<h2 id="usb">Recommended USB sticks</h2>

The quality of your USB stick is crucial when using Tails. A bad USB stick will be slower and more likely to corrupt the files in your [[Persistent Storage|doc/persistent_storage]].

We recommend that you:

**Buy new USB sticks.**

USB sticks become slower and less reliable over the years. Older USB sticks
were also built with slower technology.

**Buy USB sticks from well-known brands, such as [[Kingston|https://www.kingston.com/en/usb-flash-drives]], [[Samsung|https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/memory-storage/usb-flash-drives/]], and [[SanDisk|https://www.sandisk.com/product-portfolio/usb-flash-drives]].**

Generic brands are more likely to be slower and less reliable.

Any modern USB stick from a well-known brand is fast enough to use Tails
comfortably.

**Buy your USB sticks from a reputable local store.**

If you are in a place where counterfeit electronics are common, buy your USB
stick from an international supermarket chain, which should have a more
reliable supply chain.

Avoid buying USB sticks online or using USB sticks that were given to you,
because they could contain malware.

<p>In 2020, the [[FBI warned US companies to avoid USB sticks
received by
mail|https://www.cybereason.com/blog/fbi-warns-us-companies-to-avoid-malicious-usb-devices]]
because some of them contained malicious software, such as [[!wikipedia
BadUSB]].</p>

**Consider buying faster USB sticks that support USB version 3.0 or later.**

Check the specifications of your computer to determine whether your USB ports
support USB 3.0 or later. USB 3.0 ports are sometimes blue.

USB 3.0 can be up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0. USB 2.0 has a maximum read
speed of around 50 MB/s on USB sticks, while USB 3.0 has a maximum read speed
of around 500 MB/s.

Most quality USB sticks nowadays have read speeds of at least 100 MB/s and
are faster when used on USB 3.0 ports. Some USB sticks advertised for USB 3.0
have even greater speeds.

You can test the write speed of your different USB sticks by comparing the
time it takes to [[clone Tails|install/clone/pc]], for example.

How many USB sticks should I buy?

If you want to store personal files and configuration in an encrypted [[Persistent Storage|doc/persistent_storage]], we recommend that you buy 2 USB sticks, ideally 3:

1 USB stick to be your **primary Tails**.