LTO Media Compatibility Guide
Which LTO drive generations can read and write which LTO tape generations. Tape generation is set by the media/format used when the cartridge was written, not by the vendor of the drive.
Drive × tape compatibility matrix
Rows are the drive doing the reading/writing today. Columns are the tape generation the cartridge was originally written as. Hover a row or cell to trace it.
Read & write
Read only
Not supported
Tape generation (columns) →
| Drive ↓ / Tape → | LTO-1 | LTO-2 | LTO-3 | LTO-4 | LTO-5 | LTO-6 | LTO-7 | LTO-8 | LTO-9 | LTO-10 |
|---|
Key exceptions to know
The read‑2‑back / write‑1‑back rule held from LTO‑1 through LTO‑7. It narrows sharply from LTO‑8 onward.
LTO‑8 & LTO‑9
Only read/write one generation back instead of two. An LTO‑9 drive reads and writes LTO‑8 and LTO‑9 media only — it cannot read LTO‑7 tapes, even though LTO‑7 drives could read two generations back.
LTO‑10
Breaks the pattern entirely: LTO‑10 drives only read/write LTO‑10 media — no backward compatibility with any earlier generation. They do interchange between the 30 TB and 40 TB LTO‑10 cartridge types.
LTO‑7 Type M
LTO‑8 drives can reformat a new (unwritten) LTO‑7 cartridge as "Type M" (M8) to get ~9 TB native capacity. Type M cartridges are written and read on LTO‑8+ drives — a native LTO‑7 drive cannot use Type M media.
Plan around end‑of‑life
Because newer drives keep shrinking backward compatibility, don't assume a future drive purchase will read your oldest archived tapes. Migrate data forward before the reading drive generation is discontinued.
Generation specifications
Native and compressed capacity assumes a 2:1 ratio through LTO‑5 and 2.5:1 from LTO‑6 onward. Years and speeds are approximate/vendor-reported.
| Generation | Release | Native capacity | Compressed capacity | Native transfer rate |
|---|
