Among SSD models from Kington, how to know if two models share the same PCB, the same controller, and what about their firmwares?

For NAND swaps, it is not always obvious finding a donor ot the exact same model.
So, what to look at for the compatibility ?

I don't have enough Kingston models here to draw up statistics, and consequently can only do assumptions.

Models
After watching at the stickers from several Kingston SSD, I observe they are labeled following a pattern.
Examples for some SATA SSD:
SC152DS37/64GG
SC180S37/128GJ
SC180DS37/256GJ
SC180DS37/256GH
SA400S37/240G
SC152DS37/480GH
SV300S37A/120G

From left to right
1) First char "S" : seems being for "SSD", whichever the interface and connector
2) Then comes the family (e.g. A400 for the A400 family).
The alpha chars seem having their own meaning about the product range (e.g. "DC" for data center", "KC", "A", "C", "V")
3) Next is an optional "D". Meaning?
I thought it could be about DRAM, but it is likely not.
Maybe for dual sided (i.e. chips on both side ?), or for planar 2D NAND vs 3D nand?
4) Then is "S" or SATA ("MS" for "mSATA")
5) The 3 is likely for the SATA revision SATA III
6) The 7 before the slash is likely the thickness of the enclosure : 7 mm
7) After the slash comes the capacity, ending with G for Giga.
8) Sometimes is an additional letter, like "G", "H", "J". Maybe the revision, but not sure.

Often, the model name is preceded by "RBU-".

Part numbers

After the model number is a slash, followed with what seems being the part number of the PCB and likely the firmware.
Looks more less like Seagate part numbers, but here with 7 digits, a hyphen, 3 digits.

Examples:
1) Kingston "A400" dram-less SSD 120GB : 9907015-017.A00G
2) Kingston "A400" dram-less SSD 480GB: 9907015-153.A00G
3) Kingston "C180" dram-less SSD 256GB: 9997015-047.A00G (Old SSDnow without family mentioned on sticker.)

These models seem sharing the same board design, which may be encoded by the number before the hyphen.
Not sure about the meaning of the 3rd digit.

The number after the hyphen could encode the chips. Possibly the 3rd digit would tell about the controller.
I observe that aforementioned models 1) and 3) share the same controller : Phison S11, labeled as Kingston CP33238B.
(For the first model mentioned, see: https://hardwaresecrets.com/kingston-a4 ... sd-review/ )

I assume the last group "A00G", after the dot could be the firmware revision.

Other printed numbers
There are also a few other numbers on the enclosure sticker, like a four digits one (e.g. 1806) and a longer one (e.g. SBKF10D7).
The four digits number is also printed on the PCB sticker.

Thanks for sharing.

(Unfotunately, I cannot update my original message through edit nor deletion.)



After some further reading, the firmware is the long number printed on the PCB sticker like "SBKF10D7".

Nota bene: According to some experiment by Acelab, even the PCB is not that important, as long as the controller is same and the order of chips respected. But I'm still interested in learning more about Kingston's model name and P/N.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/what-is-the-difference-between-kingston-nvme-skc3000d-and-skc3000s.3787074/#post-22867369

This SNS8180DS3/256GJ example is single-sided:

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/144957444687

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If possible, find the point of failure and repair the original circuit board if possible, the habit of swapping circuit boards, common in HDDs, is not a good option for SSDs, especially with modern NAND, where the heat can make the inside of the unit Rapid loss of charge, causing irreversible damage

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Perhaps I will upset you, but the names of the models are chosen by marketers, not engineers. And this trend has been going on for over 10 years. So it’s not at all a fact that something can be determined by the name of the model.
Often there are the same models with completely different controllers. And the manufacturer can understand by the serial number when, where and from what components the SSD was assembled. To do this, it is not necessary to encode something in the model name. It is enough to have access to the internal database of the enterprise.