First 870 EVO SATA SSD purchased from Amazon connected via USB to MS Win 10 PC and formatted, whereupon the drive was recognized by Windows and I was able to copy a test file to it. Magician software also recognized drive, but said its serial number was invalid. Samsung's chat support person said that probably meant the SSD was counterfeit, so I posted a negative review to Amazon and returned it.
I bought a second 870 EVO at my local Best Buy. Exact same experience. CrystalDiskInfo was able to read its serial number: S6PXNU0XA05327M. Installed it inside the box with a SATA connection, and was able to complete a fresh install of the latest version of Windows 10, 64 bit. The drive works well, a huge speed boost over the previous HDD, but not being able to use Magician to clone that drive was a time-consuming disappointment.
It seems highly unlikely that two different drives purchased from two different major retailers were counterfeit. I'm left wondering, what is going on here?
The issue may be due to the USB adapter, when using a USB adapter, the Samsung Magician will have limited communication with the drive. Things such as Firmware and serial number may not be available through USB. However, if the SSD is connected inside of the computer, you will have a better connection.
If the first drive was installed internally via SATA as well, there is a good probability that the drive would have been seen as genuine.
