Top Best 17 256 gigabytes USB Flash Drives in December 2021

I bought it to replace my iExpand 128 GB backup. It’s considerably faster than my old one and twice the storage.

I love it this. It’s very small and good hanging with your phone.

Awesome product. Easy to back up IPhone pictures to them. Did a great job on pictures and videos.

I like this producs due to its enclosure, I feel it will last longer. After price matching valua was great.

Nice sleek design with tons of storage. It could be a little cheaper but Great drive for backups and all your needs.

this flash drive is well built and super fast. It's so small, and strong, that I carry it in my keychain

Purchased this item last month. It has a ton of space and very fast transfer rate. Would easily purchase again if needed.

The size 256gb is great for a backup drive. The physical size is also great and so is the construction of it.

My only complaint is that it is very sensitive to movement.

As I transfer files from my computer to the drive, I have to be very careful not to drag the new file over existing files. If I unintentionally drag over existing files, I can move files together without knowing it.

It is better to drag files from the top or sides with a specific file open so that you don't move other files where you don't want them to be moved.

This is the 3rd Samsung flash drive that I've purchased. They are super sturdy and have survived drops and even an accidental wash cycle! Read and write speeds are just as advertised and I've never had an issue with one. Highly recommended.

Ever since I bought this flash drive, I have had no problems with my memory. The design is sleek and compact, while still being large enough for me not to lose. The 256 gigabytes for all of my storage purposes, not too small, and large enough for all of my needs. This is the best flash drive on the market!

Great, compact Flash drive that I use in my wife's Tesla for sentry purposes. Coming up on a year and so far no issues

I like this producs due to its enclosure, I feel it will last longer. After price matching valua was great.

Nice sleek design with tons of storage. It could be a little cheaper but Great drive for backups and all your needs.

this flash drive is well built and super fast. It's so small, and strong, that I carry it in my keychain

Purchased this item last month. It has a ton of space and very fast transfer rate. Would easily purchase again if needed.

The size 256gb is great for a backup drive. The physical size is also great and so is the construction of it.

My only complaint is that it is very sensitive to movement.

As I transfer files from my computer to the drive, I have to be very careful not to drag the new file over existing files. If I unintentionally drag over existing files, I can move files together without knowing it.

It is better to drag files from the top or sides with a specific file open so that you don't move other files where you don't want them to be moved.

This is the 3rd Samsung flash drive that I've purchased. They are super sturdy and have survived drops and even an accidental wash cycle! Read and write speeds are just as advertised and I've never had an issue with one. Highly recommended.

Ever since I bought this flash drive, I have had no problems with my memory. The design is sleek and compact, while still being large enough for me not to lose. The 256 gigabytes for all of my storage purposes, not too small, and large enough for all of my needs. This is the best flash drive on the market!

Great, compact Flash drive that I use in my wife's Tesla for sentry purposes. Coming up on a year and so far no issues

I really like that the Sandisk USB 3.0 256gb flash drive has plenty of space for all of my music files, videos, and documents. Even though it is stated as 256gb drive, actual available storage space is 233gb. Build quality on the drive is poor. The all plastic enclosure is loose and wobbly and it gives the impression that it can break off if inserted or removed with force. You’ll need to handle this drive with care.

I performed a non-scientific test of write speed. I transferred 27 gb of music files to the flash drive and it took 27 minutes, so 1gb/min. The drive does become warm during file transfer, but the amount of heat generated appears normal.

The flash drive comes with two useful software to enable file security and access. The first is Sandisk’s Secure Access Vault which is a file encryption software. You simply create a password and encrypt your files by dropping them into the Sandisk Vault. They are then electronically locked or encrypted. Nobody will be able to access your files without the decryption password. The only way to access the files is to enter your password in the Vault.

Another handy tool is Sandisk Flashback. Flashback automates the backup process by transferring the entire contents in the flash drive to Sandisk’s Cloud. You’ll be able to view and download the contents in the flash drive online without having the flash drive physically present. This becomes handy if you either left your flash drive at home or, worse, lost your flash drive entirely. You can recover all of your backed up content online. You can also share files with anyone by simply sending them a link to access the files in your Sandisk Cloud without having to attach large files onto an e-mail.

In order for all of this to function, Flashback software needs to be installed locally on your desktop or laptop computer to upload files to Sandisk’s Cloud server. You’ll also need to create an account on the Sandisk Flashback website to access your files in Sandisk’s Cloud server. Flashback is free for the 1st year, after that you’ll need to pay an annual subscription fee to continue access to your backed up files in the Sandisk Cloud. I’ve attached a picture showing the subscription pricing at the time of my review.

One limitation of the cloud backup feature is that backing up to the Sandisk cloud only works if you have the flash drive connected to a computer that has the Flashback software installed. In practice, there are numerous instances where you’ll be using the drive at a workstation, say at work computer or a friend’s computer, where the Flashback software isn’t installed. The flash drive becomes a regular, run of the mill storage drive. There’s nothing wrong with this, you just simply need to be aware that no Cloud back up is being performed until you plug the flash drive back into your computer that has the Flashback software installed.

Another limitation is that if you have files encrypted in the Sandisk Vault, those encrypted files will naturally remain encrypted, as they should, when backed up to the Sandisk Cloud. However, there is no way for you to access the encrypted files online in the Sandisk Cloud website since you won’t be able to decrypt the files without the Sandisk Vault. The encrypted files can only be decrypted locally from within the flashdrive.

All in all, this is a decent high capacity flash drive with some extra bonus features for securing your files and automatically backing up your flash drive to the cloud. I would recommend the flash drive.

I wanted to get a large flash drive to backup all my important files and photos “I’ve amassed a lot”, and saw the prices of flash drives has come way down. I started using flash/thumb drives for work back when the 1gb was considered a large drive, and when they announced a 4gb drive we all though “who’s going to put that much stuff on a thumb drive”.

I’ve also used about every brand of flash drive available and still have a few of the old 1gb ones laying around and the only ones still working are the SanDisk branded ones, one in particular is the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium 1gb, the super heavy duty all metal bodied drive you won’t ever see again, and it still works perfectly.

Physical Impressions:

This 256gb drive is physically the size thumb drive have pretty much been for quite a while now, the USB plug is retractable keeping it safe and secure when retracted. There isn’t an activity light so you won’t know if it’s doing anything, “not important for me as it’s on the back of my desktop computer”.

Speed:

The flash drive is USB 3 and backwards compatible. Speed wise using Crystal Disk Mark I’m getting around 116MB/s Seq read, and 50MB/s Seq write, not bad at all and I’ve attached a screen shot of the test.

Included Software:

The really nice thing is the software that’s included with the flash drive. You get one year of Rescue Pro Deluxe, “the key is inside the packaging” and with it you can recover lost and accidentally erased files. It works for everything not just this thumb drive. I took a file folder with photos in it, about 1gb worth on the SanDisk drive, deleted it, emptied the recycle bin, and then had the software scan to recover it. Now it does take a while to scan this drive, “it’s big” so sit back or do something else while it goes about its business. After about an hour it was able to recover all the files in the test folder I created, now this will depend greatly on if you’ve written files to the drive after losing/accidentally deleting files. For the most accurate and thorough recovery you don’t want to be using the media you are doing the recovery on till after you’ve recovered your files. You’ll also have to rename your recovered files after it has finished running, but you can click on them to view in the recovery window so you know what you are renaming.

Also under the flash drives main directory is the SanDisk Secure Access application. When you run it the first time it will ask that you set up an account and password for the secure folder. After entering your password you will be greeted with a simple file manager window. Just drag and drop files into the top secure area and it will encrypt all the files. If you view the drive with a standard file manager like the one in Windows 10 you will see the folder name but there’s nothing in them to view, you will have to use the Secure Access application to view and unencrypt these files and folders. The whole process is reasonably fast too. I copied all my important stuff, about 175gb, in a couple hours, not bad for that much data.

There is an upgrade option for the standard software, you can get a lifetime license for $15, “I think that’s reasonable just haven’t done it yet”. It gets you 1024 bit encryption, automatic backup, syncing between devices, and sharing with others. I’ll probably be upgrading to this in the future as it adds a lot of for low cost.

I’m keeping all my medical files on this as I do have some health issues and like to keep my entire medical easily portable if I happen to go see a new specialist. This way I can always have a backup of my records and there’s plenty of space on this drive for x-rays and, MRI’s, CT scans and Ultrasounds. Plus with everything being encrypted “I used a very secure password” I won’t worry much about someone getting my personal information if I do happen to lose the drive.

Opinion:

This is an excellent thumb drive, there’s plenty of space for a lot of files, and I mean a lot. The included software allows you to encrypt your sensitive data so you won’t have to worry about it falling into the wrong hands and the recovery software makes it pretty easy to recover any file you may have accidentally lost. The new flash drives from SanDisk are a real value.

SanDisk makes amazing flash drives & finally they're in high capacity like I always imagined great for video from phone and camcorder transfers.

Bought SanDisk flash drive to backup my computer.It is a great help for a senior citizen to know that everything is working ok.Thanks SanDisk!

Cloud continues to be all the rage in 2019, and SanDisk is riding the wave with the new SanDisk Ultra USB thumb drive. It offers a generous 256GB of storage for a reasonable price, but also includes a year of cloud backup for said drive. 256GB of cloud storage for a full year is included making this disk an excellent value if you are looking for a cost effective backup drive.

The SanDisk Ultra 256GB is not overly different from other SanDisk drives. It's clad in a semi-gloss black with a slide mechanism to protect the type-A usb port when not in use. It's a tried and true design, and SanDisk rightfully doesn't mess with what works.

Performance wise, the disk boasts performance up to 100MB/s. This claim is not exaggerated for sequential read speeds (in other words, large files). Crystal disk mark placed sequential read speeds around 135MB/s. The drive appears to use a fast write cache buffer.

Sequential writes hover around 65MB/s for the first gigabyte or so but sharply and predictably drop off to 20-25MB/s. Writes in bursts benefit from this cache, but it can easily fill up during large writes. The cache recovers pretty quickly however, so writing performs well in small batches. This squarely puts the SanDisk Ultra in the budget category as far as performance goes.

The real interesting proposition with this drive is the cloud storage that comes with it free for the first year. You can backup all the data found on your drive - meaning that if you have a 256GB drive, you can backup that amount of data to the online 'FlashBack' service. I tested this theory by copying our family photos of around 70GB to the drive. While this took quite a while to accomplish, the backup took place during the copy, so I left it overnight. The FlashBack service not only had a copy of all my files, but presented them with a friendly photo browser, and broke down my files based on metadata, type, and provided a handy search feature. The user interface is modern and worked well with my files. You can share links to files, which is a plus, and manage those links. Essentially you could share out a document with someone, and then revoke the access to that link by simply deleting the sharing link. It's clear there was a lot of time spent to ensure a positive user experience with this service, which is appreciated. The app used to do the backup is unobtrusive and seemed to work well. It does get angry if it’s in the process of backing up files and you unplug it. It does take time to get to resuming a backup. If you delete files, they’ll go in the ‘Trash’ bin in FlashBack, and can be restored for up to 30 days.

The first year is on the house, but after that pricing looks reasonable. At $9.99 for the 256GB drive a year, it’s hard to argue that’s a bad deal. Having access to any of your files remotely and securely even with your pc off, and your thumb drive in the drawer is a nice selling feature. Do keep in mind that while SanDisk does look like they did a decent job with security, while still being able to provide sharing features, etc - it’s still hosting your data remotely. Be sure to secure your account with a good password. I’d like to see them implement two factor authentication to help bring further peace of mind to those backing up sensitive data and/or financials.

The SanDisk Ultra 256GB is a decent performing everyday USB pen drive with a large capacity.

The real selling feature of the Ultra series here is the FlashBack service, and it seems to really hit the nail on the head. If you’re looking for a good backup drive that can double as a carbonite or other backup service replacement - this might fit the bill if your needs are simple. In any case, it’s a decent alternative to using Google Drive and offers a ton more storage for the money (and gives you that storage free the first year). This new model of storage actually seems pretty compelling, I highly recommend trying it out.

SanDisk's headline for this device is: TRANSFER A FULL-LENGTH MOVIE IN LESS THAN 40 SECONDS (which is carefully footnoted: Based on 1.2GB MPEG-4 video transfer with USB 3.0 host device.). That's their way of representing a write speed for single large files - and it's impressive but I was able to get files close to 2 GB transferred over to the drive in under 40 seconds (replicated on two different computers - some tests took a little longer but I was able to repeat the under-40 second write multiple times).

They also advertise potential read speeds of up to 100MB/s with a USB 3.0 port. And with the same large MPEG-4 video files I was using to test write speeds, I got consistent read speeds of 145-165 MB/s (with a USB 3.0 port).

Naturally read/write speeds for transferring tons of little files are significantly slower but still pretty impressive. I attached two benchmark results below.

I bought this because I generally run multiple different programs on various computers; I felt like each year I had to double my USB size (32>64>128>256). I have the 128 version of this drive and while I have not ran tests, I can tell you that this one is a bit slower. However, at this price point of $60 I can not argue the extra 20 seconds on an iso file. There is one negative, the text on the usb (IE. Red "Sandisk" writing and the back where you can write your name will fade away after a couple of weeks in a pocket, every version of this thumb drive does this)

256 gb Flash drive for such a low price... Can't go wrong, Has like a vault, to secure files in also. Works great...

Fastest flash drive I’ve ever used. As fast as a portable ssd, but cost less. Goes on sale frequently. Overall and fantastic product I recommend for many use cases.

Still doing it old school and downloading songs to play in the car!!!

Read speed is about 300-350MB/s and write speed is about 180MB/s.

Great value for the money. Easy to use, convenient, and reasonably priced.

It has plenty of storage and transfers quickly. The only thing I would like to note is that the value may or may not be there. I bought this 256gb for about $50. You can get a Samsung 500gb external ssd for $80. The external will store more and transfer faster, I would say that would be the better value.

Bought the 256 at a great price under 60$. I transfer a lot of movies back and forth on it across multiple viewing devices. The speed of this isn’t far off of an internal sata drive and better than some lower drives.

Works well. I use this to have the Tails OS on my keychain for using computers that are not mine, to make sure my information and data Is not collected. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a decent Flash drive to keep on a keychain. Has been on my keychain for months and smashed around and thrown on tables etc, still works and looks good.

Great purchase, get it on sale like I did!

If you like privacy on computers, get a Tails OS. :)

This flash drive is fast.

Real world in a USB 3.1 port, I see around 330 MB/s read and 270 MB/s write (for large files). This is faster than a spinning external drive (e.g. USB 3.1 passport), so I am pretty happy.

This thing feels cheep like a toy but works as intended and it a band I trust is small lite and I have full USB and type c is amazing to have both at your fingertips

Teeny, tiny drive that has tons of storage capacity, and the ability to transfer files from your USB-C-based smartphone. USB 3.0 on the A-type connector provides a decent transfer of video files to your Smart TV, but flipping the drive around and transferring from a computer with USB-C outputs is the nice and quick (just be sure the individual files max out at 4 Gigabytes, or there'll be trouble).

This is just what I need. Saving files has never been easier. I liked that it both has USB-A and USB-C ports for my old and new devices that needs to bw backed up.

Highly recommended!

I bought this for my Tesla to store and play music.

My PC has type A USB while the car only has type C USB so rather than having to deal with different adaptors etc this is the perfect device since it has a type A connector on one side and a type C connector on the other side.

I have a macbook pro, which unfortunately only has usb-c ports, but this makes it so much easier to use. No need for an adapter and works just perfectly fine. Would definitely recommend if you have a device with a usb-c slot

Got the 256GB stick on sale for $36.99. Amazing value, as normal retail was $120. Great for transferring files from my phone to my PC/Chromebook/etc.

Unfortunately; I have not been able; to UTILIZE it; because, It is not Compatible With My DELL DESKTOP COMPUTER; but, Possibly My IPAD. I am not Tech Savy; So, It was Suggested; By Someone At the “GEEK SQUAD”; As a way; For Me to be able ; To TRANSFER My DELL DESKTOP PHOTOS to My APPLE IPAD PRO 2021; but it does not fit Into My DELL; So, I was going To try to find The CORRECT One; For My DELL.

Very awesome slim design. Fast transferring speeds of files

This drive is very high quality with its metal case, and having both USB formats makes it very versatile. The size is small and the rotating input (for USB 3 or C) has a catch that holds it in place while in your pocket.

Also got BB to price match so it was a great deal for the 256GB drive.

plugged this into my USB 3.0 port and it proceeded to lock up my entire system that wouldn't even reboot after removing the drive, unplugging the power supply power cord for 5 minutes. Wouldn't even go into bios. After about 5 or 6 total hard power off resets, the last letting sit unplugged for 30 minutes, I finally got my system to reboot. After formatting the drive it has been perfect, but that moment when I thought it had fried my MB chipsets was a royal PIA. Never Ever had any problem with the dozens of Sandisk products I've used with my system, why this one acted the way it did initially was heartstopping. Once fully scanned and formatted it's been great and I love the USB-C/A both connectors for phone use also.

Awesome storage. Holds all my 1000s of pics! Great value

I love the ability of saving files and being able to put them in my phone without any third party service and slow download or upload times.

Really great that's what it's supposed to. never had any issues

This is handy for me to keep on my keychain but encryted and secured of course. Highly Recommend.

Being using this for a month. So far it's good. I didn't find any issue with connecting USB-A and USB-C back and forth.

Excellent product, can easily carry it anywhere and transfer rate is very fast. Recommend this to everyone.

This flash drive has pretty good read speed, although the write speed is a decent amount slower. I got around 50MB/s, which is a bit faster than other drives advertised there. This is enough capacity to flash a basic OS if you wanted to USB boot. Do note that you need to manually format it to ExFAT if you want it to be windows and mac compatible.

I have had this flash drive for a while now and it's very convenient for transferring files directly from my phone to the USB. I have put this through the wash so many times mostly because I forget It's in my pocket and it ends up in the bin. I have found it both in the washer and dryer. It's usually pretty steaming hot when it comes out however it hasn't failed yet. Not so much as an error. Also, I've read other reviews on the writing speed yeah it's a bit slow. But if you aren't transferring large documents/movies it shouldn't be a problem.

Bought this just for my galaxy S10 plus as other drives i had didn't do so well. This thing is great plugged it in and was using it right away. I love the Dou connection form usb to c male connection Best drive i have ever owed yet. Thanks Best Buy And Samsung

Was able to use this to backup photos off a camera that had USBC connection to view on my phone, skipping the whole "connect this and that" to your PC.

256GB provides tons of space.

This came in handy when i needed to save some stuff from my cell phone. Handy lil gadget. I'll probably end up buying another one.

Great storage solution!! The thumb drive uploads and downloads really fast. Definitely a must have.

I love this drive. High quality and super fast. Everything I would expect from Samsung.

Works great and I love that it can be used as USB or C.

Great flash drive. Backed up my whole computer with it, still going strong!

This is USB 3.0, the speed is very slow: 200 bytes/s. There should be something wrong with this product.

I bought this flash drive for my PS4. The drive is actually 248 GB. Yes I've checked all file types and Yes I removed any odd partitions and YES I've reformatted in all types to check.

As a full-time professional photographer, I need access to my files at irregular times (waiting in line at Dr. office, motor vehicle office, and even at a photo session during idle times). My thumb drive is my answer to this, enabling me to be more efficient at random times. I simply pop this drive into my laptop, and I can edit photos on a plane, train, doctors lobby, or between sessions at a client's office. No need for internet access, and it fits in my pocket.

Make sure you get a USB 3+ version if you work with large files.

The best Flash Drive. Good quality. I've had it for more than a year and it works just as good as the day I bought it - which is not the case with most of these portable drives.

This black/gray flash drive is a handy size and fits my needs when I have to work on projects. I label my flash drives and keep them in my backpack with easy access.

I used the PNY -256GB Turbo Attache 4 US 3.0 Flash Drive to replace a much older, 2.0 Flash Drive of 1/64 of the capacity. It does its job, without any noise.

I purchased this flash drive to replace an external hard drive. It was easy to use and I was able to back up all of my files in a short time.

The product meets the "advertised" read/write speed. (Although I wish the write speed was at least closer to the read speed)

From my testing, I was able to attain about 130 Mbps read & 45 Mbps write.

Other than that, it's pretty much like any other USB. I don't use their proprietary software.

Love this little flash drive. Very low profile that doesn’t get it the way. You don’t even notice it’s there. I use it to free up memory on my MacBook Pro. Very simple to use, just plug and play. No need to format it. Wish I had bought more than one when it was on sale..... :-(

This one doesn't look like a juul so my 10 year old brother won't steal it I hope.

So I had this flash drive in my Tesla Model 3 car for recording live footage all the time. So there is a lot of read-write on this device and it stopped working after 6 months or so. Luckily, I fell within the 1 year warranty period and BestBuy is willing to replace the device.

Product declared capacity (256GB) is not true. It is less than that. My purchased flash drive shows 249,986,547,712 bytes under properties on Windows.

SanDisk - Ultra 256GB USB 3.1 provides cost effective high speed reliable data back-up for your USB 3.1 devices. The small size enables you to store it in secure locations and even harden it against magnetic fields or EMP related data loss.

I liked it's compact size, however the plastic surrounding the drive is very flimsy. After about a week of using it, a piece already broke off. It is still fully functional, but I have to put it into a small protective plastic box to transport it, defeating the purpose of it's small size. SanDisk makes plenty of other good drives and products and I am happy with all and will keep on buying them, but I'll stay away from this one.

Bought this to add some extra storage to my laptop. It's small footprint allows me to just leave it plugged in which I do. The speeds are great for what i use it for mostly photos and videos.

I added a lanyard to mine for ease of transportation.

This drive is fast and reliable. I reformatted it to ExFat to be able to copy files larger than 4 GBs and it works even better.

This was a great buy! I am extremely satisfied.

This is a great thumb drive, with a cover and metal casing. It's getting 4 stars because it's labeled as USB 3.1, but when you receive it, it's USB 3.0. It's tricky advertising because they're allowed to say USB 3.1 when it's USB Gen 1, which is the same as USB 3.0. True USB 3.1 is USB 3.1 Gen 2.

I love (and am slightly baffled by) the low profile of this flash drive. I'm pleased with the speed it copies data at. Just a bit of advice, format it to NTFS before trying to copy a file that's 4GB or larger or else it will say the destination doesn't have enough space.

Excellent. Lots of storage space. fast. reliable.

Excellent for any type of storage, worked well with the home security cameras.

Works wonderfully, no hiccuos or corruption. Good buy

Maybe it's because I grew up in the 80s, but this is amazing. It is a 256 GB pen drive. It works well although I can see a person misplacing it! Great product, great storage option for an iPad as their storage is limited. Great purchase.

I love this thing. It really helped boost the storage on an older laptop of mine. For a usb drive it's incredibly fast too. Highly recommend!

So small and effective. It’s has a place where you can connect a strap to it. Glad they were thinking ahead about that so I don’t loose it. This 256gb usb does the job. It’s great to have backup and extra storage space when needed.

The flash drive itself is fairly small and made of smooth metal, I have had to be careful not to fumble it. It does have a place in the end to put it on a key ring or such, so at least it isn't too hard to keep up with it. Also unlike many other drives it has to be pushed in to the USB port until it will not go in any further, as it has no feature externally or internally to let you know when it is in and properly seated. The drive I purchased is 256 GB and the bigger capacity causes it to feel _very_ hot to the touch as a result of use, but once ejected, it does usually cool off pretty fast. A plus is that it has a metal exterior case made all of one piece, so no plastic case to maybe fall apart as a result of super-heating. This drive also includes a SanDisk Secure Access encryption tool on it, it is pretty easy to use but beware, do _not_ lose your password! You can reset it, but you will lose any previously encrypted files and have to start from scratch if you do. I do believe the drive can be used without the encryption tool and will function as a regular drive. Data transfer rates seem to be fairly quick, however speed will vary depending on the capability of the USB port into which it is inserted (USB 3.0 vs. 2.0, etc.). I use my drive as long-term storage/back-up for important files such as music and family photos, etc., so far I have had no real problems with any performance of the drive (only time will tell how well it really does).

I purchased this drive on sale but even had it been full price I feel like I got a very good deal. By the way, I am just a regular owner/user, I wrote the review I did because it is my honest opinion based on my own use of the product.

Small and powerful and enough memory to keep all your files

I got this to back up all of my personal & financially sensitive files. I like that is very sleek in build quality and that you must use a password to get to the files. drive is large enough for all of my info. I will get a second one to have a secondary backup.

This is a nice looking usb flash drive, and it comes with a 5 year warranty, which is the only thing that I really care about.

I don't really trust the really small thumb size drives, as I've had a couple die on me.

Hopefully this one lasts.

Looks very nice in person but a little smaller than expected from photos. Be sure to check the dimensions. Solid, no complaints. Kind of regret that I only purchased one. A bit of a tight fit for my computer; not sure if that's the fault of the computer or the drive.

Fast as you would expect from 3.1. I really like the build quality, all Aluminum is sleek and stylish. I will but a 512 or 1 TB when they come out.

Small size and great product. Good build quality. Fast reading and writing. This makes life easy for us.

The IExpand works good. It can work with any USB insert. It is Easy to carry and maintain. It Has a lot of features. The only reason I did not give it an Excellent is because of its speed. Now, I m no Technically savvy computer Wizard, still It did seem somewhat slow compared to other drives I have and have used. To be Fair the other drives CAN NOT do what the IExpand does. The other Flash Drives Can Not Upload or Download into and from an IPhone or Any phone for that matter. Those drives that can do this and are somewhat faster than the IExpand COST Way, Way more Money!

It’s a convenient, small well made, versatile device that you could carry on a key chain that can transfer large amounts of data to and from your IPHONE with relative ease for a decent price.

Good price, easy to install, seems tiny but it serves the purpose while using with an antenna.

Bought this SanDisk 256GB iXPand drive on sale for $59.99 compared to its regular price of $109.99. $60.00 is the top price I would pay for this accessory anyway, as MSRP consumer prices are almost always overinflated on technological accessories.

Here’s the GOOD, BAD, and UGLY on this SanDisk drive:

GOOD: Small and very compact, with quick plug-and-play drive recognition on your Apple device. Performs well, but a bit slow when backing up thousands of photos for the very first time. Understandable.

BAD: Straight small footprint model is more fragile than its larger curved predecessor models. The dual-port drive housing itself is basically a shiny, cheap metal casing so don’t press down hard on the hardware at any time. The LIGHTNING plug-in tip and the USB plug-in tip are obviously connected to the single drive mechanics inside this metal casing. Over time, it may randomly shift to one end or the other while inside the casing. When this happens, make certain the USB plug-in tip in pressed back in (flushed) against the casing opening and does not protrude out. If it does, the lightning plug-in tip will not make a complete connection into your Apple device. THIS RANDOM SHIFTING MOVEMENT IS ANNOYING and cheap in design - but, nonetheless, completely harmless in operation.

UGLY: This drive IS NOT HARDWARE ENCRYPTED as advertised!!! It is SOFTWARE FILE ENCRYPTED only. With true HARDWARE security encryption, you need enter a master password only once to unlock the entire drive for access each time the drive is inserted into a device (thereby essentially locking and locking the drive and its entire contents INSTANTLY). This substandard and less secure SOFTWARE encrypted method requires you to password-protect every file and folder that you wish on your drive MANUALLY with a password. God help you if you inadvertently create a different password - let’s say by making an unintentional typo - for different folders and/or files. This sloppy, software-encryption process is unnecessarily tedious and time-consuming at best.

FINAL NOTE: For the price of $60.00, it is a decent, reliable, no-frills backup drive for your photos, PDF, MS-Word, and other files. The latest software update seems to have FINALLY corrected previously repeated freezes and crashes when using the APP. If you’re looking for a smart, simply, and seamless HARDWARE ENCRYPTED dual-port thumb drive for your iOS-DOS devices, however, you’re better off looking elsewhere for a similar product.

This wonderful device did exactly what I needed it to do. While on a recent trip to Europe, my iPhone ran out of cloud space. I did not lose a single video or picture by backing up daily.

Best alternative to buying icloud memory. The app is easy to navigate and love that i can upload all my pics and videos in one click. Just wish there was better protection for the device. The way it is designed you can only cover one end of the device at a time. I would prefer to have caps or something to cover both ends to protect from dust and damage when not in use.

Lexar disappointed me HARDCORE when they stopped supporting their iDrive product for the new OS. They wanted me to buy new, so I went and bought this thing. Works well, the app is nice too. The speed, not the fastest thing but if you are backing up to it, great stuff. THE MAIN REASON I got this, is that on windows computers iphones tend to have problems copying to the computer and times out, if I transfer to this first then to computer NO PROBLEMS.

Purchased this flash drive to back up some photo's off my Iphone. Worked great. Had a lot of photos and music so the 256gb size was very helpful. USB 3.0 makes it work a lot quicker than some of the other flash drives I've used in the past. Also; got it on sale. Very pleased with this purchase.

This flash drive worked like a charm! I easily moved thousands of pictures and videos from my iPhone to the flash drive and then from there to my laptop. Before I could not easily transfer files from my iPhone to my laptop via cable without many errors, disconnections, hours of frustration, etc. Highly recommended!

Very compact and quality device! The last device like this I used, when I pushed it into a port on a computer the connector retracted and I had to hold the slider tab to prevent that from happening. Not so with this device. I highly recommend it.

While small in size HP's 256GB x900w Flash Drive nevertheless provides ample and easily transportable storage space for digital music, photos, databases and other computer documents and files. Decent transfer rate and all at a price that simply can't be beat.

Very good flash drive, lots of storage, easy to use, no complaints

The TV is clear and fantastic,I love the colors, how big the screen is and it was easy to install. Thanks bestbuy

I was able to purchase online with Best Buy's website.

Just a normal 256GB flash drive. Has fast speeds and works fine. No issues so far.

I was surprised I was able to use this external drive with my MacBook and pc laptop without reformatting. I got it on salw and I'm happy with this purchase.

They are great for the price. Would definitely order again

Bought this for cousins Samsung laptop, for extra storage.

aside from the Usb-C these can't be beat

Most flash drives don't publish the Write speed just the Read speed

These read at about 300mps max

My write speed was about 70mps and is considerably faster than other flash drives with usb3.1

also a plus with the FIT size you can leave it in your laptop so you can back up or just have additional storage anytime!

Drive is unreliable. Failed after 2 weeks, first requiring several file save attempts, then it could not be written to at all. Drive remains readable, so I got my data off it and onto a PNY drive.

Reported this to Samsung so they can fix and clean their stock.

Replaced with the PNY 256gb USB 3.0 drive (200mbps), which comes formatted as FAT32, not exFAT like the Failed Samsung. Working great, with no errors. I recommend this model until Samsung fixes the problem, and changes the design color so we know we have the improved model.

Beware of the 2nd worst model - the SanDisk 256gb USB 3.1. It gets hot, like almost all SanDisk Fit-sized drives, and fails completely - according to 15 percent of reviews.

I must admit, I never liked PNY before due to sluggish performance. In this case, with these tiny Fit-size drives, it is the only brand you can count of to keep your data safe. I had to learn this through trial & error, and keeping an open mind.

Great flash drive with a ton of storage. Great quality too.

Check reviews all over the web. These drives have a BIG bug that causes them to drop out of Windows leaving corrupted or lost data.

I have bought and returned 2 of them from another retailer.

Small, compact Flash drive with excellent read-write speeds. Does not jut out much from the USB port either. Has proven very reliable so far.

Samsung Fit low profile usb drives are reliable and fast. I highly recommend them. This is the third one I’ve bought for various applications and they’ve all worked perfectly.

Small enough to fit anywhere and blazing fast speed for huge file transfers.

Perfect for all types of media storage.

Tons of 4K movies on the go.

Like many people, I've owned countless flash drives with traditional USB-A connectors. Now that many computers and tablets are moving to USB-C, I've been looking for a decent high-capacity, USB-C flash drive that I can use between my laptops and iPad Pro. This SanDisk Ultra certainly fits the bill, though it's compact size comes with some trade-offs in terms of speed.

PROS:

- The small, compact size of the SanDisk Ultra makes it easy to travel with or throw in a pocket. The USB-C connector easily retracts for safe storage.

- When this drive is on sale, it offers a great value for the amount of storage you receive. 256 GB in a drive this small is pretty incredible. Just a few years ago, this amount of storage in a flash drive would have cost significantly more.

- Speeds are perfectly fine for general tasks and storage needs. Sequential write speeds range from 50 to 70 MB/s while read speeds peak near 165 MB/s. For small to medium sized files, these speeds are just fine. Photos and documents like PDFs and Word files open instantly. Even larger files such as videos seem to open almost immediately. Speed limitations are most noticeable when copying or transferring large amounts of data at one time (more on this below).

- The drive is formatted to FAT32 for universal support across devices. My iPad Pro immediately recognized the drive and I can read and write to it via the Files app.

CONS:

- I appreciate the compact size, but the plastic design feels a bit flimsy. I worry that the retracting mechanism will eventually break and the drive might be stuck open or closed. As it is, it can sometimes feel difficult to retract the USB-C connector (it seems like a lot of force is required).

- Speeds are very inconsistent when transferring a lot of data to or from this drive. While writing large amounts of data (300+ MB), speeds sometimes start out very high (~65 MB/s) but slowly fall into the 40-50 MB/s range. Other times, writing data starts off very slowly (~15 MB/s) but slowly increases to near 60 MB/s as more data is written. I suppose that is the nature of small flash drives like this. It's certainly not a deal-breaker, but could be an issue if you regularly work with large files (such as video editing).

- The front of the packaging advertises SanDisk SecureAccess as a way to easily encrypt your files, but that software is not provided on the flash drive. A link to download it is included in the very tiny fine print on the back of the package. The software overall works well, though business users might prefer an easier or more universal solution such as BitLocker.

OVERALL:

Minor issues aside, this appears to be a great flash drive with a truly incredible amount of storage for the price. Speeds are more than acceptable for the vast majority of use cases. The USB-C connector allows you to access your files on virtually any modern computer or tablet. I wish SanDisk would have used a sturdier material rather than the cheap plastic, but if this model is anything like other SanDisk drives I've owned, it will last for years to come. Recommended!

The Sandisk 256GB USB Drive has lightning speed and lots of space to transfer data (233GB to use)! That is half of my computer’s Hard Drive! Its size is incredibly compact, lightweight and looks great. The USB Drive is made of plastic which feels kind of cheap and not as sturdy as I would think for a USB Drive of this magnitude. With that being said, I had no issues with the plastic USB Drive.

The Sandisk Ultra 256GB USB 3.0 Type C Flash Drive (backward compatible 2.0) can move files from one computer to another, topping out at 150MB per second which is extraordinarily fast. I was able to move large music files from my computer to the USB Drive. I never reached over 50MB per second. Then I took and plugged in the Sandisk USB Drive Type C to another computer and moved the music files. The Sandisk drive reached speeds topping 100MB per second on the transfer of music files! So under perfect circumstances you could achieve 150MB per second. Using different computers and other variables like processor speed or Hard Drive space will affect the speed. I still think that 50MB per second and 100MB per second is fast. I don’t think I have had such speed in any other USB Drives I have owned.

Plug into your phone with the USB Type C connection to get the software app Sandisk Memory Zone. It provides Auto Backup, Aggregate and Free up Space. Once I had downloaded the software it was a cinch to help cleanup my phone and move data around. This USB Drive also offers SecureAccess software for protecting sensitive documents, pictures etc. This USB Drive really has great all around protection and reliable software for sorting your data.

Whether you use the software or not, the Sandisk 256GB USB Type C acts just like any other USB drive. Drop and drag your data, documents, music, and pictures on the Sandisk USB Drive and transfer to another source. The only difference being, this new Sandisk 256GB USB Drive is much faster at transfer rates than other USB drives I have used up to this point. I am very pleased with the size and speed of the Sandisk 256GB USB drive. The only reason I gave this drive 4 stars is because it is made of plastic.

This USB drive provides 256GB of storage with a 3.1 Gen 1 USB Type-C interface (backward compatible with USB 2.0) that claims speeds up to 150 Mbps on file transfers. Has encryption software to protect your files and a 1-year subscription for RescuePro file recovery

The USB is small and lightweight with build quality being plastic that feels a bit flimsy, it has a slider that covers the USB C port when you pull down on the button and a loophole to attach your keychain to. I would have felt better if the outer case were made from metal or a more durable plastic before I would attach this to my keys.

Could not achieve any were near the advertised 150 Mbsp on file transfers that averaged around 60 Mbsp on my tests (pictured) when trying on two different computers. Also tried older USB Type-A drives on the same computers and got speeds over 100 Mbsp on them, so it is strange that the newer Sandisk does not get these speeds?

Software wise the drive has a PDF with instructions on how to install the Android app (SanDisk Memory Zone) on your phone that lets you browse, backup, organize and store files between internal memory, microSD cards and SanDisk Drives. Memory Zone provides access to popular online storage services allowing users to easily move files between local storage and cloud storage locations. It also has an APK file on drive to install the software directly to your phone. There is no mention on how to get the advertised encryption software. I had to Google search (or in my case Duckduckgo) to the download page for SanDisk SecureAccess 3.02: https://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2399/~/sandisk-secureaccess-3.02-support-information-and-download-page You run the software from within the flash drive and it provides 128-bit AES encryption which I use to encrypt my personnel and work files. It is easy to set up and very nice overall.

My final thought on this product is that it is a bit slow for a newer USB, but I may just a have faulty drive? The software makes up for the faults of the flash drive with backing up your phone and encryption options.

Having just moved, finding my thumb drives and accessories has been a chore, so this came at just the right time. When this 256G thumb drive hit my doorstep and I opened the package, I was shocked to see how thin it was; so much so that I had to go try to find an old thumb drive for comparison.

I must say, this is my first USB-C thumb drive and I like the fact that I don’t have to use an adapter for most of the machines I’m using these days.

Unlike other brands, there isn’t a usb protector cap you slide over the end, but it’s built into the case itself. I find sliding the case is a bit difficult when you put pressure in the wrong place.

The matte style case is noticeably not slippery and has a distinct different feel to other glossy thumb drives. The Red activity LED can be seen from both sides of the thumb drive when in use. The plastic seems a bit thin, so I’m not keen on the idea of throwing a keychain ring around it.

It comes with “Memory Zone” software for phone backup. I used Memory Zone with my S10+ (don’t laugh) for about two hours at first and it didn’t seem to progress over 80% even running in the foreground (vs background) and everything got super hot. Running it days later seems to do a ‘don’t back up the files again if they already exist’ style (incremental) backup and eventually finished as I’d have expected in the first place - but this time well under 2 hours. Once completed, it gives me a restore option, which is pretty cool. Backing up my SD card is a different process and is more of a copy/paste action of the app and can’t be run in the background.

I also tested simple drag/drop speeds but I don’t use benchmark tests because I find them to be unrealistic as there’s overhead depending on the filesystem that the device is formatted with. If you don’t care about files over 2GB, then the ‘out of the box’ FAT32 is fine for you, but going to NTFS for large file support will drop android/Mac ease of use.

As for the speeds … you’re always as fast as the slowest component. USB bus, extender, spinning disk, NVME, M.2, SSD - all contribute to how fast this can be.

My tests were perfectly fine from my perspective - and this is coming from a guy that works on Enterprise Storage for a living and where IOPS and Throughput mean different things.

If I had to suggest improvements, it’d be a better slide mechanism and a keychain loop that feels a bit more sturdy.

Overall, a nice drive and will make it part of my EDC.

Over the years I have owned lots of SanDisk Flash drives including several Ultra versions and they have always been very reliable. This USB type-C version is slimmer and fully wrapped in a plastic case so it doesn’t have as solid a feel as versions made with medal or thicker plastic. The USB-C head can be retracted into the drive when not installed but due to the thinner plastic case this can be difficult at times. After doing several large file transfers to and from the flash drive I did notice that the drive warmed up and this could be felt through the plastic case. Once the drive sat idle it cooled back down as expected. The drive does include a Lanyard loop and SanDisk Memory Zone software for Android. To secure your data SanDisk offers the SanDisk Secure Access software on their website which allows you to create an encrypted secure vault on your SanDisk flash drives. The encryption process slows down the file transfers a little bit but the security is worth it. Overall its nice USB 3.0 type-C flash drive.

I am sure we all have USB-A flash drives lying around in drawers. While they are still practical in today’s world, a USB-A flash drive won’t be as versatile as USB-C one. Now that many PCs in today’s world are being manufactured with a USB-C/thunderbolt port, there is never a better time to get a USB-C flash drive than right now.

A USB-C flash drive will allow you to transfer files from your Android phone to your computer, and vice versa seamlessly. This flash drive is also sleek and tiny, although I do feel SanDisk could’ve added a bit more protection on the outside in case of drops, scratches, etc. Different materials such as ruggedized rubber would’ve been better. The plastic does feel flimsy and cheap.

I did test the flash drive out using the thunderbolt port on my laptop so speeds may differ from others. I transferred about 5GB worth of files from my PC and noticed write speeds are fairly quick. It took about 2 and a half minutes to transfer 5GB worth of videos and files. I decided to compare this flash drive’s speed to a typical USB-A flash drive I had laying around. This one did take significantly longer to transfer 5GB worth of files. (about 13 minutes) Granted, the USB-A flash drive is older and cheaper but I do love how quicker data transfer speeds have gotten over the years!

Transferring the files from the flash drive onto my phone was also a quick and easy process. The flash drive does come with the optional SanDisk Memory Zone apk that can be installed on your phone. This application allows you to easily move files from your phone’s internal storage to an external location such as this USB-C drive. The app also lets you organize your files, delete junk files, and create backups. I do enjoy the simple UI of the app so far but a recycling bin in the app would be a great addition in case of accidental deletion of files.

Overall, this is a solid USB-C flash drive. It is swift and does its job exceptionally well. The only drawback was the flimsy and cheap plastic used. I do highly recommend you get this flash drive if you are wanting to transfer files from your phone to PC or vice versa.

My unboxing experience got off to a bad start. If you look at the uploaded photo of the thumb drive (thumb included, no extra charge) you will see me attempting to close the drive. I couldn't. Thinking I was missing something, I looked for a button that would unlock it. There was none. It's just difficult to move, courtesy of the cheap plastic enclosure. Had to use two hands; one to hold the case, the other to move the slider. One would think if you're going to call your product "Ultra", it might be a nice aluminum case, as are other drives I own. If you're committed to plastic, at least make it work!.

I've shown the drive attached to my brand new Dell XPS, equipped with the latest Thunderbolt C-type ports. Tested it out with some multi-gig multimedia files; on average, about 100 mb/sec, which is below stated, which was certainly under controlled conditions. But, better than any drive I currently own, including some previous model Ultras.

I did about 10 gig in rapid succession, at which point the drive was pretty warm, I was thinking about backing up a PC onto it; not sure how it would react to a 100 gig load at one time. Having a metal case to dissipate heat might make me a bit more comfortable about it.

All in all, it's nice to have this much storage available in a tiny package, but would've preferred they put a "finishing touch" on a somewhat expensive for its class drive.

First off, before you buy this, make sure your device has the newer USB-C, which is a smaller port than traditional USB.

This USB-C flash drive is tiny. For comparison, look at the picture of it (black) next to a larger, traditional USB drive (orange). The newer drive is not only smaller, but thinner as well. Being so small, it's very easy to carry around with you, either in your pocket, a briefcase or purse.

Since my wife's laptop has a USB-C port, I decided to get this drive for her to back up her files. It has enough storage to back up everything important, plus it won't get confused for any other drive, since it's the only USB-C drive we have. Since it's so small, I put a lanyard on the hoop at the back of the drive, so we can hang it somewhere so it doesn't get lost.

Transfer speeds are very good, though it depends what type of internal drive your computer has as well. If you have a SSD hard drive, it will be very fast, but a traditional mechanical drive would slow things down.

under 14MB/s write and under 65 MB/s read

6.5 times slower write and 2.5 times slower read than ScanDisk Ultra usb 3.0 !

It's great to have a thumb drive with this much capacity, but it's amazingly slow. When to attach the drive, it can take up to a solid minute for it to recognize. It doesn't copy as fast as smaller drives either.

Too wide to work on a MacBook Air with the power cord also attached.

I have used this to store game files on laptop but it cuts out unexpectedly

love this usb storage. this flash drive is very useful because it can work with your laptop and tablet and phones.

It makes the on the go storage a reality for those with phones

I bought this to use with my MacBook Pro. The write speeds are extremely slow and the usb blocks the second usb c port because it is too big.