White label, or Recertified š¤
You may be wondering; what is the difference between a White Label and a Factory Recertified drive? I completely understand this question! Let me try to explain it as good as possible, but if you still have questions afterwards, then donāt hesitate to contact us. Note that as an Authorized Seagate Partner, we proudly source our hard drives directly from Seagate, a leading Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). This ensures the highest quality and reliability for every drive we offer.
Quick comparison
| Feature | Factory Recertified Drives | White Label Drives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A hard drive returned to the OEM, tested, and Recertified to meet new drive standards and comes with branding. | A hard drive returned to the OEM, tested, but may have minor scratches or dents, and comes without branding. |
| Condition | Fully functional with no defects, may have zero power-on hours or minor, corrected errors; guaranteed 100% error-free. | Fully functional with no defects, may have zero power-on hours or minor, corrected errors; guaranteed 100% error-free, though minor cosmetic scratches or dents may be present. |
| Testing Process | Undergoes the same test process as new drives, tested twice, resulting in lower return rates than new drives. | Undergoes the same test process as new drives, tested twice, resulting in lower return rates than new drives. |
| Branding | Has OEM branding. | Comes without OEM branding. |
| Model- and Part Number Difference (Example) | Direct reference to the original OEM model- and part number. Model Number: ST20000NM004E Part Number: 3HR103-886 |
No direct reference to the original OEM model- and part number. Model Number: XX20000NM004E Part Number: 3HR103-899 |
| RMA Rate | <0.5% | <0.5% |
| Cost | Moderately priced (ā¬ā¬) | Lower priced (ā¬) |
| Factory Sealed | Yes | Yes |
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Recertified drives
A Factory Recertified (FR) hard drive is a disk that has been returned to Seagate as the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), for example by a hyperscaler (e.g., HP Enterprise), and may have no fault found, an easily correctable error or may have zero power on hours (POH) and be 100% error free.Ā
For example, HP Enterprise may have a 3% threshold for their newly ordered drives, and when they receive the drives, they take a sample of 10% out of letās say 5000 hard drives theyāve ordered. When they experience a 3.5% lot failure test rate, the lot is rejected. So I see you thinking; ābecause 18 drives out of 500 failed, they return all 5000 drives?ā Yes, indeed. Hereās why:
Due to the drives having been invoiced under a specific serial number, it can not be resold as a new drive so the manufacturer runs the drives through its test process which is also used for new drives. Those that pass the new drive test criteria are recertified as Factory Recertified hard drives.
Since the drives has been tested twice by the test process we actually see lower return rates that we do for new drives.
This is how a Factory Recertified drive looks like:
White label drives
A White Label (WL) hard drive is a disk that has been returned to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) factory by a hyperscaler, and may have no fault found, an easily correctable error or may have zero power on hours (POH) and be 100% error free as well. A difference compared to Factory Recertified drives is that White Label drives can contain scratches or small dents. Just like Recertified drives, White Label hard drives undergo the same thorough checks at the OEM factory, comeĀ without branding, and are sealed.
This is how a White Label drive looks like:
RMA rates
In terms of RMA rates, the same <0.5% RMA applies to both Factory Recertified and White Label drives.Ā
To conclude
In the end, itās up to you whether you rather buy new drives at a higher cost (ā¬ā¬ā¬), a Factory Recertified drive (ā¬ā¬) or a White Label drive (ā¬).Ā
But, donāt forget, all hard drives can break! Itās a matter of trade-offs between costs and the warranty period. Learn more about our warranty.
I hope this explanation helped you to better understand the difference and helps you in your purchase decision.
- Bram
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