Just got mine today
I just got my SSD and envoy today. Verdict: STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THIS PRODUCT. Both the SSD and the Envoy had / have issues, and not just QC issues, but design issues. I will update with further info when I get home and do some more diagnosis. I have also email OWC to tell them to pull the product (fat chance, but they need to).
As you can see from my previous posts, I was defending OWC, so this isn't a bias against them or anything.
Here's what happened:
First, the screwdrivers aren't labelled, so it's difficult to tell which one is torx and which one is pentalobe. Really minor, but still could be better. This has no real bearing on my opinion of the product though.
Second, the OWC SSD was too big. This is not a QC issue, it's a design issue. Apparently whatever they use to program the firmware or something uses a different connector, and they use a v-groove in the PCB to snap that connector off and have the correct connector for the air (as can be seen in another post in this thread). This extra bit of PCB from the v-groove on the end is enough to make the SSD too big to fit. This is really poor design. The older SSDs have a small cutout in the corner where this one hits as well. What OWC should do: put a slight cutout in the corner, and screw the v-groove crap, make a separate adapter PCB (you clearly have the proper connector now, as it is in the Envoy I got). I simple took a little sandpaper and sanded down the connector side (not the side that hit) very slightly, it didn't take much, and doesn't affect PCB integrity in the slightest, and now it fits alright (but still very close). (and the sanding is not really noticeable, and is just taking off a little more of the v-groove. It shouldn't affect the warranty of the device at all). This part is unacceptable, but I can live with it. It's a one time issue (per SSD), and unlikely to damage anything.
Third, and the big reason why this is a piece of **** that needs to be pulled, is the Envoy enclosure. I put my 128GB SSD in there. When I put the SSD in it, I noticed there were no screws at holding the (controller) PCB down, and none holding the SSD down either. The PCB has 2 metal nubs that hold it in place, but the SSD just has a piece of foam. I will post pictures when I get home (and can take it apart and do some more diagnosis). I think this is stupid, especially since the SSD has a mounting hole (and the PCB can easily have mounting holes / slots). But again, not a showstopper (but since they need to redesign this anyway, why not do it right?). I then put the Envoy back together. I first plugged it in to my Air and tried to boot form it, it didn't show up at all. I tried a different USB port and it worked. So I figured I was all set to install OS X on the SSD, so I went to my Grandma's to celebrate christmas with them (which is why I can't post pictures now, or do more diagnosis). When I got here, I booted from the recovery partition on my original SSD (now in the Envoy), and started downloading OS X. It started downloading, so I let it sit for a while. When I went to check on it, it was finished downloading, but stuck at 0 seconds left, and unresponsive. The LED on the Envoy was not on, so I picked it up, and it was hot. I moved the cable a little bit, and the LED lit up. So I hard powered off my Air, and moved the SSD to the other USB port. It didn't show up when I tried to boot, so I unplugged and replugged the Envoy. Know what I saw? ****ing sparks! The metal chassis of the Envoy is for some reason not ground, so the USB connector shroud was shorting to it in some positions. This is why it got hot, and why it didn't work. This is completely unacceptable, and is why the product needs to be pulled.
I still need to do further investigation, to see what is causing this exactly (I'm doing your QC for you, OWC! I shouldn't have to do this!). I will also be testing to make sure my original SSD still works and make sure both of my USB3 ports on my air still work. If either of these are broken, I fulled expect OWC to pay for replacements (this air is a month old, I don't want a repair. I am willing to go to small claims court for this). So far, I don't think anything is broken, so OWC is lucky in my case, but in other cases, maybe not so much.
At this point, I think I can probably learn how to use CAD and design a better enclosure than this, and have it 3D printed.
This is unacceptable in a consumer product, and OWC needs to fix this.