Technologies are described herein for or extending the lifespan of a solid-state drive by using worn-out MLC flash blocks in SLC mode to extend their useful life. Upon identifying a first storage location in the storage media of an SSD as a candidate for defecting, the first storage location is switched from a first programming mode to a second programming mode, where the second programming mode results in a lower storage density of storage locations than the first programming mode. In conjunction with switching the first storage location to the first programming mode, a second storage location in the storage media is switched from the second programming mode to the first programming mode to ensure that the total capacity of the storage media remains at or above the rated capacity.