Checking SSD health with SMART: attributes, wear and warnings
SMART is a self-monitoring system built into most modern storage devices. Tools such as smartctl, nvme-cli, and vendor dashboards expose attributes that can signal wear and failure. Backblaze's large-scale data shows how annualized failure rates correlate with SMART statistics.
What SMART provides
SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) is built into most modern ATA/SATA, SCSI/SAS, and NVMe disks, as described by the smartmontools project on GitHub. The smartmontools package includes the smartctl and smartd utilities to control and monitor these storage systems.
These utilities provide advanced warning of disk degradation by reading the SMART attributes reported by the drive. The tools can be run on many operating systems, including Linux, Windows, and macOS.
SMART works by having the drive measure its own operational characteristics and store them in attribute tables. The monitoring software presents these values to the user so that changes can be tracked over time.
Reading SMART on NVMe drives
For NVMe drives, the nvme-cli project provides a command line tool built on the libnvme library. It supports local NVMe drives and NVMe-over-Fabrics connections.
nvme-cli provides a full set of commands for managing NVMe devices, including reading health log pages and vendor-specific features.
The tool also includes many vendor-specific plugins, allowing drive makers to expose additional health and diagnostic data.
Vendor health dashboards
Drive manufacturers often offer their own software for health monitoring. Samsung Magician software provides a customizable dashboard with real-time SSD health, a S.M.A.R.T check, and a diagnostic scan.
The S.M.A.R.T check is designed to detect early signs of failure. The diagnostic scan runs a quick test to find potential functional errors.
These vendor dashboards often display wear indicators and remaining lifetime estimates, but the specific attributes and thresholds are set by each manufacturer.
SMART data at scale
At scale, operators collect SMART statistics to track reliability. Backblaze Drive Stats publishes its dataset, which includes daily snapshots of each drive's SMART attributes.
From this data, Backblaze calculates the annualized failure rate (AFR). For its most recent quarter, the AFR was 1.73 percent, with a lifetime AFR of 1.41 percent and an annual AFR of 1.36 percent.
Such figures show how SMART readings can be aggregated to identify drive models or batches with higher failure rates.
Operating system support
Windows includes the StorNVMe driver, which supports the NVMe command set, including admin commands such as Get Log Page and Identify, according to Microsoft's StorNVMe documentation. This enables applications to retrieve health information.
On macOS, Disk Utility can check and repair errors related to formatting and directory structure, but it does not detect all disk problems. If it reports that a disk is about to fail, Apple recommends backing up data and replacing the drive, as explained in Apple's Disk Utility guide.
Neither built-in utility replaces a dedicated SMART tool, so for detailed health data, users typically turn to command line tools or vendor software.
| Tool | Interface | Scope | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| smartctl (smartmontools) | Command line | ATA/SATA, SCSI/SAS, NVMe | Read SMART attributes, run tests |
| nvme-cli | Command line | NVMe | Manage NVMe devices, read health logs |
| Samsung Magician | GUI | Samsung SSDs | Dashboard with S.M.A.R.T check and diagnostics |
| StorNVMe driver | Windows driver | NVMe | Support admin commands for health queries |
| Disk Utility | GUI (macOS) | File system | Check and repair formatting and directory structure |
Frequently asked questions
What is SMART?
SMART is a self-monitoring technology built into many storage devices. It tracks attributes and can provide early warning of failure.
How can a user check SSD health on Linux?
A user can use smartctl from smartmontools for ATA/SATA and NVMe drives, or nvme-cli for NVMe-specific commands.
Does Apple Disk Utility check hardware health?
No. Disk Utility checks formatting and directory structure, not the physical condition of the drive.
How can a user tell if an SSD is wearing out?
Many vendor tools, like Samsung Magician, provide a health percentage and warn when signs of failure appear.
