WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

WTF? I'm fairly sure this isn't my doing</wrong!, see below>. I take good care of my n800 and, at any rate, no other part of the tablet--interior or exterior--exhibits this problem.

Nevertheless, today I took out my 8gb SanDisk card to toss it in the card reader and discovered that it was covered in a mildly sticky liquid. Folding up a piece of paper and sticking it into the slot revealed that the inside of the slot was pretty slimy too. WTFFFFFFFF???????!!!!!!

I also noticed the other day that a small green bug crawled out of the side of the screen, turned around, and crawled back in. I've heard that ants like to crawl into laptop keyboards---something about the electrical charge emitted by the machine.

Can it be that some colony of slimy bugs has set up shop inside my tablet?????? Anyone EVER have a similar thing happen? What should I do to ensure the safety of my beloved NIT?

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

you sure its not sweat from being in your pocket too much? ^^

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Maybe she just likes you a lot...

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

i couldn't help myself

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

I got same problem in my SD slot - Slimy Green Insect!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2360/...13c8a6.jpg?v=0

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Sorry to hear about your problem lm2 and dkwatts.

Talking about electronics, I believe it would probably have to do with the heat generated by the electronics, it is possible, but I think that would also mean that you left your tablet outside or on the grass or in some jungle. I'm not sure how such a "bug" (lit. lol) crept into your tablet otherwise.

At first I thought it might have been battery acid, Check your battery, make sure it's fine. It should be noted that there are other "batteries" in the tablet (capacitors mainly). If one of those blew or leaked, then you're in for serious trouble (RMA type).

I'm not sure I can offer any other useful advice. It is quite rare that an electronic device starts leaking slime. Either way, it can't be good :p

--Jon

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Does that mean, dkwatts, that you don't have my problem? Well then, thanks for the solidarity.

Thanks for the suggestions, Jon. I didn't leave the tablet outside, but I did just take it on its first major trip--up into the rockies in CO. The battery appear fine, and there are no similar symptoms with the internal slot.

This is f-ing weird. And scary: I don't want my tablet to leak to death!

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Have you checked if anyone has already filed anything against this problem? https://bugs.maemo.org/
If not, might be an idea to start your own tracker entry.

As for real suggestions,

stop leaving it in damp places, i once got a similar moist phone after leaving it in the old car over the weekend.
Most recently my youngest made our electronics wet with his own little stream, watch for this with siblings/children/pets.


as for the bugs calling it home, it might be possible to use ant spray or something similar - not on the device directly, but nearby and covered over (put it in a box, put some spray in and close the lid).
Dunno if that would work or what it would do to the device though..

Thanks for givin me the biggest laugh of the night so far.

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Photos please :D

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

I'd be inclined to blame a leaking/blown capacitor at first, but I'm not sure there's one about (near that slot), and the slimy green bug angle could be, too.

The first stage of N800 disassembly (popping the faceplate off) should reveal evidence of any such infestation, and is pretty easy to do, and low-risk. Just do it over a table to catch the d-pad & buttons from the front panel; I always forget those are a separate piece until I turn it over and they fall off. ;) Thoughtfix's video shows how.

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Though I'm sure it was meant for the best, I wouldn't recommend using bug spray near the tablet. That stench can stay for dayyyyssss. Unless you use one of those odorless ones, I guess you could give it a shot (leaving it in the same room [a cardboard box] as the sprayed spot). How is the performance on the tablet? Any changes?

Colorado is for the most part dry, isn't it? Though admitidly I don't know much about the rockies.

I think what could help the most is if you were to "analyze" what type of liquid/substance it is. I'm no professional on how to do it (and I wouldn't recommend tasting it!) but smell... look... i don't know. At least if you could find a way from differentiating an organic compound from a synthetic one it would be a big boost to your investigation.

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Thanks all. I can't believe I didn't notice this, and those of you who got a laugh are sure to continue laughing.......

I just found a rotting banana in the bottom of the big pocket of my backpack where I keep the tablet. It must have been there for days, maybe a week. What a ****ing tool I am!

While I'm no expert in these things, my guess is that the banana let off some gas or other that may--right?--have latched onto card/inside of the slot? But then, is it weird that the ONLY place exhibiting the symptom is on the INSIDE of the tablet?

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Well, I think we have an explanation for the bug crawling around, then.

Remember, time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana!

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Thank you! (not trying to be rude)

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

lm2, I'm gonna mark this as DONOTEAT and put it down to experience.

You do need to fumigate your device but I honestly don't know the real way to do it.
as for the moisture, you need to get it dried out asap.
If you are not brave enough to take it apart, get it into the airing cupboard or above your boiler or somewhere else.
you need to stop the rot, clean the contacts of the mmc board as much as possible - keep putting thick card in until its clean (we had to do this with the smart card slot on the cable box).

On the upside, at least you know the cause.



Warning sign icon because banana skins are dangerous.

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

I'm definitely not confident about taking the thing apart. The slot seems dried out, and the external slot seems to be the only place obviously affected. I realize that the optimal thing would be to Thoughtfix it (i.e., Johnny 5 Disassemble), but with that out of the picture, I'm not sure there's much more I can do. If anyone has any other suggestions, please post them!

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

lm2, just do the best you can and hope its enough, most devices can survive more abuse than you think, just dry and clean and carry on if its not obviously broken.


whenever we go camping all the equipment is double checked and cleaned and repacked for the next time, strange stuff like this can happen anytime.

You learn the hardway at first, but luckily it was a pocket of a bag - we once arrived at a campsite and setup the tent to discover "something" had been left in one of the pockets of the tent and had eaten through whilst it was rolled up, we spent the night with a gaping hole near the door.

damned good job it wasn't raining.

Take care with your equipment and think in future, what is normal at home doesn't fly when you are in the wild.
And I suggest you get a lockable baggie in future for your electronics - imagine what would'v happened if you went through a river or had a major storm.

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Use an (or a couple) of ear buds to clean up the slot.
I had to do that once to get some sand out of the battery/mmc slot of my camera after a day at the beach...;)

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

lm2, please get us photos.
yabbas is right.
this thread is useless without them.

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

There's nothing left to see. Sorry I didn't think about it before.

And it's not useless for me.

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Just dry it and it'll be finnnnnne..... i once had my digital camera sitting in a pool of water in the bottom of my backpack while i hiked up mount fuji in the rain, (SD slot dripping water, water behind the screen.....) it didnt work at the time but i took out the battery and when i got home i hit it with a hair dryer and it was done.

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

Unfortunately, this doesn't address what seems to be of most interest around here, viz., the slimy slot. ;)

Re: WTF!: External Slot is Wet!
 

UPDATE: I think it's the SD card. I just noticed that when pressing down on the sd card, you can actually see liquid moving inside the plastic. If the fumes let off by the banana were insidious enough to do THAT, then at least some other part of my device would have been wet as well. But it was just the sd card/slot.

I've contacted the seller through amazon. I threatened to get amazon involved, and to leave negative feedback. Any other advice on how to proceed from here??