Keep your Storage Card Dry! - 8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General

my 2gb card got a bit damp and now no longer works at all.
all a bit obvious i suppose but i thought it worth a mention

Also, don't wiz on the electric fence.

duh - did both at the same time!

I've been mulling this over recently - wouldn't a blob of bluetak or silicon gummy stuck over the slot help?
I've lost MicroSDs under finger nails before, there's no way you'd find it if it flies out
V

Related

So simple it hurts!!!

I was thinking of ways to safely transport my spare XDA2 battery & wifi card and decided to try out an old PCMCIA case.
Its amazing how well the case fits the battery. Its almost as if this thing is made for this purpose. I used a little sponge packing material on one end to take up some slack and make it a tighter fit and thats all. Did not work quite as well for the WiFi though but so be it.
Does anyone else have a better solution for the WiFi card?
See pictures (made in XDA2...) attached.

demagnetizing concerns

hi all,
i am quite seriously considering the 7501 here in the usa, as an upgrade from the hermes, vs the kaiser, or eventual omni.
one large concern is the poss. of the magnet demagnetizing my credit cards.
as i almost had my honeymoon ruined 12 yrs ago in italy when i bought a magnet money clip and put it in the same pocket/area as my wallet, later after my atm card would not work i realized the blunder and have not used it since.
i searched the forums and came up empty.
the question is has any of you advantage users actually had their cards or other magnetic based(hd's) devices demagnetized, and if so can you tell me how exactly it happened in terms of proximity to the cards, length of time in proximity, OR if you have not had any problems and have had the advantage next to your cards/wallet, etc.
i like to use a leather fanny pack when walking/hiking for long distances and keep my wallet, cell phone, dig camera in it together but in diff compartments sep by fabric only.
i would hate to have to think of always keeping my wallet and main device exactly 6.25346???? inches apart to prevent disaster.
secondly maybe you engineers could tell me how to protect the cards in the wallet with a shield of lead( small enough to put in a wallet, of course or other material), or something that would block the magnetization effects.
thanks in advance!!
djsell
has not happen to me.... YET
There are a couple of posts in the Athena forum from members saying that their laptop hard drives have been damaged. Not seen any mention of credit cards though.
I am careful not to get the keyboard of the Athena anywhere near my laptop or wallet, I don't want to be the first to test it...
Haven't you seen Mythbusters?
It isn't possible for any type of commercially-available magnet to wipe a credit card. They tested cards with huge electromagnets and the cards were just fine. It would take at least 1000 gauss to erase a credit card. Most likely the "demagnetized" cards people keep swearing they have are damaged by other means, like scratches on the magnetic stripe. And it wouldn't necessarily have to entirely destroy the data on the stripe; just one well-placed scratch would be enough to destroy just enough data that the reader wouldn't be able to make sense of what it's seeing.
jsp91470 said:
It isn't possible for any type of commercially-available magnet to wipe a credit card. They tested cards with huge electromagnets and the cards were just fine. It would take at least 1000 gauss to erase a credit card. Most likely the "demagnetized" cards people keep swearing they have are damaged by other means, like scratches on the magnetic stripe. And it wouldn't necessarily have to entirely destroy the data on the stripe; just one well-placed scratch would be enough to destroy just enough data that the reader wouldn't be able to make sense of what it's seeing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That said, I believe T-Mobile recommend you keep the Ameo 5cm away from credit cards.
my athena has killed 2 hard drives (both laptop) so it does that, not sure about credit cards...
i just googled "credit cards and magnets" and found serious problems people have said they've encountered with the magnet in the sidekick-3 and losing all data on credit cards, dr. license , and someone tested a card with a 1 second exposure and the card was unrecognizable!!
also the "basics" of credit card magnetic stripes, and they are actual tiny magnets!
not looking good, ...and as this thread plays out some harddrives lost...makes me wonder how the advantages own hd is not affected.
i'll have to read up on "mythbusters", and the myth of these lost hd's and card data...i would love to believe it is a myth!!
the question for me is can i keep the advantage away from my cards and hd's 100% of the time!!!...knowing me, not a chance!!
djsell
The answer is you just need to be a bit careful - don't put the unit or the keyboard on your laptop or wallet. Also, if you are wearing a jacket with your unit in one breast pocket and your wallet in the other and put the jacket down on a flat surface, take one or other out before you do!!!!!
the answer is yes to credit cards in my x7500 manual it says to keep it away from credit cards and mag stripes as it can possibly harm them.
its just a warning not a guarantee just thought id throw this in there
Hi,
I can only speak of my own experience: on two separate occasions my Athena rendered my daily parking ticket (which is made of paper with a thin magnetic stripe) completely unreadable by the automatic cashier mashine.
Once the ticket was put in my bag right on top of the Athena(bad idea...). The other time I had the ticket in my shirt pocket and the Athena in my inside coat pocket, so the two of them were only separated by a few layers of fabric...
Since these two incidents I try to keep my Athena separated from anything electronic and/or magnetic. And if someone came up with a way to remove the magnet I'd be happy to test (I don't use the keyboard anymore).
Regards,
Silviu
The whole magnet keyboard thing is a bad design IMHO. Carrying around magnets with you 24/7 can't be a good thing. I do know people use magnets for therapy.
But for everything else it can just cause a problem. They should have just done away with the keyboard all together or done it the smart way like the Universal. Swivel style.
Sure the Omni might have this design but is the Omni going to have a 5" screen. I bet not.
I remember seeing something about removing the magnet(s) here on XDA-devs. If HTC puts them in, I'm sure some intrepid XDAer has/will take them out...
I've not managed to kill any of my cards (as yet), but now the UK's moved over to Chip and Pin, the stripe barely gets used. No problems with the storecards in their either mind. I quite often carry my wallet atop the closed Ameo. I have managed to knacker one lappy hdd though with my Ameo.
One thing I have noticed is the magnet seems to be quite focused - its grab doesnt seem to emit too far from the bottom of the device. However, the keyboard seems to have far greater radiance than the gadget (from holding them both upto a CRT).
thanks for all the feedback....still undecided on the advantage, i agree that if htc simply used the universals swivel design this would have alleviated a lot of poss problems....no magnet problems, adjustable viewing angles in laptop mode, no losing the kb or keeping track of it, etc., ....well i'll wait a few wks for the poss omni...kaiser still will be with an unprotected screen.
i loved the universal but for me it was quite slow, and the camera was essentially unuseable for my purposes, and important to have in the device.
ces la vie!!
djsell
[email protected] said:
thanks for all the feedback....still undecided on the advantage, i agree that if htc simply used the universals swivel design this would have alleviated a lot of poss problems....no magnet problems, adjustable viewing angles in laptop mode, no losing the kb or keeping track of it, etc., ....well i'll wait a few wks for the poss omni...kaiser still will be with an unprotected screen.
i loved the universal but for me it was quite slow, and the camera was essentially unuseable for my purposes, and important to have in the device.
ces la vie!!
djsell
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoah there!!! Every PDA I've ever had had its drawbacks - each of which you had to find a workaround for. It is true that the magnets require a bit of careful thought but they are the issue you come up with a workaround for. There are other minor issues but generally the Ameo is fantastic - and I defy you to go back to a smaller screen once you've tried it!!!!
I have been able to kill two hotel keycards with my X7500. Another one to be wary about, since you will need to walk back aaaaalllllll the way down to reception...
silviu.h said:
Hi,
I can only speak of my own experience: on two separate occasions my Athena rendered my daily parking ticket (which is made of paper with a thin magnetic stripe) completely unreadable by the automatic cashier mashine.
Regards,
Silviu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me to... thankfully it had my entry time printed on the ticket and so I wasn't charged a full day (it was airport parking too - very pricey).
Most of my credit/debit cards are probably already wiped by my Ameo, not sure, but I've not had a card swip done in ages since chip and pin so I suppose I'll only find out when I go to the one place that still relies on mag-stripe technology.
i agree apd,
my real objective...so i tell myself....is to find that near perfect all in one device to use for the longest poss period of time w/o having to continually switch to another phone and reload all my software and endure the new horrors of active sync, i am a physician that basically has the patience, with tech devices, that is, of a newborn baby looking for a nipple!!...I HAVE NOT MUCH, and i want everything to work fairly well and w/o side effects and time consumption.
i loved my universal ( you're right the vga screen!! ) and stuck with it for about a year, which as you know in gadget years, thats about 80 years!, but i really need a camera for my work, and its is insuff, so i had to carry a 2nd device, a dig camera which defeats the purpose.......anyway i just want to avoid the SERIOUS side effects which could be credit card dysfunction, harddrive loss, etc and certainly could live with the viewing angle, and size , since its evidently not that much larger than the universal.
we'll see...the omni proposes a 4" vga screen, 3mp camera,swivel design (minus magnets), and all the other stuff, minus the 8 gb hd, but with micro sd now coming out with 8 gd memory, thats ok.
maybe in its case i could slip in a material that would block the magnetization??!!
btw, here in the usa everything on cards seems to be magnetized still!!
djsell
Doodle said:
I have been able to kill two hotel keycards with my X7500. Another one to be wary about, since you will need to walk back aaaaalllllll the way down to reception...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me two and the first time i only had my pants and socks on went next door to borrow somthing of my work colleage, at least the receptionist found it amusing
Well I was watching Discovery Channel about a yr back. N I remember watching Myth Busters. They did a test about demagnetizing a credit card and the results were if u wanna demagnetize ur credit card...... the amount of energy required would actually destroy the card into pieces first..... I Doubt Athena has the power to do that... =D.....
Cheers

Creaking Back on Atrix?

Hey guys,
This is my first post on the forums, so I hope it goes well... I did a search and couldn't find anything like what I was looking for, so I figured I would write a new thread.
I got my atrix a little over a week ago now, and really like it. The only small issue I have found is with the back of the phone/ fingerprint reader. The back of the phone has a general weird creaking about it. The two places i get this the most are at the sides near where it clips in (I checked to make sure the clips are firmly in place) and kind of the top center... about even with the camera and down from the fingerprint reader. In the second spot, there is a kind of weird give to it that pops up and down, and makes a little noise.
The other issue is a weird thing with the fingerprint reader. I noticed this like the third day I had it, but the "sticker" that covers up the fingerprint reader is oddly crooked. Probably not a big deal, but it is a little bothersome on a brand new phone.
Has anyone had these issues at all? Could they perhaps be fixed by just doing a quick swap of the back for a new one, or is it perhaps a more serious problem? I really don't want to be a pain and make them swap out the phone for a new one over a stupid creaking back, but it really bothers me... I am a bit of a stickler for build quality.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts
Well I mean, if you're having hardware defects then you can only... pretty much take the phone back.
If you can get over it then that's great, but if you're stuck with the phone for 2 years, I'd get a new one.
HAD same problem with the back creaking. Just get some thin tape (I used 3m masking tape) and cover the tabs wit small piece of the tape.
I did this to the whole cover and now its SOLID all around!
bearsfan172 said:
Hey guys,
This is my first post on the forums, so I hope it goes well... I did a search and couldn't find anything like what I was looking for, so I figured I would write a new thread.
I got my atrix a little over a week ago now, and really like it. The only small issue I have found is with the back of the phone/ fingerprint reader. The back of the phone has a general weird creaking about it. The two places i get this the most are at the sides near where it clips in (I checked to make sure the clips are firmly in place) and kind of the top center... about even with the camera and down from the fingerprint reader. In the second spot, there is a kind of weird give to it that pops up and down, and makes a little noise.
The other issue is a weird thing with the fingerprint reader. I noticed this like the third day I had it, but the "sticker" that covers up the fingerprint reader is oddly crooked. Probably not a big deal, but it is a little bothersome on a brand new phone.
Has anyone had these issues at all? Could they perhaps be fixed by just doing a quick swap of the back for a new one, or is it perhaps a more serious problem? I really don't want to be a pain and make them swap out the phone for a new one over a stupid creaking back, but it really bothers me... I am a bit of a stickler for build quality.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
happens to me too i think its just the design of the cover. no biggie.
bearsfan172 said:
Hey guys,
The other issue is a weird thing with the fingerprint reader. I noticed this like the third day I had it, but the "sticker" that covers up the fingerprint reader is oddly crooked. Probably not a big deal, but it is a little bothersome on a brand new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mine dosnt look crooked, but it does appear as though its starting to peel off on one corner
Same
I noticed the exact same two things as the OP. Disappointing for me too (although minor). I was used to rock-solid Nexus One.
My phones fingerprint reader is crooked, which is oddly very very annoying. The screen is also flush on the left side, yet recessed on the right side.
cataclysmicvoid said:
I noticed the exact same two things as the OP. Disappointing for me too (although minor). I was used to rock-solid Nexus One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. If that's the way it is, it isn't the end of the world to me. I came from the iPhone 4 which... say what you will about apple, but their build quality and consistency is generally very very good.
A bit disappointing to me that a beautiful new phone would have annoyances like a back that doesn't sit quite right... but there are worse things in the world really.

SD Card Problems

I already posted this on "general", but.. yeah.
Hi! I really need help with this phone. SD cards won't appear on my phone, they used to though. The problem, I suppose, started when suddenly my phone gave me an error message saying that my SD card was corrupted. I left it like that for a while, but the message never went away, until recently when I tried to fix it by formatting the card with my computer as FAT32 so I could root the phone. After that it recognized it but quickly stopped, it just disappeared, and every time I removed the card and placed it back in the message would appear for a second and vanish the next. I decided to try to format it again on the pc and see if it would get recognized on another phone (Moto G 2gen.. which had another card on it), and it did.. When I saw that the other phone could see it and even use the card, I tried to see if the one that was on that phone worked on my Moto X.. it didn't. It didn't even display the error message. So I placed the first card back on the Moto X Play and the corruption message appeared for what seemed like less than a second every time I remove and replaced the card, that kept happening for a while, until eventually no message appeared even if I rebooted the phone. The card can be used by just about anything, but nothing gets recognized on the phone. I don't think that the slot is faulty since I've had the phone for more than a year now and more than half of that time I didn't use an SD card, also the problem started just recently and the slot seems just fine, the sim card works great and it goes right on top of the SD card. Help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
PS: Is there anyway to root the phone without sd card? I really need to root it. Also the phone is running Marshmallow.
Update: Now the phone won't charge.. I don't think it's the connector since I charged the phone yesterday without any problems, although, it wasn't showing like it was even connected. That all started yesterday. I think it's a problem with the OS, not sure though.
I went through five of this device in less than a year. No joke. Three of them had SD card failures.
Three of them had headphone jack problems. If ANY moisture got in the headphone jack, the device would think there were headphones pluggged in, and would disable the earpiece. The device would then be usable only via speakerphone or bluetooth. Two devices died from light moisture (caught in a drizzle, while in Otterbox Defender). They powered up, but the screens were dead.
Essentially, multiple problems with each X Play I used. Rather than continue to burn money on replacements, I coughed up a little extra and went with the Moto X Force instead. Night and day. The Force is a true flagship with a thoroughly robust design, features, speed, etc. I can actually now take advantage of AC wifi speeds. Super fast, especially on Nougat. AMOLED. If you look at the iFixit teardown (Droid Turbo 2 or X Force), it has a surprising amount of parts packed in, screwed, glued, and sealed. Shatterproof screen.
In my opinion, a flagship (even if two or three years old) will always be vastly superior to a brand new midrange or entry level, and a better way to go.
I in no way intend to bash the Play. I bought it because every Moto I'd used in the past had had rock solid quality. I really liked the Play. Had I gone with the Force from the start, it would have lasted, and I would have saved myself $2,000CAD wasted on five of them, along with the headaches. The lower price was not worth the slow performance nor poor build quality.
If you start having problems with your Play, consider moving to the Pure or Force, instead of wasting money buying another Play.
After moving to Xiaomi Mi5 for the same price, today I can honestly say that MXP is not worth the price!
And overall Moto/Lenovo is letting me down for many reasons...
dev>null said:
After moving to Xiaomi Mi5 for the same price, today I can honestly say that MXP is not worth the price!
And overall Moto/Lenovo is letting me down for many reasons...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Mi5 is an excellent choice. Lenovorola has been pooping the bed over the last couple of years, for sure. I constantly shake my head, wondering WTF they're thinking. I went with the Force because it addresses the Play's shortcomings: speed, AMOLED, AC WiFi, and build quality.
Even the Otterbox Defender for the Play is crap. The holster couldn't hold the phone in place. The phone constantly fell out in the middle of busy intersections, when running down stairs, while running in general, and twice in the snow, leaving my house. Both times, I noticed the phone was gone, halfway to work, and had to turn around. Useless! The Force holster has the same design, but has a bad-ass claw grip. I expected the worst, but it it just as sturdy (if not more) as iPhone and Galaxy holsters. I can use keep the Force in the Otter holster on my belt while on my motorcycle, without fear of losing the phone.
In addition, it has MicroUSB. I will rather not replace my plethora of Quick 2.0 chargers, Tronsmart Titans, and USB power outlets, to switch to USB C.
Interestingly enough, on 6.0, the Force was charging at 9V/4A. 35 watts!!
Right now on Nougat, it's capped at 9V/3.5A - 31.5 watts. A lot faster than most of the new "Big Boys" (Dash Charge, etc.)
Good stuff, nonetheless. Anything is a better buy than the Play.
Hi! Thank you all for the replies! At the moment I can't afford a new phone so I'm stuck with the X Play, but as soon as I get the chance it's probably going in the bin. While fiddling with the phone I discovered that it will charge when I let it boot up after the recovery mode screen, althogh it doesn't say it's charging and it's very slow. Just wanted to add that piece of info for people who might be in the same situation.
a1pha132 said:
Hi! Thank you all for the replies! At the moment I can't afford a new phone so I'm stuck with the X Play, but as soon as I get the chance it's probably going in the bin. While fiddling with the phone I discovered that it will charge when I let it boot up after the recovery mode screen, althogh it doesn't say it's charging and it's very slow. Just wanted to add that piece of info for people who might be in the same situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May be Flash the latest firmware and start from scratch. see if the issues are resolved !

Custom case for fullsize ATX MB

My initial problem was upgrading the MB and not remembering that my case was mini ATX. (see 1st photo).
Most commercial cases are very big and have lots of wasted space with bays for five 5-1/4" drives.
Either that or not a single 5-1/4" bay.
Even the "horizontal" cases have a lot of wasted space.
I designed a case that used a right angle PCI extender for my video card.
This was supposed to only be a prototype.
I was going to order sheet metal bent and punched for the real version.
I still haven't gotten around to that.
The bottom section has a normal ATX supply, a couple of SSDs and an optical drive.
Oh, well. Here's my monitor setup. It folds flat onto the desk for traveling.
Renate said:
My initial problem was upgrading the MB and not remembering that my case was mini ATX. (see 1st photo).
Most commercial cases are very big and have lots of wasted space with bays for five 5-1/4" drives.
Either that or not a single 5-1/4" bay.
Even the "horizontal" cases have a lot of wasted space.
I designed a case that used a right angle PCI extender for my video card.
This was supposed to only be a prototype.
I was going to order sheet metal bent and punched for the real version.
I still haven't gotten around to that.
The bottom section has a normal ATX supply, a couple of SSDs and an optical drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like a lot of work considering how there are really good cases for sub $75, like my current CM Q500L for $50
WillisD said:
Seems like a lot of work considering how there are really good cases for sub $75, like my current CM Q500L for $50
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had looked at the Cooler Master cases.
Besides my dislike of transparent sides, that case does not have the single 5-1/4" bay that was part of my requirements.
Also, the calculation (13.5inches^2*7inches)/(386mm*230mm*381mm) shows that my case is only 62% of the volume of the CM case.
Not bad for a full ATX, eh?
Edit: Moreover, if I were to use the fine-tuned dimensions and have this manufactured it would result in 49% of the volume of the CM case.
Renate said:
I had looked at the Cooler Master cases.
Besides my dislike of transparent sides, that case does not have the single 5-1/4" bay that was part of my requirements.
Also, the calculation (13.5inches^2*7inches)/(386mm*230mm*381mm) shows that my case is only 62% of the volume of the CM case.
Not bad for a full ATX, eh?
Edit: Moreover, if I were to use the fine-tuned dimensions and have this manufactured it would result in 49% of the volume of the CM case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i can understand needing a disc drive, i myself just use one i pulled out of a desktop when needed, and the smaller the case is, since you want it 50% smaller than this one would result in greater heat, less options to cool, and why not just buy a sfx levono, dell, etc? And seeing part of that mobo hanging out the case can be even worse if there was something to fall and short it out. But what ever floats your boat
WillisD said:
And seeing part of that mobo hanging out the case can be even worse if there was something to fall and short it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HUH???
When I received all the new parts for my PC and realized that my new board was full ATX and my old case was mini ATX
I felt like a kid at Christmas who couldn't try out their new toy.
So I cut a hole in the bottom of my old stock mini ATX case so that I could at least try out everything.
That is what the first photo shows.
The 2nd and 3rd photos show my new case which does not have any strange holes in it.
Renate said:
HUH???
When I received all the new parts for my PC and realized that my new board was full ATX and my old case was mini ATX
I felt like a kid at Christmas who couldn't try out their new toy.
So I cut a hole in the bottom of my old stock mini ATX case so that I could at least try out everything.
That is what the first photo shows.
The 2nd and 3rd photos show my new case which does not have any strange holes in it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm sorry, i must have mixed up the order of pics, please disregard and i'll edit when i get off

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