False documents point the finger at Phison after Windows 11 update causes SSDs to fail

"We are addressing the falsified document through appropriate legal processes," Phison's Director of Technical Marketing Chris Ramseyer writes in a statement. He's referring to a document that is currently being circulated, which contains a long list of storage issues and data-related failures related to a wide range of SSDs with Phison controllers. Yeah, strap in as this one is a little strange.

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First, let's start with the facts. A recent Windows security update for Windows 11 (KB5063878) that was released on August 12 led to an unknown number of users reporting issues related to data loss, data corruption, or even outright SSD failure.

"We're aware of these reports and are investigating with our partners," Microsoft's official statement on the matter reads. Many point to X user @Necoru_cat as the "patient zero" for this issue after they reported on their SSD disappearing while trying to install a significant update for Cyberpunk 2077.

In this example, the SSD would disappear every time they tried transferring over 50GB while the SSD was at least 60% full. Restarting the PC made it reappear, while rolling back the security update resolved the issue entirely. Whether it's a single large file or many smaller files, as seen in significant game updates, additional users and third-party investigations found that this Windows security update was causing issues with SSDs, predominantly DRAM-less SSDs.

SSDs are equipped with a variety of controllers that primarily originate from a handful of companies. So even though this issue has affected SSDs from Corsair, Sandisk, and Western Digital, a number of the drives feature an SSD controller from one of the biggest names in flash memory, Phison.

Phison's only official statement on this issue can be found on Tom's Hardware, which reads.

"Phison has recently been made aware of the industry-wide effects of the 'KB5063878' and 'KB5062660' updates on Windows 11 that potentially impacted several storage devices, including some supported by Phison. We understand the disruption this may have caused and promptly engaged industry stakeholders. We are steadfast in our commitment to product integrity and the success of our partners and end users. At this time, the controllers that may have been affected are under review, and we are working with partners. We will continue to provide updates and advisories to partners who may have been impacted to provide support and ensure any applicable remediation."

However, to bring things back full circle, someone, somewhere, has created a document that appears to have come from Phison or is being circulated internally as a way to flag this issue with employees and its key partners (i.e., companies that use Phison controllers).

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What we do know is that SSDs with Phison controllers have been affected by this Windows update, for which the company has already given a statement. The issue with this reportedly falsified document is that it includes independent findings and information from individual user reports of SSDs failing as fact. It even includes @Necoru_cat's story of installing 50GB of Cyberpunk 2077 as an example, alongside alarming phrasing like "permanent data loss" and even Phison offering no real solution other than to wait for a patch from Microsoft. The sort of stuff you'd never see on an official company document within a week of an issue of this magnitude being reported.

"Phison Electronics has recently become aware of a falsified document that is positioned as allegedly originating from our company, and that has been shared with various customers," Phison's response and statement on the document begins. "We wish to state unequivocally that the document in question is neither an official nor unofficial communication from Phison. Specifically, the document makes false claims regarding potential storage and data issues related to the Microsoft Windows Security Updates released on August 12, 2025. We are addressing the falsified document through appropriate legal processes."

This does make you wonder who would go so far as to create a fake document like this, especially one that reads like it was created to make Phison look bad. A competitor? Someone who hates Phison controllers and DRAM-less SSDs? A former employee? We've got no idea, but we'll be following this story as it unfolds, so stay tuned.

And as for what's going on with the recent Windows security update and SSD-related issue, Phison notes "current online testing reports show this may impact storage devices from multiple vendors, and span across both SSDs and HDDs" and that it's "working closely with Microsoft to help resolve this matter."