The magic of USB drive adapters is that they’re both a service tool for data recovery and a cheap way to turn an old drive into a portable backup, but until recently these have tended to be very slow: The old USB 3.0 interface eventually got renamed USB 3.2 Gen1 but kept its decade-old 5Gb/s transfer speeds. JMicron’s low-cost JMS581D changed all that, but it wasn’t until low-cost brands started selling these things that one of these got our attention. Sandberg USB 3.2 Cloner and Dock for M2 + NVMe is an example. The built-in clone function allows to clone memory without using a PC. It is possible to clone from NVMe to SATA and SATA to NVMe. This converter by Sandberg enables the simultaneous operation of an M.2 NVMe SSD, in 2280, 2260, 2242 and 2230 format, and a 2.5″ or 3.5″ SATA HDD or SSD through the USB interface.
Specifications:
Packaging & Contents
The USB 3.2 Cloner and Dock for M2 + NVMe comes in a pretty standard black and blue box that Sandberg uses for pretty much all their products. Simple and recognizable, with all the information you need about the product here.
At the back and sides we have we have detailed information in 24 languages.
Sandberg keeps things pretty light inside the packaging, with minimal paperwork to worry about. Inside the box we just have the unit, a USB-C male to USB Type-A male, at 80 cm length and a quick guide. There is a power adapter rated at 12V/3A. The input range is 230V. You need to make sure that your region’s power rating matches with this.
A Closer Look
The Sandberg USB 3.2 Cloner and Dock for M2 + NVMe is black and adopts a matte ABS plastic. It measures ~108 x 43 x 24 mm and weighs just north of 100 g, with the Silverstone and certification logo at the top. This is not meant to be a portable solution owing to the open nature of the enclosure, so it's more of a desk accessory.
Flipping it reveals its cerifications and some Brand info. I felt like I would definitely break something when attempting disassembly, so I erred on the specs as Sandberg confirms the use of a JMicron JMS581D USB 3.2 Gen 2 to PCI Express Gen 3x2/SATA Gen 3 bridge controller. This means you are not restricted to just NVMe SSDs, but I suspect the subset of folks interested in this and SATA M.2 SSDs is quite small.
There are clear markings for using the Sandberg USB 3.2 Cloner and Dock for M2 + NVMe with 2230/2240/2280 form factor SSDs, and the two flexible silicone plugs can be removed by simply sliding them out the larger cutout in the base plate. Notice the cutouts in these plugs for them to remain in place, and this is the trick with installing the SSDs as well.
There’s a power and a clone button in right side. Hold the clone button down for 3-5 seconds and release once all LEDs are on (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%). Press the button quickly once more and cloning will start. Once all LEDs have gone out again, cloning is complete. We have to hold down the clone button for 3-5 seconds and release once all LEDs are on (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%). Press the button quickly once more and cloning will start. Once all LEDs have gone out again, cloning is complete. The cloning feature works bidirectionally. There are even similar LED lights at the front, to indicate the status of unit such as power, SATA and NVMe. The switch at the right corner provides the clone function which allows you to duplicate an M.2 SATA SSD into M.2 NVME.
The special feature of this enclosure is that no tools are required to install the M.2 SSD. The M.2 NVME can be pushed backwards by a little pressure, the SSD will be attached to the PCB with a rubber nipple until it locks.
In terms of drive support, you can use any size SSD. There’s no housing for them to sit inside, so even the longest drives will sit. In terms of capacity, the drive can have up to 6TB of capacity. Once again, that’s a bleeding-edge drive, so you’re looking at a future-proof duplicator. And it’s compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux, so it works well with any computer.
Performance
The Sandberg USB 3.2 Cloner and Dock for M2 + NVMe, with a 1TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus installed inside, pretty much aced the performance tests. The synthetic benchmarks pegged sustained transfers at around 1GBps, and our 48GB single file read test around 700MBps.
During use the Sandberg USB 3.2 Cloner and Dock for M2 + NVMe enclosure gets quite warm, which makes sense considering the internal heat. Not hot enough to burn or melt anything, but very warm.
Final Thoughts
After playing around with this Sandberg’s USB 3.2 Cloner and Dock for M2 + NVMe enclosure for a couple of weeks and installing a three different drives on three different operating systems, I can say it passes my inspection and is a very well made device. The included kit has everything you need including a USB Type-A adapter cable for systems without the Type-C port, and the performance of the JMicron controller was more than adequate for this interface. The cloner may also get warm, so make sure it is in a secure place and also recommended not to touch it. The Sandberg docking station and offline cloner is an interesting device as it has a wide range of versatility. Some opportunities are using the cloner in the enterprise world to deploy new machines with company-specific software or even in a personal lab where a new server needs a boot drive.
Sandberg’s USB 3.2 Cloner and Dock for M2 + NVMe enclosure performs right up to the limits of its 10Gb/s interface while being priced below €70. What this means for most users is that they can pull the NVMe drive out of their old system and take the data with them, even if that system is already down from the failure of a different part. We were even able to image a loaded drive to another system using third-party software (Acronis True Image) and make that system bootable. That is to say, the USB 3.2 Cloner and Dock for M2 + NVMe enclosure does everything you’d expect it to, with no disappointments. It also comes with 5 years warranty.