Blog → Turning an M.2 NVMe SSD into a flash drive

I had a spare M.2 NVMe SSD with nowhere to install it — only SATA ports were available, and for some reason, NVMe-to-SATA converters simply don’t exist. However, there are adapters that convert such a drive into a USB flash device.

The kit includes a thermal pad, a radiator, a rubber screw (plus a spare), a USB-C cable. No USB-A adapter is included.

Except for the rubber screw, everything is well-built. The case is partially metal, which improves heat dissipation. Under sustained load, the device heats up noticeably but remains within acceptable thermal limits.

Inside is the Realtek RTL9210B-CG controller. Average read and write speeds were 430 MB/s and 200 MB/s, respectively — roughly 17× and 12× slower than via PCIe 4.0 x4, but still sufficient for practical use.