Something odd I noticed a week or so ago. When my tab is charging, if I run my finger lightly along any part of the metal case, there's a REALLY faint "vibration" or "tingle", reminiscent of the feeling you get when you put one of those 9V square batteries on your tongue.
If I disconnect the charger then it stops, so I figured there must be some kind of short in the tablet somewhere.
But I finally found my multimeter this morning and tested it. There is absolutely no current in the casing at all. 0.000 volts. 0.0000 amps. Nada. Zip.
So what the hell IS it? I don't think it's the internal vibrator as I can't hear anything. Is anyone else getting this? It's strongest around the middle of the device, around where the Acer logo is on the back, but can only be felt on the metal parts, not the glass...
It might be an electro magnetic induction current, and the plastic is insulating the metal from earth - you are then providing the earth to make the circuit.
Where did you measure from and to with the multimeter? Try case to earth on another power socket, or case to earth with your tongue (wet, very conductive) (wet fingers if you's scared.. LOL).
I tried all the ways I can think of, including those, but there's nothing I can pick up with my meter. Alas, my scope is broke.
My wife can't feel it at all, but my kids can so I'm positive I'm not imagining it. It's not there when unplugged from the charger, there when plugged in.
BTW, generally, water is a very poor conductor of electricity, especially through the tongue as saliva has a pH of 7.5, which will insulate rather than conduct. You need water with a pH of <5 or >9 for decent conductivity.
Don't worry, I can feel the same vibration with my HTC Desire (which has a metal case, too), funny enough not with my A500, though. Not everyone can feel it, which either means not every device has that effect or not everybody can feel it.
True, but it's still better than dry skin, especially finger print tipped fingers.
Fluffbutt said:
True, but it's still better than dry skin, especially finger print tipped fingers.
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Nope. With wet fingers (saliva or tap water) I can't feel the vibration at all, with dry I can. This tells me it MUST be electrical, but I'm damned if I can get it to register on my meter.
BTW, though I've not done much in the last 20 years, I originally trained as a microelectronics engineer, so I do know what I'm doing. I've never seen this in a device that DIDN'T register some kind of current flowing through it...
I've always been pretty sensitive to tiny electrical currents, so it probably IS some kind of short that my fingers are picking up, but can't get through the anodised coating on the metal back for my meter to read it. I AM getting a tiny reading of 0.003722 volts on the bare metal in the dock port, but my fingers sure shouldn't be able to pick THAT up!
Still, with no readable value on a meter, there's no way I'll be able to return it as the store just won't believe me, so I guess I'll live with it and just check it periodically.
I have exact the same thing, when the A500 is charging and I'm touching the case, it is vibrating a little.
I got my A500 since friday. I registered same vibration during the first charging. I don´t know what to do with it....
E.
Yeah I noticed this too. The list of quirks with this tablet just seems to grow by the day
i have the same issue before, i changed the power adapter from Acer and the problem solve. Their report log show 'electrical leaking'
I truly don't doubt what you say.
I honestly would've though that wet skin would be better than dry or skin-oil skin. Weird.
See if you can get a infinite resistance reading between the metal shell part and the dock port (like you should). I also suggest a separate test of the charger unit for leakages.
Maybe also test the charger port and the dock port for max resistance, charger port and skin as well.
OK, it's probably not dangerous (well, maybe not now..), but it IS bloody interesting!!
FloatingFatMan said:
Nope. With wet fingers (saliva or tap water) I can't feel the vibration at all, with dry I can. This tells me it MUST be electrical, but I'm damned if I can get it to register on my meter.
BTW, though I've not done much in the last 20 years, I originally trained as a microelectronics engineer, so I do know what I'm doing. I've never seen this in a device that DIDN'T register some kind of current flowing through it...
I've always been pretty sensitive to tiny electrical currents, so it probably IS some kind of short that my fingers are picking up, but can't get through the anodised coating on the metal back for my meter to read it. I AM getting a tiny reading of 0.003722 volts on the bare metal in the dock port, but my fingers sure shouldn't be able to pick THAT up!
Still, with no readable value on a meter, there's no way I'll be able to return it as the store just won't believe me, so I guess I'll live with it and just check it periodically.
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Click to collapse
Fluffbutt said:
OK, it's probably not dangerous (well, maybe not now..), but it IS bloody interesting!!
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Click to collapse
I really doubt it's dangerous, but it does indeed sound like there's leakage current on OPs tab. I've had similar experiences with e.g. some PC cases and there the problem was easily solved by making sure the case is well-grounded. Also had a washing machine that did the same, but as there's water involved I had to check it out properly and it was indeed a defect unit and had to be thrown out.
I get the same, both on the case, and when i run my finger over the glass, makes it tingle slightly, unplug the charger and wherever i touch its gone. perhaps from the screen getting the full V/amps from the charger?
I'm glad not to be the only one experiencing this so called "electrical leaking".
But it seems I am the only one who actually enjoys this feeling on my fingertip. Don't you?
pintness said:
I'm glad not to be the only one experiencing this so called "electrical leaking".
But it seems I am the only one who actually enjoys this feeling on my fingertip. Don't you?
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!!!!!!!
If you try another part of your anatomy on the screen, DON'T post the video!!
LOL!!
;->
I get the same vibration but on the bottom edge of my a500 .....strange.....
Sent from my XT720 using XDA App
lol
My advice would be to *not* lick / taste your a500 while it is charging
me too
The cases is hot with respecs to earth. The adapter needs replaced.
Mine dont do that.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App
I noticed this too when I first got my A500. I don't notice it anymore because I always have it in the Folio Case.
Related
I recently bought an official o2 mains charger for my exec. It works exactly as expected, except for one thing!
It's giving me an electric shock! A very mild one, but it's there. The metal part on the top of the exec is getting electrified when charging with the mains charger.
Does anyone else with the mains charger experience this? I only noticed it when I rubbed my finger across it, it felt more "textured" than usual.
DaWolfey said:
I recently bought an official o2 mains charger for my exec. It works exactly as expected, except for one thing!
It's giving me an electric shock! A very mild one, but it's there. The metal part on the top of the exec is getting electrified when charging with the mains charger.
Does anyone else with the mains charger experience this? I only noticed it when I rubbed my finger across it, it felt more "textured" than usual.
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Yes. I thought that was normal?
belfast-biker said:
Yes. I thought that was normal?
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Click to collapse
It doesn't seem very normal to me... certainly not what you'd expect at least.
YES. I noticed it the first time i charged it up. I showed it to other people but they couldnt feel it. Now I know I am not alone. I wouldnt have said it was normal, but i have got used to it.
Euan
My m5000 does this too.
The easiest way to feel it is to softly stroke the metal pad on the lid with the case closed. It feels kinda nice, but is definately current.
My JasJar, IIs and my old Xda II also did this. But only those. Perhaps it's not earthed well?
Qtek 9000 has this too
You'll be surprised how many devices have this, actually. However, it shouldn't be of any concern - it's OK'd by law in most countries. Compare it, if you will, to one of those cheap halogen light desklamps ( http://www.lightwindow.com/desklamp/500/halogen/129bl.jpg ). The 12V goes straight through the telescoping metal tubing itself, and if you rub your fingers along one side while holding the other, you'll get the same sensation. That's why they often have a little warning label with them about not hanging any necklaces over them, or it will shortcircuit ( easily tested.. it just sparks a little, but I wouldn't recommend doing it ). The power rating for these lamps is *much* higher than for any pocket device. So although it's not particularly proper (non-conductive tubing with some retractable wires would be better - but oh-so-much more expensive to manufacture), it's part of the design, and nothing to worry about.
i had noticed it, but i didnt know what it was
DaWolfey said:
I recently bought an official o2 mains charger for my exec. It works exactly as expected, except for one thing!
It's giving me an electric shock! A very mild one, but it's there. The metal part on the top of the exec is getting electrified when charging with the mains charger.
Does anyone else with the mains charger experience this? I only noticed it when I rubbed my finger across it, it felt more "textured" than usual.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is true. There is a mild current along the top of the Jasjar.
wow... your first post... I'm honoured
No problem on my unit (Charmer). However, I've experienced this with other devices, an IBM Notebook (X series, bought 2003). It has a rubbery top (not metal), which give you a tickling feeling when you rub it with your sensitive skin (e.g. the skin under of your arm - wrist to elbow, the part where you do not get enough of sun light). I guess it is of a tolerance limit. I mean, if you try that on your VCD DVD player, I bet you will have the same problem too.
well that's certainly cleared that up.
Good to know it's not a faulty Exec.
I think its a "signature" of all HTC devices
I remember playing silly pranks on my xda2, where in i'd fake an incoming call when its plugged into the charger and hand it over to my friend (victim). The look on the face is worth a million! (i'm not sadistic as you're probably thinking right now, atleast not "as much"!)
the faceplate charge leak is really cool! I keep stroking it when i'm jobless. Its i guess a feature in many ways -
1. You dont have to hunt for the charging light indicator, just stroke the plate and you'd know if ur device is charging up
2. The phone call prank - priceless weapon!
3. An excellent window for passing time, stroking harmless current gives me a high! (oh yea, i'm kidding of course!)
All in all, i like the charge leak!
San
PS: Just got back from an extremely long and tiring business trip, hope my post has some relavence to the topic and makes sense in any remote manner
All of the devices which use a Switch mode power supply has it. It isn't a fault rather a design. This reason is that Switch Mode Powersupplies do not have a transformer which isolate the main 110/220 from the output.
You can also experience it if you have a computer with a metal casing (those white boxed computers)
There is however a method to minimize that shock effect. though it might not be possible with three pin adapters. Here we have two pinned adapters so just plugging it in the opposite direction make the shock go away.
ady said:
All of the devices which use a Switch mode power supply has it. It isn't a fault rather a design. This reason is that Switch Mode Powersupplies do not have a transformer which isolate the main 110/220 from the output.
You can also experience it if you have a computer with a metal casing (those white boxed computers)
There is however a method to minimize that shock effect. though it might not be possible with three pin adapters. Here we have two pinned adapters so just plugging it in the opposite direction make the shock go away.
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lol.. I thought since you are writing in bold, it should be something.. good. Anyway, the only thing that I've notice that is right on your post is that, SMPower adapter does not have a transformer.
The isolation of the transformer doesn't stop the device from giving you a shock.
What do you mean by 'white boxed computers'? You mean those normal desktop, huh? I'm not sure about what's going on at your side, but we use 3 pin plugs here, and the 3rd pin is a ground line, which is the effective way of getting rid of electric shocks (e.g. it absorb the 'wild' current to ground, instead to you)
And the most funny thing is your last comment. You can make the shock away by flipping your two pin plug? What is the logic to that? There is a diode-like device in the adapter that will convert the current/voltage of your AC to DC. It doesn't matter how you connect your adapter, it will end up the same somewhere in the adapter way before it touches your device.
Anyway, surprisingly, for someone who doesn't seems to know electricity, you know what Switch Mode Power Supplies
ady said:
... so just plugging it in the opposite direction make the shock go away...
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Rigghhhhtt... That makes a lot of sense (not) :roll:
mdaexecfan said:
ady said:
... so just plugging it in the opposite direction make the shock go away...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rigghhhhtt... That makes a lot of sense (not) :roll:
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Click to collapse
Come on, maybe he meant the other other way, you know, with the pins pointing into the room rather than into the socket?
I bet that would stop the current leak!
I have no idea about anything electrical... but don't be too hard on ady. He was the one who decrypted bootloader 1.0 for the universal which is very useful to some of us... so he's acutally very smart! At least, he is at programming/hacking.
when i first got my tablet and dock which originlly just a day apart (once i used it , i just knew i wanted the dock)........thy fit together really snug. And i remember wondering initially if the multi piece design of the hinge would eventually be a problem, and get loose.
Well after 3 months, of which i very rarely take the tablet out of the dock, usually only if i want to play a game with tilt controls and such, So i keep it in netbook form almost always.. but its finally starting to get loose enough to be worrysomewhen its open and the tablet is standing straight up, i can wiggle the device and id say theres really close to 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch, of play or wiggle out at the top of course.
I would say a few millimeters play at the connection itself. when you open or close it and watch it you can see it spreading.
I actually went upto my local best buy where they have one on display that im pretty sure is the same one thats been there since i boughy mine 3 mnths ago, and its obviusly gotten a good amount of action. But its about the same as mine maybe slightly looser.
I use the hell out my tablet anfd although i do feel asus should have and could have made that connection stronger, im not complaining about the build of the device at all, i know i use this thing everyday all day, i never have it more than a few feet away from me so if its gonna get loose at all ill do it.
Now im wondering how everyone else uses theres and how loose are your guys tablet to dock connectin is there a lot of play, and has anyone tried to fix it or do anything about it.
i put a thin piece of felt which wont scratch anything and is very flexible so i figured it had give but i slide that in between the back of the tab and the metal overlapping dock hinge, and it stiffened it up pretty good.
its only gonna make it spread open more.
Sounds normal to me, there is a piece of felt in the hinge already at least on my dock, and as long as the clip is locked and the connector is making a good connection it appears the stress points are the clips not the connection. I am certain that a product like this has many thousands of on off cycles on the dock hinge as well as open close cycles before releasing it, so far I've not heard a report of a broken hinge assembly, seems to be made of pretty sturdy material imo.
I wouldn't recommend putting more material into the hinge if you think it will exacerbate the issue..
Anyone thought about raising the ouya with a fanned base mount of some kind, and creating some vents in the top to make the case a little wind tunnel. I mean it's great the processor has a heat sink and fan, but all that heat still needs an escape. anyone already working on something like this, or have thoughts on it?
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
bwild said:
Anyone thought about raising the ouya with a fanned base mount of some kind, and creating some vents in the top to make the case a little wind tunnel. I mean it's great the processor has a heat sink and fan, but all that heat still needs an escape. anyone already working on something like this, or have thoughts on it?
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
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Hey bwild... I just received my Ouya a few days ago and this was one of the many initial issues which i've noticed, especially when you launch a game and leave it sitting at the title screen for about 15 minutes. It heats up pretty well and if the ambient temp is 25c or higher then the little thing struggles to cool itself.
After opening mine up, i can see several points which cause me concern heat wise, and obviously the long term issues are potentially reducing the lifespan of the device as a whole.
1. Due to the size of the device internally, and the amount of air that the small fan can shift per minute and the lack of escape points for heat, the device warms up pretty quick as essentially the small cooler is just reusing warm air internally to try and cool the heatsink. There is no heat shielding on the inside of the case to isolate the board from the surrounding case so the entire device heats up but the only effective cooling part is the small heatsink. Its a REALLY bad design.
2. The mobo inside is mounted on its side, this forces the fan and heatsink to fire out warm air towards the vents at the top and the bottom of the case, well at least im sure they are 'Vents' . Im quite sure that this kind of heat build up and pressure makes it almost impossible to draw any kind of reasonably cooler air from the outside, inside. Any air being drawn in is already warm before it even hits the cooler. My Ouya does get noticeably warmer underneath the device but i also believe that this is due to the 4 small metal weights which sit right at the bottom of the case heating up as warm air is expelled downward from the heatsink... I'm thinking of removing these as they are acting as a small heater with cool air trying to enter the underside of the case. But i can test and let you know if theres any difference.
3. The unique shape of the Ouya doesnt help either i believe... Warm air being expelled downwards towards the bottom of the case, will naturally try and rise and move up the curved side of the case internally and then get drawn in by the cooler again, im no expert when it comes to these types of things but im pretty sure thats whats happening.
4. I've replaced the standard 40mm fan with an Akasa 40mm fan with slightly higher airflow rating (and a little more noise), Not sure if this again helps much due to the design but it should help to at least cool the device a little quicker once your return to the Ouya dashboard.
5. Something else that i noticed was that the heatsink is actually spread across what looks like the GPU and (What looks like) Memory Modules, i cant confirm this as it was a side on look and havent removed the heatsink (Yet). Again i noticed that the GPU sits on one half of the heatsink (the side which is closed to the bottom of the case actually) so im wandering if this heatsink is doing anything at all I'll see about removing this at some point and probably putting a highly polished copper shim on it with some better heat compound, silver or ceramic and see if this helps.
6. The underside of the motherboard, has no cooling or anything on there despite a memory module being present on the back but i dont think that this will cause any issues.
So will all of that in mind... i've set of to find a suitable cooler of some kind that wont require ear plugs or make the device levitate 2 inches from the surface its supposed to be sitting on.... Space is a real killer inside this so i think we are going to be limited to what can can do however i'll need to see if theres any way that i can change the airflow in the device to allow for cool air being drawn from underneath and the warm air being expelled from the top. Sounds simple but i dont think its going to be anything easy... Just by looking at the Ouya, i had the crazy idea of trying to mount a 80mm fan (Low Profile if such a thing exists) which has a low rpm which sits between the top of the case and the top lid where the power button is. There may be much pressure between the fan and top lid though so there would need to be some mods and see if i can get enough power.....
All of this sounds extreme for what it is but i hate warm devices
I came across this : http://www.ninjalane.com/reviews/motherboards/rampage3extreme/page4.aspx : which shows a small chipset cooler. This would allow you to mount is side ways with the fan obviously pointing towards the top of the case and flip the fan over so its draws air from underneath and out through the top. Its either something like that, or we start a watercooling ouya project LOL :highfive:
Well thats my 2c
I think the outside only gets warm because it metal if it were plastic no one would know.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Ok.... Quick test there after work.
Removed the lid, played Shadowgun for about 30 minutes. Fan kicked in a couple of times, but when the fan kicked in for a 3rd time, I exited back to the dashboard and the fan stopped immediately.
Console was slightly cold to touch and the heatsink was roughly a little warmer to the touch so I'd say between 40 and 45c at the most. :thumbup:
Compared to last nights epic slaughter session on Shadow gun, the fan remained on for approximately 10 minutes with no system usage, just sitting at the dashboard as it tried to desperately cool itself.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
It's running a mobile cpu... won't it just throttle itself if it actually gets up to a dangerous temperature??
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
I agree mate yes... however i'm not sure if it does actually throttle itself? On an enclosed mobile i can see why thats required, on an open, air cooled device (albeit poorly) there wouldnt really be a requirement for throttling, unless they know it couldnt cool itself properly there any way we know for sure?
That aside though, the device will still take some time to cool down even when throttled as it will still generate heat
Personally if i am playing a game at 1080p, i'd rather not have to suffer from reduced quality when the device throttles due to poor design!
I did notice as well initially when i had a really good session on Shadowgun, that the frame rate on a 1080 monitor was dropping below 30fps and the textures didnt quite look as crisp, so maybe it does throttle. If thats the case, i'll play it with the lid off until i can stop it from overheating and lowering the core frequencies :good: I'll make this a little project and see how cold i can get it to run.
If i make any changes that i think are working, i'll post a few pics :highfive:
Im going to picking up a mini-itx case so i can not only rectify the cooling issue when running my roms , but also to permanantly install a usb hub and hard drive internally. I am growing accustomed to using this for media too, so a hard drive is a must. I will post some pictures and video as I move along with it.
Ramzes13 said:
Im going to picking up a mini-itx case so i can not only rectify the cooling issue when running my roms , but also to permanantly install a usb hub and hard drive internally. I am growing accustomed to using this for media too, so a hard drive is a must. I will post some pictures and video as I move along with it.
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played through shadow gun and the left over and the system stayed cool to the touch the fan did come on a few times
I stripped mine down again tonight and had a closer look at the PCB. Looks like the heatsink, which is soldered on, isnt flush. It rises slightly at the end where the CPU/GPU is so that's maybe why mines is a little warm. I can apply a little pressure to the high end and it does drop 1 maybe 2mm. So maybe my heatsink isn't as effective as it should be.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Here is the simple rigging I came up with.
A 60mm case fan with some allen bolts for legs. Plugged into the ouya usb (I still need to split it so I don't loose a slot.)
The fan blows up through the bottom vents, I do intend to cut a couple extra slits in the top too.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
Thingiverse has the plans for the ouya and others have likely moded it for better air flow if you have a 3D printer.
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app
The Old One said:
Thingiverse has the plans for the ouya and others have likely moded it for better air flow if you have a 3D printer.
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This is what I'd ultimately want to do I have a design in my head for incorporating the fan inside the bottom of the case raising the board by the equivalent height and adding in just a spacer with additional venting, between the case and top cover.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
bwild said:
Here is the simple rigging I came up with.
A 60mm case fan with some allen bolts for legs. Plugged into the ouya usb (I still need to split it so I don't loose a slot.)
The fan blows up through the bottom vents, I do intend to cut a couple extra slits in the top too.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's awesome mate!! :good: Do you get a noticeable difference with that fan?
it is noticeably cooler to the touch. I'll try to measure it somehow and update when I get a chance.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
So I picked up a dead sega dream cast at the flea market, got it home, gutted it, cleaned, and got most of it done. I was able to convert the sega push button power switch to a momentary and soldered the leads to the ouya main board. I hot glued the connection afterwords so it will stay (the power pins are tiny). I added two USB ports to the front and rear using a USB hub. I also mounted an hdmi coupler and m type power connector on the rear. I made a jumper cable to hook up power internally. I'm also looking into wiring up the stock dream cast cooling fan to use as side exhaust. I will update when i get the cooling sorted out. The point of doing this was to increase airflow in the case and make a more compact package for all of devices.
Ramzes13 said:
So I picked up a dead sega dream cast at the flea market, got it home, gutted it, cleaned, and got most of it done. I was able to convert the sega push button power switch to a momentary and soldered the leads to the ouya main board. I hot glued the connection afterwords so it will stay (the power pins are tiny). I added two USB ports to the front and rear using a USB hub. I also mounted an hdmi coupler and m type power connector on the rear. I made a jumper cable to hook up power internally. I'm also looking into wiring up the stock dream cast cooling fan to use as side exhaust. I will update when i get the cooling sorted out. The point of doing this was to increase airflow in the case and make a more compact package for all of devices.
View attachment 2098033View attachment 2098034View attachment 2098035View attachment 2098036View attachment 2098039
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Pretty cool, I considered doing this as well with a dreamcast, but won't have a chance till I buy another OUYA specifically to mod. Looking at it, I have 2 concerns. Your USB hub is almost wasted, isn't it? I mean the majority of USB ports are inside the case, or am I missing something? What about heat? With the OUYA in the middle, close to the top, wont it cause more heat? or do you think the second fan will fix that?
Have you thought about anything to do with the lid/cd area?
JLCollier2005 said:
Pretty cool, I considered doing this as well with a dreamcast, but won't have a chance till I buy another OUYA specifically to mod. Looking at it, I have 2 concerns. Your USB hub is almost wasted, isn't it? I mean the majority of USB ports are inside the case, or am I missing something? What about heat? With the OUYA in the middle, close to the top, wont it cause more heat? or do you think the second fan will fix that?
Have you thought about anything to do with the lid/cd area?
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I wanted the majority of the USB ports internal for use with the front USB ports and to add internal storage. You are correct about the pcb location and I'm going to make small vents above the fan inside the cd area for air intake. As it sits now heat isn't in issue yet. I mounted the pcb near the stock fan location so once I have that working it can pull air out more efficiently. Using a dream cast was great, I wish I did this in my spare Nintendo 64, but I didn't have the security tool yet (ordered last night). The n64 cartridge slot makes an amazing air intake, I will more than likely do it when I pick up another ouya ?.
So I got around to wiring up the stock dream cast fan to maximize air flow and moved the led from the pcb to the lid of the console so now the light can be seen.
The first picture is with the cd tray open to show the vents I had to create since the CPU fan sits below. In both pics you can see the light now works. I ordered right angle USB adapters last night and will update when they are installed.
...and so nothing falls into the system or the fan ...
Well, my beloved Moto X is now on it's way to El Paso, TX to be dissected and man-handled. I got a little tired of the gook in the microphone port and used compressed air to clean it out. Turns out this is a pretty dumb move to make :crying: I'd actually done it once before without incident, but this time it must have perforated something.
While I know this is my own dumb fault, I've *never* broken a phone before. I have a decent collection of completely scratch-free and 100% functional devices, I'm disappointed that this was fragile enough to be broken so easily. OK, yeah, it was probably the equivalent of hitting some Saran Wrap with a hurricane, but still disappointing.
My advice to everyone is to be extra careful with that particular awkwardly placed dirt-trapping hole in the front of your phone. I wasn't about to stick a pin in there, but my chosen alternative proved to be just as tragic. I have to assume that an equal amount of vacuum would also yield similar bad results. Not sure how we're supposed to clean this thing, or perhaps more importantly why it's designed in such a way that it would get so filthy in the first place.
*sigh*
djp952 said:
Well, my beloved Moto X is now on it's way to El Paso, TX to be dissected and man-handled. I got a little tired of the gook in the microphone port and used compressed air to clean it out. Turns out this is a pretty dumb move to make :crying: I'd actually done it once before without incident, but this time it must have perforated something.
While I know this is my own dumb fault, I've *never* broken a phone before. I have a decent collection of completely scratch-free and 100% functional devices, I'm disappointed that this was fragile enough to be broken so easily. OK, yeah, it was probably the equivalent of hitting some Saran Wrap with a hurricane, but still disappointing.
My advice to everyone is to be extra careful with that particular awkwardly placed dirt-trapping hole in the front of your phone. I wasn't about to stick a pin in there, but my chosen alternative proved to be just as tragic. I have to assume that an equal amount of vacuum would also yield similar bad results. Not sure how we're supposed to clean this thing, or perhaps more importantly why it's designed in such a way that it would get so filthy in the first place.
*sigh*
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If there is a way, that might be something to send to Motorola for feedback. I'm sure they are really interested in getting feedback, being this is the first flagship Motorola/Google phone: Moto X.
That and the vibrator issues, and other mechanical/material/tooling issues should go there.
I like this phone and I think it has some good potential, but as a first release after an acquisition/rebranding, I'm sure that feedback will help make future devices better.
bhundven said:
If there is a way, that might be something to send to Motorola for feedback. I'm sure they are really interested in getting feedback, being this is the first flagship Motorola/Google phone: Moto X.
That and the vibrator issues, and other mechanical/material/tooling issues should go there.
I like this phone and I think it has some good potential, but as a first release after an acquisition/rebranding, I'm sure that feedback will help make future devices better.
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Totally, but let's wait 7-10 business days so they fix mine for free before we tell them I actually wrecked it on my own, ok? :highfive:
djp952 said:
Totally, but let's wait 7-10 business days so they fix mine for free before we tell them I actually wrecked it on my own, ok? :highfive:
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:fingers-crossed:
djp952 said:
Well, my beloved Moto X is now on it's way to El Paso, TX to be dissected and man-handled. I got a little tired of the gook in the microphone port and used compressed air to clean it out. Turns out this is a pretty dumb move to make :crying: I'd actually done it once before without incident, but this time it must have perforated something.
While I know this is my own dumb fault, I've *never* broken a phone before. I have a decent collection of completely scratch-free and 100% functional devices, I'm disappointed that this was fragile enough to be broken so easily. OK, yeah, it was probably the equivalent of hitting some Saran Wrap with a hurricane, but still disappointing.
My advice to everyone is to be extra careful with that particular awkwardly placed dirt-trapping hole in the front of your phone. I wasn't about to stick a pin in there, but my chosen alternative proved to be just as tragic. I have to assume that an equal amount of vacuum would also yield similar bad results. Not sure how we're supposed to clean this thing, or perhaps more importantly why it's designed in such a way that it would get so filthy in the first place.
*sigh*
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How do you know it perforated the mic? Also, did you stick the nozzle for the compressed air right on the mic hole?
there are the moto support forums. https://forums.motorola.com/hives/a440c30711/summary its the best way i know of to make suggestions/complaints etc. the forum manager forwards anything worthy over to the right people.
as far as the gunk. i would get a pin or needle, and a piece of tape. gently pull out the stuff and use tape to pick it up.
i also ruined a brand new iphone 4s with compressed air. trying to get the sand out of it. worse decision i ever made. but i managed to turn it back in and buy a gs2. one of those rare instances where a wrong does make a right.
clankfu said:
How do you know it perforated the mic? Also, did you stick the nozzle for the compressed air right on the mic hole?
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Can't be 100% certain, of course, but I noted that if it was placed near an extremely loud source it would start to barely register some sound pressure. I took that to mean a membrane of some kind got ruptured.
And yeah, that's exactly what I did; stubborn dirt was in there! It's quite honestly one of the absolute stupidest things I've done in a long time. :crying:
@phermey, I dunno about a pin, if there is indeed something that can be perforated/ruptured, that seems like a bad idea. The tape suggestion reminds me of that yellow goo they used to (still do?) sell for cleaning keyboards. Ever seen that? You smush it all around your keys and it sticks all the Dorito crumbs to it. Comes right off. I bet something like that would be ideal here if it's viscous enough to get into the hole at all.
I just hope it comes back fixed without any new damage from being disassembled. It was pristine! I'll contact Moto with what happened, but again, AFTER they fix it for free. I won't lie if they call me out on it, though
djp952 said:
Can't be 100% certain, of course, but I noted that if it was placed near an extremely loud source it would start to barely register some sound pressure. I took that to mean a membrane of some kind got ruptured.
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Can you expound on this? Are you using some sort of app to gauge the sound pressure or is it just simply not responding to voice commands or something?
What is everyone talking about stuff getting into the microphone? I don't see anything in mines. I have a white Moto X. Do I have to put a flashlight into to see if anything is in it or something?
Sent from my XT1056 using Tapatalk
clankfu said:
Can you expound on this? Are you using some sort of app to gauge the sound pressure or is it just simply not responding to voice commands or something?
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Putting some earplugs in, cranking up a speaker and putting the X right next to it would get the Google Voice Search to just *barely* register something as evidenced by the graphics it uses. A sound meter app (forget which one; sorry, but Android SensorBox is an old friend with this feature in it) would get up to about 10dB that way or close to 20dB if I shot more air at it point-blank. It was definitely shot to hell, but the underlying electronics still functioned if given enough "stimulus" Totally borked.
edit: 10dB-20dB is crazy quiet: http://home.earthlink.net/~dnitzer/4HaasEaton/Decibel.html
djp952 said:
Putting some earplugs in, cranking up a speaker and putting the X right next to it would get the Google Voice Search to just *barely* register something as evidenced by the graphics it uses. A sound meter app (forget which one; sorry, but Android SensorBox is an old friend with this feature in it) would get up to about 10dB that way or close to 20dB if I shot more air at it point-blank. It was definitely shot to hell, but the underlying electronics still functioned if given enough "stimulus" Totally borked.
edit: 10dB-20dB is crazy quiet:
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Hey mate, I know this is kinda old, but how this ended up?
I did EXACTLY the same, and ruined the microphone, but the not-that-bright side is that my warranty expired a month ago (Bloody hell).
Did you get a replacement for your microphone for a decent price?
Thanks in advance pal,
Cheers
Found this thread *after* I did the exact same thing.
Always been annoyed by the pocket lint/fuzz that gets in the microphone hole. Never cleaned it out. Wife brought home some compressed air for another purpose and I gave it a try. Red straw, held it 3-4" from phone, cleaned out the hole nicely. Wasn't until a couple hours later I realized no one could hear me. OK Google Now also didn't work.
Very stupid on my part, phone was flawless. Only upside is it was 2 years old.
So, like many, i have jumped on the S6 bandwagon, and am rather enjoying it so far (so much so that i haven't even bothered with bootloader or root yet). And while over the few days so far the glass is great (i would hope so.. sheesh), i have noticed some scratches already on the home button. Now, being that no phone will ever stay perfect, i accept that wear and tear will happen, but i was surprised to see it this early.
Certainly, i am happy enough with the phone (non scratched glass, good battery life (with bloat disabled), etc), but am curious to see if i am alone in this, or others have the same issue.
And more to that - will the scratches become a problem for the fingerprint reader (something i do enjoy using, and would like to keep doing so)? Perhaps some voices of experience can bring some wizdom..
Divine_Madcat said:
So, like many, i have jumped on the S6 bandwagon, and am rather enjoying it so far (so much so that i haven't even bothered with bootloader or root yet). And while over the few days so far the glass is great (i would hope so.. sheesh), i have noticed some scratches already on the home button. Now, being that no phone will ever stay perfect, i accept that wear and tear will happen, but i was surprised to see it this early.
Certainly, i am happy enough with the phone (non scratched glass, good battery life (with bloat disabled), etc), but am curious to see if i am alone in this, or others have the same issue.
And more to that - will the scratches become a problem for the fingerprint reader (something i do enjoy using, and would like to keep doing so)? Perhaps some voices of experience can bring some wizdom..
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Mine had scratches right out of the box and I scratched it further thinking there is a protective film over it since it looked like it had one. Its definitely a concern in the long run though I was able to get rid of the scratches by using toothpaste. My home button also wobbles a bit vertically and if I tap it gently in the left corner, it creates a clicky noise. The biggest concern for me right now is the pink tint on my s6's screen on the bottom half and left side. I can exchange but may end up getting the same/worse unit since most of the people who faced this issue ended up getting worse/similar units.
Will the finger print scanner stop working after many scratches is something we can only guess at the moment.
What's it made of?
The home button had the same vulnerability on the Note 4 and Note Edge, but it never affected the fingerprint reader. Micro scratches galore, but nothing too glaring and didn't affect the functionality.
Well, i certainly will agree right now, what i see is micro, and has had no impact on the scanning (4 fingers registered, no issue at all). I am a little disappointed that with the excellent build otherwise exhibited, something people will use most may be the most prone to scratches; but i also accept that that sensor may not work with more durable materials.
Still, a little more reassuring that the Note 4 is similar and should be ok..
I've noticed some minor scratches too on my home button. I'm not sure whether they were there out of the box as I didn't think to look closely at the time.
I imagine you could take a cheap plastic/PET type screen protector and cut out an oval shape and put it on the button. I'm not sure whether that would change the fingerprint recognition or not since I don't know how those scanners work. It would be easy to test though even before trying to cut the shape out.
Divine_Madcat said:
So, like many, i have jumped on the S6 bandwagon, and am rather enjoying it so far (so much so that i haven't even bothered with bootloader or root yet). And while over the few days so far the glass is great (i would hope so.. sheesh), i have noticed some scratches already on the home button. Now, being that no phone will ever stay perfect, i accept that wear and tear will happen, but i was surprised to see it this early.
Certainly, i am happy enough with the phone (non scratched glass, good battery life (with bloat disabled), etc), but am curious to see if i am alone in this, or others have the same issue.
And more to that - will the scratches become a problem for the fingerprint reader (something i do enjoy using, and would like to keep doing so)? Perhaps some voices of experience can bring some wizdom..
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any chance the micro scratches were there out of the box? i've had mine since April 1st and don't see any scratches...yet.
mrvirginia said:
any chance the micro scratches were there out of the box? i've had mine since April 1st and don't see any scratches...yet.
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Actually, yes, it is quite possible, as i noted them just about the second day i had it, and was shocked to see them. I may not have the smoothest thumbs, but the scratches went all the way across, which is also odd.
So far, no real issues, but it was surprising to see (part of me wrongly assumed the button was also glass).
Divine_Madcat said:
Actually, yes, it is quite possible, as i noted them just about the second day i had it, and was shocked to see them. I may not have the smoothest thumbs, but the scratches went all the way across, which is also odd.
So far, no real issues, but it was surprising to see (part of me wrongly assumed the button was also glass).
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honestly it should be glass. guess they're still working on premium quality 100%
it may be more likely that they were there out of box. i've tried scratching mine with my nail and no dice.
they have some assembly line and packing kinks to work out clearly. my device thankfully came unscathed but the plastic wrap that covered the phone looked like someone had pulled it back on with their finger/nail - there were 3 little indentions on it.
So, i hope its not related, but i have had my phone now fail to read my fingerprint a few times, and pop up a notice saying there was a failure, and if it keeps happening, reboot the phone. A reboot (or even manual unlock) seems to work, but i am hoping its not a sign of things to come...
No micro-scratches here yet....
I've confessions to make: I'm obsessed with physical buttons wearing off! The first app I installed is "pie control", which is something I really got accustomed to and find more practical than using home button and recent button, incidentally this saves a lot of click on the home button. I've been using for a while even an accessibility feature that let you wake up the phone by waving in front of it, to be honest I don't use much this one. Then again I use Nova Launcher and I set up a shortcut to lock the phone double tapping the display. I know I'm way overcaring about this, on the other hand I just dismissed my old S3 that was still practically perfect even after almost 3 years of usage.
Divine_Madcat said:
So, i hope its not related, but i have had my phone now fail to read my fingerprint a few times, and pop up a notice saying there was a failure, and if it keeps happening, reboot the phone. A reboot (or even manual unlock) seems to work, but i am hoping its not a sign of things to come...
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Let me recommend you something what I personally did after finding micro scratches right out of the box. Use an ear bud (used to clean ear) and a very small amount of toothpaste. Apply a little paste on the bud and gently rub the home button for a min or so. Once done, wipe it from a damp cloth and also taking out bits an pieces of the paste that may have got around the gaps.
I was completely able to remove micro scratches doing the above and hope it helps you too. People have also used the above method to clean their camera lenses with great effect. Look out for a thread under the Xperia Z3 compact page where people complaint of having scratches on their camera lens after using the phone for a while.
Note - Dont rub too hard on the home button. It wont harm but will take away the gloss from the button leaving it looking matte.
CafeKampuchia said:
What's it made of?
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The button is actually metal, but the substrate for the sensor (on top) is of a type of polymer film- like plastic? I'll post a source link when I get a chance. Thx
See link:
It's definitely not durable
https://techpolarity.wordpress.com
I'll give it a try tonight the toothpaste and the q-tips .... hope it works... i'll try to be as gentle as possible and go up from there ... thanks for the info man. Same problem here. Came, I believe scratched from the box, had a scratch on it from the first day and it went up from there. Dunno what is wrong with samsung they always have to screw up somehow.
Hawkeye1103 said:
I'll give it a try tonight the toothpaste and the q-tips .... hope it works... i'll try to be as gentle as possible and go up from there ... thanks for the info man. Same problem here. Came, I believe scratched from the box, had a scratch on it from the first day and it went up from there. Dunno what is wrong with samsung they always have to screw up somehow.
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Yeah... I do believe they messed up this time.
https://techpolarity.wordpress.com
They decided to use a non-durable substrate. The above article explains why. Good luck!
Lucidd33 said:
Yeah... I do believe they messed up this time.
https://techpolarity.wordpress.com
They decided to use a non-durable substrate. The above article explains why. Good luck!
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This is just conjecture. While it may very well be true, the author doesn't give any evidence or references to back this claim. For all we know, Samsung may have chosen plastic simply because it was cheaper.
when the iPhone 5S was launched, a few people expressed concerns that the sort of CMOS scanner they were using tends to deteriorate over time. This, thankfully, hasn't proven to be the case; however I think that this deterioration is mitigated by an exceptionally strong sapphire glass coating on the 5S's home button - and now on the 6 and 6 Plus.
I have concerns for the durability of the S6 home button too - not for the scratches (which mine also exhibited after only 6 days of careful use), but for the likelihood of the sensor itself wearing out over time, as they are supposedly prone to doing. If Samsung have indeed skimped on the protection this home button requires for long-term durability then people will be in for a nasty shock further down the line when they can no longer use the fingerprint recognition, or when it deteriorates to the point of being useless. For those who recommend using toothpaste to clean the scratches out, I would suggest that this is a terrible idea - clearly scratches are going to reappear anyway, and taking some of the already weedy protection away from the fingerprint scanner with a micro abrasive surely can't be a good idea.
I'm really happy with the S6 but the home button is a big concern for me. I simply don't think it's as high quality as the ones Apple use. My 6 day old S6 has been exchanged by the store for a new device as the home button not only rattled but didn't work at all on the left side unless it was pressed with a degree of weight. My replacement still jiggles a tiny but but is at least better.
To me this is a bigger issue than 'Sensorgate', which is just a load of rubbish as far as I'm concerned.
leoni1980 said:
when the iPhone 5S was launched, a few people expressed concerns that the sort of CMOS scanner they were using tends to deteriorate over time. This, thankfully, hasn't proven to be the case; however I think that this deterioration is mitigated by an exceptionally strong sapphire glass coating on the 5S's home button - and now on the 6 and 6 Plus.
I have concerns for the durability of the S6 home button too - not for the scratches (which mine also exhibited after only 6 days of careful use), but for the likelihood of the sensor itself wearing out over time, as they are supposedly prone to doing. If Samsung have indeed skimped on the protection this home button requires for long-term durability then people will be in for a nasty shock further down the line when they can no longer use the fingerprint recognition, or when it deteriorates to the point of being useless. For those who recommend using toothpaste to clean the scratches out, I would suggest that this is a terrible idea - clearly scratches are going to reappear anyway, and taking some of the already weedy protection away from the fingerprint scanner with a micro abrasive surely can't be a good idea.
I'm really happy with the S6 but the home button is a big concern for me. I simply don't think it's as high quality as the ones Apple use. My 6 day old S6 has been exchanged by the store for a new device as the home button not only rattled but didn't work at all on the left side unless it was pressed with a degree of weight. My replacement still jiggles a tiny but but is at least better.
To me this is a bigger issue than 'Sensorgate', which is just a load of rubbish as far as I'm concerned.
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You do make some really good points… When you returned your phone for exchange, was it a big pain in the ass? Did they hint that they do an exception for you?
I've just become very wary about returns, exchanges because I've been screwed before on exchanges and being stuck with a mediocre device.
Anyways, I am very surprised that not too many complaints about the sensor has come up on the web searches so far.
I could demonstrate that the home button wouldn't work on the left side unless I pressed it hard. They were able to replicate it themselves so it wasn't too much of an issue. I struggle to deal with high street stores in matters of poor quality control though as they tend to take the stance of 'I can't see anything...it's not really an issue to me'. One thing I miss when I move away from Apple products - not to sound like a fanboy - is that I feel I can trust that they will rectify any little annoyances I have.
One thing I feel confident in saying with absolute certainty is that the home button on the Galaxy S6 is not even close to the quality of Touch ID. It works, and it works well; but the feel it gives when you click it, the overall travel and the cheap plastic feel is a giveaway. Samsung are nearly up to iPhone standards with this device in terms of quality control but this button is its Achilles heel - they kind of cheaped out.