinction between outright stealing and just cheating. Strange.
 
#7 ·
Because Alibaba & Aliexpress use Escrow & Escrow don't release any money to the Seller until you verify you have received the Products/s.
 
#8 ·
AliExpress does use some kind of Escrow service, but their policies are a bit different as there's not much arbitration involved from the company theirself. They do everything they can to make sure the buyer and seller work things out between the two of them, and they only intervene when they have to. Paypal gives the parties chances to solve their own problems, and after a few days will step in and decide for both of you. I took a picture of the three 32GB Transcend SDHC card I purchased:http://badbrent.tastyspleen.net/SDC10721.JPGAlso, I disputed these three cards with the seller and I agreed to a 50% refund for both products. I've already been credited about 11 dollars for each SD card I purchased, and considering after I used the AliExpress 20 dollar coupons, instead of losing 3 dollars on the cards, I've actually gained $30. Basically I get to keep the SD cards as souveniers and such, and make some extra cash.
 
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#9 ·
My 16GB MicroSDHC card arrived. For informational purposes it was branded as SanDisk 16GB and had the "6" from the official "Class 6" logo on it.In reality it was Class 2 (well, 1MB/s so a really awful Class 2) and using the h2testw tool revealed it to have a capacity of 2GB.Now, someone mentioned being able to rewrite the firmware to make it identity as 2GB, any information on that? My sister needs a MicroSD card for her phone, this one will do
 
#10 ·
supersauce, I've been doing the same research...I haven't been able to find anything though really. I know it's possible to reburn a USB flash drive's firmware, so theoretically it should be just as possible to rewrite an SD card's firmware to show the proper amount of space. The only problem is finding the right set of tools and programs to actually do it. I imagine that since all SD cards are essentially the exact same thing, only difference being the chip that's inside the SD card, that there could possibly be a universal SD card modifying program.
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
[quote name='bmurphr1;21231]Okay' date=' maybe not all of them are entirely fake, but the majority of them are. I recently created two AliExpress accounts and with 10x $20 coupons I managed to secure 8 different SD cards of all different sizes and "makes" and as I expected, every single one of them that I purchased ended up reporting capacity larger than what the seller exclaimed they were. 32GB Transcend SDHC Class 6 = Real size 8GB Class 2-416GB Transcend SDHC Class 4 = Real size 2GB Class 416GB No Name SDHC Class 2 = Real size 4GB Class 2-48GB No Name SDHC Class 6 = Real size 1GB Class 2I knew exactly what I was purchasing when I did buy all of the different SD cards...but I'm only out of pocket about $9 USD and I now have 8 SDHC cards that I can potentially repair by rewriting the firmware and fix back to normal. If anybody asks why I decided to purchase 8 different cards knowing they would most likely all be counterfeit, it's because I'm going to use my data in a school paper for my upcoming Ethics class and I knew it would be good information to have around.It seems all of these Hong Kong sellers are only out to make a few dollars at the expense of the stupid Americans, and are completely unsympathetic to us when we figure out they are fake. You can bet that most if not all of these guys knew what they were sending out when they were shipped. If anybody asks me why I would never buy one of these Android tablets from overseas, this is going to be my answer why. I'm just not going to risk sending someone in HK $150-200 and receive an inferior product, which unfortunately some of you already have - such as buying a tablet you expected to have a Rockchip only having a VIA processor. If you live in the USA like me, you're almost always going to be better off buying your products from within the country to avoid counterfeit products, and the ability to dispute your purchases with your credit card company or Paypal. They might cost more in the US than in China, but at least you can always send the device back to the buyer for a refund.Just my 2 cents.[/QUOTE']actualy can't be all of them because one of the few mfgs of uSD cards is based in Taiwan, but not one of the better ones so I forget exactly which one it is.Toshiba is the Japanese one which is one of the top mfgs, but, yet again I forget the names of the rest. (I er... have an ... er... DS lite ... so I ... er... get interested ... in ... er ... these things once in a while...)The slowest ones from a DS lite perspective are those made in China... Japanese are top, and the Taiwanese 2nd... Toshiba is Japanese only(Kingston may have re-branded), Patriot is typically Taiwanese along with others, and can't remember offhand which one are Chinese... but they're the slowest by far...
 
#12 ·
[quote name='supersauce;21755]My 16GB MicroSDHC card arrived. For informational purposes it was branded as SanDisk 16GB and had the "6" from the official "Class 6" logo on it.In reality it was Class 2 (well' date=' 1MB/s so a really awful Class 2) and using the h2testw tool revealed it to have a capacity of 2GB.Now, someone mentioned being able to rewrite the firmware to make it identity as 2GB, any information on that? My sister needs a MicroSD card for her phone, this one will do [IMG]http://www.slatedroid.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/IMG][/QUOTE']Supersauce, put in a dispute claiming you received the item but not as described via aliexpress, reffering to the HWtest tool.I received a full refund & kept the goods, also my PayPal was credited back $1.06 & my 5 x $20 vouchers were all reinstated.Sent from my aPad using Tapatalk
 
#13 ·
[quote name='bmurphr1;21805]supersauce' date=' I've been doing the same research...I haven't been able to find anything though really. I know it's possible to reburn a USB flash drive's firmware, so theoretically it should be just as possible to rewrite an SD card's firmware to show the proper amount of space. The only problem is finding the right set of tools and programs to actually do it. I imagine that since all SD cards are essentially the exact same thing, only difference being the chip that's inside the SD card, that there could possibly be a universal SD card modifying program.[/QUOTE'] You will find if you only write 2Gb to the 16Gb card, the files will be fine, it is only if you go over then it will start to corrupt files already written.Sent from my aPad using Tapatalk
 
#16 ·
I'm not so sure about the generalization made here. When I first started researching aPad source I too questioned seller's honesty. But I've since came to the realization that a lot of them just don't know; they copy paste spec the factory provided, english proficiency issues, what not. Here're some examples:(Rockchip) 600mhz CPU + 500mhz DSP = 1.1ghz dual core(M003) 2400mah battery turned into 1600mah (M001 battery) due to factory cutting corners during component shortage 1st week of JuneInteresting someone mentioned "grey market". A while back WSJ did an article about iPad in US making their way to China via grey market. I think the same thing is happening for Android devices in reverse.I'm not saying there are no cheaters out there. They are everywhere, just look at ebay. As buyers one must be careful and do their homework.
 
#18 ·
I paid 26$ for 16 Gb micro SD from ebay.comand it doesnt worked.then by a mistake a did a small scratch over the surface of the stapm where is written 16 Gb and below appear 1 Gb.So ... I'm becoming very concern about the orders we make about china products.
 
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