This is my problem with these Seagate threads. Yes, it's pretty clear there's an issue with the 3TB drives. But somehow people keep adding other drives to the list with little or no evidence to support their claim. I've got 16 of the 2TB drives running 24x7 in my SAN, zero issues.
Probably right. But I would say the 2013 and 2014 review history of the 2TB in that series has a pretty similar trend going back to reviews in those years. I do't find it hard to believe that it may have suffered as well.
That said I had my first 3TB from 2013 die last week. Actually my first personal drive to die while I have been using it. I have had some drives I have replaced because I was getting less and less sure of the drive. A 10GB WD in 99, a 160GB GXP in 02, a 72GB Raptor in 05. I got 3 of these Seagates in 2013, I replaced one of them about 3 months ago but have it plugged in an external enclosure and its still going. But this drive seemed fine till about 2 weeks ago, started moving some files off of it. Had to limp through some transfers, and eventually before I got everything, it completely died last week. None of what I lost was important, not in the slightest.
Edit: Should note that these 3 drives (Only 1 of which is dead) have been used in a mostly 24/7 desktop environment. Its low usage and a fairly well cooled case. But again on 24/7.
That said the drive I got to replace the one drive last year was a Seagate. I lived through and had about 5 DeathStars (45-180GXP's) and all survived. Seagate went through a bad model but the drives were half the price of anyone else at the time and the new drives seem fine. I think some people are way to quick to turn on a company for a bad product or two and artificially remove great options from contention over some precieved slight.