Soldered RAM isn't more likely to fail.

No. The failure rate is roughly the same. RAM chips themselves don’t care if they’re soldered or plugged into a slot. The soldering process is reliable, and sockets add their own tiny risk (loose contacts, bent pins).

The real difference is only what happens after a failure:

• Socketed: pop it out, replace it in two minutes. Cheap fix.
• Soldered: you’re replacing the whole motherboard (or buying a new laptop). Expensive, painful, and often not worth it.

The odds of your RAM ever failing are low either way. But soldered RAM turns a minor inconvenience into a major expense if you’re unlucky.

If you’re worried about longevity, soldered RAM is a legitimate concern — not because it breaks more, but because it’s harder to fix. For most people, though, the RAM will outlast the computer.