In February 2012, I purchased a Lacie iamaKey, which carries a 2-year warranty. Seventeen months later, in July of 2013, the drive stopped working—it wouldn’t mount in Mac, Windows, or Linux. Nothing I tried was able to revive it; Lacie replaced it. (I had to provide LaCie with proof of my having destroyed the broken drive before they would replace it.)
![A destroyed LaCie iamaKey](http://roy.vanegas.org/thoughts/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2013-07-08-12.48.47.jpg)
Eighteen months later, the replacement died—the drive became write-protected, and the protection could not be removed. The replacement drive only carries a 3-month warranty, so no replacement for the replacement. (The replacement was destroyed because I’m showing my disdain for this company.)
![Another destroyed LaCie iamaKey (February 2015).](http://roy.vanegas.org/thoughts/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015-02-06-12.17.49.jpg)
So, the original drive failed about a year and a half after I purchased it, and its replacement died exactly a year and a half later. Perhaps a coincidence.
These drives look cool, are convenient to carry, and are designed to be carted around on a keychain with other keys. They are, however, too unreliable. I have a SanDisk Cruzer that is about 8 years old, is encased in plastic, and has taken a beating since 2006. It works perfectly.