Kioxia SSD Data Recovery

Kioxia (formerly Toshiba Memory) is the world's third-largest NAND flash manufacturer. Their consumer Exceria lineup uses Phison controllers paired with Kioxia's own BiCS FLASH 3D TLC NAND. The Exceria and Exceria Plus use a rebranded Phison E12C. The Exceria Pro uses the Phison E18. Each controller requires a different PC-3000 module and recovery workflow. We recover all Kioxia consumer and legacy Toshiba-branded SSDs.

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Kioxia SSDs We Recover

Consumer NVMe Gen3

Exceria (TC58NC1202GST / Phison E12C, BiCS TLC, DRAM), Exceria Plus (TC58NC1202GST, higher endurance bins)

Consumer NVMe Gen4

Exceria Pro (Phison E18, BiCS TLC, DRAM, AES-256), Exceria Plus G3 (Phison E21T, DRAMless HMB)

Enterprise SSDs

CM6 (U.2/E3.S NVMe, custom Kioxia controller), CD8 (NVMe, data center), PM7 (SAS-4, dual-port)

Legacy Toshiba SSDs

RC500 (Phison E12C), XG5/XG6 (Toshiba controller, OEM), OCZ RD400/VX500 (acquired brand)

PC-3000 SSD with Phison NVMe and Toshiba/Kioxia modules

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Updated March 2026

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How Kioxia SSD Recovery Works

Kioxia consumer SSDs use Phison controllers paired with Kioxia's own BiCS FLASH 3D TLC NAND. The Exceria and Exceria Plus use the TC58NC1202GST, a rebranded Phison PS5012-E12C. The Exceria Pro uses the Phison PS5018-E18. Recovery requires identifying the controller, loading the correct PC-3000 SSD Phison module, and rebuilding the corrupted flash translation layer. We evaluate your drive for free, provide a firm quote, and charge nothing if we cannot recover your data.

Exceria and Exceria Plus: Phison E12C Firmware Failures

The Kioxia Exceria and Exceria Plus are Gen3 NVMe SSDs built around the TC58NC1202GST controller. Despite the Kioxia part number, this is a rebranded Phison PS5012-E12C: a 4-channel controller with onboard DRAM and AES-256 hardware encryption. The Exceria pairs this controller with Kioxia BiCS FLASH 3D TLC NAND in M.2 2280 form factor.

The most common failure is FTL corruption after power loss. The flash translation layer maps logical addresses to physical NAND locations. When an unexpected shutdown interrupts an FTL write, the mapping tables become inconsistent. The controller detects the corruption at next boot and enters a firmware diagnostic mode. The drive enumerates with a vendor-specific device string and reports 0MB capacity. SMART data becomes inaccessible.

PC-3000 SSD's Phison NVMe module handles the E12C family. The recovery workflow involves accessing the controller diagnostic interface, reading the NAND contents directly, and rebuilding the corrupted FTL tables. The Toshiba RC500 (the predecessor model sold under the old Toshiba branding) uses the same controller and the same recovery procedure.

TC58NC1202GST Controller

Kioxia Exceria, Exceria Plus, Toshiba RC500. Phison E12C recovery.

SSD Firmware Corruption

FTL failures, 0GB bugs, firmware lockouts across all brands.

Exceria Pro: Phison E18 Gen4 Recovery

The Kioxia Exceria Pro is the brand's flagship consumer SSD. It uses the Phison PS5018-E18 controller: triple ARM Cortex-R5 cores, 8-channel Gen4 NVMe, onboard DRAM, and AES-256 + TCG Opal 2.0 hardware encryption. Kioxia pairs this with their BiCS FLASH 3D TLC NAND for sequential reads up to 7,300 MB/s.

Sustained heavy writes push the E18 controller into thermal throttling. Under prolonged thermal stress, the PMIC (power management IC) on the M.2 PCB can degrade. A failed PMIC prevents the drive from powering on entirely. The drive appears completely dead to the host system: no enumeration, no BIOS detection, no activity LED.

AES-256 hardware encryption on the E18 makes chip-off unviable. The encryption key lives on the controller die. Board-level repair (replacing the failed PMIC or voltage regulators) is the recovery path because it preserves the original controller and its encryption key. PC-3000 SSD supports the E18 through its Phison NVMe module once the controller is operational again.

Phison E18 Controller

Exceria Pro, KC3000, Corsair MP600 Pro, Seagate FireCuda 530.

NVMe & PCIe Recovery

M.2 NVMe diagnostics, thermal throttling, PCIe lane failures.

Kioxia SSD Recovery Pricing

Service Tier	Price	Description
Simple CopyLow complexity	$200	Your drive works, you just need the data moved off it Functional drive; data transfer to new media Rush available: +$100
File System RecoveryLow complexity	From $250	Your drive isn't showing up, but it's not physically damaged File system corruption. Visible to recovery software but not to OS Starting price; final depends on complexity
Circuit Board RepairMedium complexity – PC-3000 required	$600–$900	Your drive won't power on or has shorted components PCB issues: failed voltage regulators, dead PMICs, shorted capacitors May require a donor drive (additional cost)
Firmware RecoveryMedium complexity – PC-3000 required	$900–$1,200	Your drive is detected but shows the wrong name, wrong size, or no data Firmware corruption: ROM, modules, or system files corrupted Price depends on extent of bad areas in NAND
Advanced Board RebuildHigh complexity – precision microsoldering and BGA rework	$1,200–$1,500	Your drive's circuit board is severely damaged and requires advanced micro-soldering Advanced component repair. Micro-soldering to revive native logic board or utilize specialized vendor protocols 50% deposit required upfront; donor drive cost additional

Hardware Repair vs. Software Locks

Our "no data, no fee" policy applies to hardware recovery. We do not bill for unsuccessful physical repairs. If we replace a hard drive read/write head assembly or repair a liquid-damaged logic board to a bootable state, the hardware repair is complete and standard rates apply. If data remains inaccessible due to user-configured software locks, a forgotten passcode, or a remote wipe command, the physical repair is still billable. We cannot bypass user encryption or activation locks.

All tiers: Free evaluation and firm quote before any paid work. No data, no fee on all tiers (advanced board rebuild requires a 50% deposit because donor parts are consumed in the attempt).

Target drive: The destination drive we copy recovered data onto. You can supply your own or we provide one at cost. All prices are plus applicable tax.

What Customers Say About Our SSD Recovery

4.9 across 1,837+ verified Google reviews

May 10, 2020

“I consulted Rossmann Repair Group for data recovery services. A new IT client was recently referred to me, because his main computer crashed and his business database went offline as a result. It turned out that the computer crashed because its main storage, a 500 GB Solid State Hybrid Drive, failed. That part was easy - replace it with a new 1 TB SSD and reinstall Windows along with the software he uses. However, the data on the SSHD was critical and would have meant serious problems for his business if he didn't get that back. That's where Rossmann Repair Group came in.”

Shomari Hohn

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July 24, 2024

“Went in to ask if they could retrieve my SSD from my Surface Pro 4 for me and they gave me a good rate, but was still a bit too expensive for me. So, they let me use their equipment for about an hour until I was able to fish it out myself and recover my data.”

Aravind Udayakumar

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November 17, 2021

“Sent in a SSD for data recovery for a client of mine. Data was recovered! What else can I say. Thank you.”

David Dachenhaus (DDock)

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February 2, 2026

“Amazing place! Super friendly and knowledgeable people! I have a LaCie Rugged Pro SSD that stopped mounting. It turns out the enclosure was the problem, not the SSD itself. They helped diagnose the issue and offered solutions—all free of charge. Great experience, and I highly recommend them! 😊”

Ludwig JonssonLaCie

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Read all 1,837+ reviews

BiCS FLASH NAND and Recovery Implications

Kioxia (jointly with Western Digital/SanDisk) manufactures BiCS FLASH 3D TLC NAND at their Yokkaichi and Kitakami fabrication plants in Japan. BiCS FLASH uses charge-trap flash (CTF) architecture, the same fundamental cell type as Samsung V-NAND. The implementation details differ (vertical channel structure, word-line geometry, oxide layer composition), but both are charge-trap designs. Current consumer drives ship with 112-layer or 162-layer BiCS FLASH.

Charge-trap cell behavior affects read retry parameters during recovery. When NAND cells degrade past their programmed threshold voltages, PC-3000's read retry mechanism shifts voltage references to find the correct charge level. BiCS FLASH and Samsung V-NAND both use charge-trap cells, but their oxide stack compositions and manufacturing processes differ. This means the optimal read retry parameters differ between Kioxia and Samsung NAND even when the host controller is identical (e.g., both using a Phison E18).

Temperature affects NAND readability. Degraded BiCS FLASH cells may read correctly at elevated temperatures (40-50C) because thermal energy shifts the electron distribution in the charge-trap layer. PC-3000's thermal stabilization feature combined with controlled heating of the drive during imaging can improve sector read rates on drives with marginal NAND health.

Kioxia SSD Controllers and Recovery Methods

TC58NC1202GST (Exceria / Exceria Plus)

Rebranded Phison PS5012-E12C. 4-channel NVMe Gen3, onboard DRAM, AES-256 encryption. BiCS FLASH 3D TLC. The E12C stores FTL metadata in NAND with DRAM caching. Power loss during FTL flush corrupts the mapping tables, triggering firmware diagnostic mode (0MB capacity). PC-3000 SSD's Phison NVMe module accesses the controller diagnostic interface, reads NAND contents with proper descrambling, and rebuilds the flash translation layer. Shares the same firmware family and recovery workflow as the Toshiba RC500.

TC58NC1202GST recovery details

Phison PS5018-E18 (Exceria Pro)

Triple ARM Cortex-R5 cores, 12nm process, 8-channel NVMe Gen4 with onboard DRAM. AES-256 + TCG Opal 2.0 hardware encryption makes chip-off not viable. Thermal stress from sustained writes can damage the PMIC, causing complete non-detection. Board-level repair (PMIC or voltage regulator replacement) preserves the encryption key. Once the controller is operational, PC-3000 SSD's Phison NVMe module handles firmware repair and data extraction.

Phison E18 recovery details

Phison E21T (Exceria Plus G3)

DRAMless Gen4 NVMe controller using Host Memory Buffer (HMB) for FTL metadata. The Exceria Plus G3 is Kioxia's budget Gen4 option. DRAMless design makes FTL corruption from power loss more likely because the mapping data resides in NAND rather than dedicated DRAM. The E21T does not have PC-3000 support yet (under development). Recovery options for E21T-based drives are more restricted than for the E12C or E18. Contact us for an honest assessment.

Custom Kioxia Controller (CM6 / CD8 / PM7)

Kioxia enterprise SSDs use in-house controllers (not Phison). The CM6 series ships in U.2 and E3.S form factors for data center NVMe deployments. The PM7 is a SAS-4 dual-port drive. Enterprise Kioxia controllers include hardware power loss protection (tantalum capacitors on the PCB), multi-namespace support, and enterprise-grade encryption. PC-3000 coverage for Kioxia's in-house controllers is limited to older Toshiba enterprise families. We evaluate each enterprise drive individually.

Legacy Toshiba SSDs (XG5, XG6, RC500)

The Toshiba RC500 is the direct predecessor to the Kioxia Exceria, using the same TC58NC1202GST (Phison E12C) controller. The XG5 and XG6 were OEM NVMe drives shipped in Lenovo, Dell, and HP laptops; they use Toshiba's in-house controller with BiCS FLASH NAND. Toshiba also acquired OCZ Technology in 2014. OCZ drives (RD400, VX500, Trion series) used a mix of Toshiba and Indilinx controllers. Recovery approach varies by the specific controller inside.

Toshiba drive recovery

Kioxia BiCS FLASH in Other Brands

Kioxia supplies BiCS FLASH NAND to other SSD manufacturers. Western Digital and SanDisk SSDs use Kioxia/WD jointly-produced BiCS FLASH. Some Kingston, PNY, and Corsair drives also use Kioxia NAND sourced from the Yokkaichi fab. The NAND manufacturer affects read retry parameters during recovery, but the host controller determines the primary recovery workflow. A Kingston KC3000 with Kioxia NAND still uses the Phison E18 recovery module, not a Kioxia-specific tool.

DRAMless Kioxia SSDs and Power Loss Vulnerability

The Kioxia Exceria Plus G3 uses the Phison E21T, a DRAMless Gen4 controller that relies on Host Memory Buffer (HMB) for FTL metadata caching. In normal operation, the host system's RAM stores frequently accessed FTL entries, reducing latency. When the system loses power, HMB contents vanish. The controller must reconstruct FTL state from NAND on next boot.

This reconstruction fails when a write was in progress during the power loss. The FTL data stored in NAND becomes inconsistent because the write to update the mapping was interrupted mid-operation. DRAM-equipped drives (Exceria, Exceria Plus Gen3, Exceria Pro) also suffer from power loss corruption, but the failure rate is lower because the DRAM cache provides a more controlled flush sequence.

For environments with unreliable power (desktops without UPS, external enclosures disconnected without safe eject), the DRAM-equipped Exceria or Exceria Pro is a more resilient choice. If your Kioxia SSD failed after a power loss event, note the circumstances when you contact us; it helps us determine the expected FTL damage scope.

Chip-Off Recovery and Kioxia Encryption

All current Kioxia consumer NVMe SSDs use controllers with AES-256 hardware encryption. The Exceria's TC58NC1202GST (Phison E12C), the Exceria Pro's PS5018-E18, and the Exceria Plus G3's E21T all generate unique encryption keys during manufacturing. These keys are bound to the controller silicon and never exposed to the host system.

Desoldering BiCS FLASH NAND packages from a dead Kioxia SSD yields only AES-256 ciphertext. Without the original controller's decryption key, the raw NAND data is mathematically unrecoverable. This is why board-level repair (not chip-off) is the primary recovery path for Kioxia NVMe drives.

Board-level repair replaces failed passive components (PMICs, voltage regulators, capacitors) on the original M.2 PCB while preserving the controller die and its encryption key. Our microsoldering workstations handle BGA rework on M.2 2280 form factors. Once the controller powers on and initializes, PC-3000 SSD accesses the firmware layer for data extraction.

Data Recovery Standards & Verification

Our Austin lab operates on a transparency-first model. We use industry-standard recovery tools, including PC-3000 and DeepSpar, combined with strict environmental controls to make sure your hard drive is handled safely and properly. This approach allows us to serve clients nationwide with consistent technical standards.

Validated Clean Zone

Open-drive work is performed in a ULPA-filtered laminar-flow bench, validated to 0.02 µm particle count, verified using TSI P-Trak instrumentation.

Transparent History

Serving clients nationwide via mail-in service since 2008. Our lead engineer holds PC-3000 and HEX Akademia certifications for hard drive firmware repair and mechanical recovery.

Media Coverage

Our repair work has been covered by The Wall Street Journal and Business Insider, with CBC News reporting on our pricing transparency. Louis Rossmann has testified in Right to Repair hearings in multiple states and founded the Repair Preservation Group.

Aligned Incentives

Our "No Data, No Charge" policy means we assume the risk of the recovery attempt, not the client.

Technical Oversight

Louis Rossmann

Louis Rossmann's well trained staff review our lab protocols to ensure technical accuracy and honest service. Since 2008, his focus has been on clear technical communication and accurate diagnostics rather than sales-driven explanations.

We believe in proving standards rather than just stating them. We use TSI P-Trak instrumentation to verify that clean-air benchmarks are met before any drive is opened.

See our clean bench validation data and particle test video

Kioxia SSD Data Recovery FAQ

My Kioxia Exceria SSD shows 0MB in BIOS. Can you recover it?

The Exceria and Exceria Plus Gen3 use the KIOXIA TC58NC1202GST controller, which is a rebranded Phison PS5012-E12C. When firmware tables corrupt (typically after power loss), the controller enters a diagnostic mode and reports 0MB capacity. PC-3000 SSD's Phison NVMe module accesses the controller below the firmware layer to rebuild the flash translation layer and extract data. Firmware recovery costs $900 to $1,200.

Is the Kioxia Exceria Pro recoverable after firmware failure?

The Exceria Pro uses the Phison PS5018-E18, a Gen4 NVMe controller with AES-256 hardware encryption. PC-3000 SSD supports the E18 through its Phison NVMe module. AES-256 encryption makes chip-off not viable; the original controller must be operational for data access. Board-level repair (replacing failed PMICs or voltage regulators) preserves the encryption key when the controller cannot be accessed through standard tooling.

What is the difference between Kioxia and Toshiba SSDs?

Kioxia is the former Toshiba Memory Corporation, sold to a Bain Capital consortium in 2018 and renamed Kioxia in October 2019. Kioxia manufactures BiCS FLASH NAND and uses it in their own SSDs. Older drives sold under the Toshiba brand (RC500, XG5, XG6) use the same NAND technology. We recover both Kioxia-branded and legacy Toshiba-branded SSDs. The Toshiba RC500 uses the same TC58NC1202GST controller as the Kioxia Exceria.

Can you recover enterprise Kioxia SSDs like the CM6 or CD8?

Kioxia enterprise SSDs (CM6, CD8, PM7 SAS) use custom firmware with enterprise-specific features: power loss protection capacitors, enhanced encryption, and proprietary wear leveling. We evaluate each enterprise drive individually. The CM6 uses a custom Kioxia controller (not Phison), which limits PC-3000 coverage. Contact us with the specific model number for an honest assessment of recovery options.

How much does Kioxia SSD recovery cost?

Kioxia SSD recovery ranges from $200 for simple data copies to $1,500 for advanced board-level repair. File system recovery starts at $250. Circuit board repair runs $600 to $900. Firmware corruption costs $900 to $1,200. Advanced component repair requiring microsoldering costs $1,200 to $1,500. Free evaluation with no diagnostic fees.

Is chip-off recovery possible on Kioxia SSDs?

Kioxia consumer NVMe SSDs (Exceria, Exceria Plus, Exceria Pro) all use controllers with AES-256 hardware encryption. The encryption key is generated by and bound to the original controller silicon. Desoldering BiCS FLASH NAND chips yields only ciphertext. Board-level repair to revive the original controller is the only viable path when the controller fails on encrypted Kioxia drives.