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The original was posted on /r/homelab by /u/Knurpel on 2025-05-29 03:43:32+00:00.
When you do a smartctl self test on your NVMe, you probably will get this error, every time you try:
“Read Self-test Log failed: Invalid Field in Command (0x2002)”
As if this alone isn’t quite disconcerting enough, on closer inspection of the NVMe data, you will find many, possibly thousands of errors reporting “Invalid Field NVMe error count increased in Command.” Your smartd service will tell you that your “NVMe error count increased” to some ungodly number.
Is your NVMe on is last gasp?
No, it is not. The error is caused by smartctl, an app routinely installed on most Linux machines as part of the smartmontools package. Smartctl is supposed to warn you of drive errors, and an impending death of your unit.
Smartctl in its current version simply does not work with most NVMe drives, it errors-out when you try, only after filling the log with another useless entry, and the user with endless angst. It also will fill the coffers of NVMe suppliers when you rush out to buy a new device, only to notice that the errors continue.
What’s worse, smartctl’s attendant smartd service will simply ignore your NVMe devices, and it will NOT warn you when the device is about to really kick the bucket. You get a false sense of security on top of false errors.
This has been going on for years.
Finally, a new version of smartctl has been developed that avoids this problem. The version number is 7.5. Your smartctl version most likely is 7.4.
HOWEVER, when you try to update smartmontools, you will most likely hear that the latest version is 7.4, the one with the errors.
The new version of smartmontools will take a while to hit the major distros. Compiled versions of smartmontools 7.5 are available for only a few platforms.
Currently, the only alternative is to compile your own. http://smartmontools.org/ is down as I am typing this, so here is a short howto for Ubuntu-based machines:
apt install libsystemd-dev #you need this for the smartd service to work
cd /tmp #or wherever you prefer
wget https://sourceforge.net/projects/smartmontools/files/smartmontools/7.5/smartmontools-7.5.tar.gz
tar zxvf smartmontools-7.5.tar.gz
cd smartmontools-7.5
./configure
make -j $(nproc --all)
sudo make install
Note: Your new smartctl version 7.5 will be installed to /usr/local/sbin/smartctl. Your old 7.4 version will still be in /usr/sbin/smartctl. When you hit “smartctl” on the command line, it most likely will use the new version, do check.
Applications that use smartctl, for instance Webmin, will have to be pointed at the new /usr/local/sbin/smartctl.
Also, your smartd service needs to know of the new smartctl. Edit /etc/systemd/system/smartd.service to make the ExecStart line read as follows:
ExecStart=/usr/local/sbin/smartd -n $smartd_opts
Now on the command line:
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart smartd
For a wellness check, do a
systemctl status smartd
If everything was done right, smartd will now monitor your NVMe devices on a regular basis. If you are uncomfortable mucking with the command line and following the advice of random redditors, you will have to live with the problems until the new smartctl hits your distro. The long list of faux errors isn’t the problem. Smartctl ignoring your NVMe will be a huge problem once the device dies without a warning.
