Alcohol-induced mishap!

Oh wow. The unthinkable happened last night.

I was very drunk at the local boozer and some lad decides to muck around causing me to spill my drink... And where does the excess go? Yes! You guessed it, straight into the headphone socket and right microphone of my beloved 4G LTE PlayBook.

When I got home I attempted to clean the socket out with rubbing alcohol (the drink was a "Kopparberg" which is a type of fruity cider sold in the UK) to try and remove any excess residue or sugars.

It doesn't look good in there.
Attachment 305014
The headphone socket and right microphone are still functioning for now but I don't know how much longer they could remain functional. I wonder if there's any internal components around the headphone socket are that could have also been affected.

What do you guys think?
Should I write this off as a loss or keep running it?
I'm worried that if corrosion sets in and damages either the right microphone or the headphone socket or both in the future, this PlayBook could be hard to find brand new by then.

Is it worth parting another �86 for peace of mind?

If possible, back up! Even if it drowns, you can keep running as you were, on a new Playbook. I don't know what it's like in the UK, but here in Canada, Playbooks are cheap and plentiful, so a replacement wouldn't be out of the question if you still get your use out of them.

Originally Posted by Daytona123

If possible, back up! Even if it drowns, you can keep running as you were. I don't know what it's like in the UK, but here in Canada, play books are cheap and plentiful, so a replacement wouldn't be out of the question if you still get your use out of it.

It's definitely all backed up, what I meant is that the device is still fully functional but if you look closely at the pictures, it looks like serious corrosion is already beginning to take hold inside the headphone socket.

In the UK, PlayBooks are super rare because they were never officially sold here. It's all iPad and Android garbage over here when it comes to tablets. This PlayBook came from an eBay supplier who has dubiously secured a huge stock of them. Probably US imports.
But if this seller stops selling PlayBooks or closes the eBay shop, I'm stuffed.

That'll teach ya for drinking a fruity cider!

JK, sorry to hear but it might be OK after some time

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by VR6

That'll teach ya for drinking a fruity cider!

JK, sorry to hear but it might be OK after some time

Haha, I knew I would get a response somewhere like that!

That's why I quote this video: (WARNING - possibly NSFW and contains explicit language)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lPtr6dQrnY
Thank me later. :rotfl:

Originally Posted by Someone7272

It's definitely all backed up, what I meant is that the device is still fully functional but if you look closely at the pictures, it looks like serious corrosion is already beginning to take hold inside the headphone socket.

In the UK, PlayBooks are super rare because they were never officially sold here. It's all iPad and Android garbage over here when it comes to tablets. This PlayBook came from an eBay supplier who has dubiously secured a huge stock of them. Probably US imports.
But if this seller stops selling PlayBooks or closes the eBay shop, I'm stuffed.

Ahhh, I understand :P Taking a quick look at iFixit's teardown, it would appear that the motherboard and most other critical internals are housed in the center of the tablet; with battery allocated to the left and right. So if I understand correctly, unless you took a funnel to the headphone jack, likely the motherboard hasn't been damaged. However, being as the PlayBook is uncommon there, and that it is fairly inexpensive, I don't see the harm in stocking up :P

�86 quid is not inexpensive to a student... :D
Think of all the nights out he could get with that!
Looks like I'm out of luck anyway, that seller seems to have closed their shop up and gone away.
Attachment 305315
Sigh, I really hope my PlayBook doesn't give up on me after that. It's still working properly but it's only day 2...

The seller says he is away until 20 October so if you need to, you could check again then.
I believe he has imported these from Malaysia & although advertised as '100% brand new in box', they look more like refurbished to me. But having said that, mine has worked flawlessly.
It's only this version of the PlayBook (4G LTE) that is/was rare in the UK. The Wifi version is still readily available on Ebay & Amazon.
If you can get by with Wifi (free access in all Wetherspoon pubs, so should suit you OP), then this is the better bet as you get 64GB storage (as opposed to 32GB), much better battery life & better display.

As I understand it, you can only get 3G in the UK for the LTE Playbooks, because the bands are different. Given that, tethering it to your phone ought to work just as well, and compensate for the slightly slower processor when on 4G.

As said above, there are loads of wifi Playbooks to be had at a low price.

Put it this way, I looked at one of the 4G Playbooks, and decided it just wasn't worth it on that basis.

Posted via CB10

lol! Loved that video. Always keep your tech away when you have visitors. Especially when drinks get involved. And don't trust drinks either, because..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYGZB0iDILI

;D

Post via CB10 on my Square Monstrosity xD

I had a full bottle of Honey Brown dumped on my Playbook and it lasted a year until my house caught on fire and the fire department sprayed it with water. The funny thing is my wife's playbook had water pouring out of it when I picked it up and still works. That was four months ago.

Originally Posted by Bertie Bear

The seller says he is away until 20 October so if you need to, you could check again then.
I believe he has imported these from Malaysia & although advertised as '100% brand new in box', they look more like refurbished to me. But having said that, mine has worked flawlessly.

Why didn't I pick one up while I was in Malaysia in June? Oh yeah! PlayBooks are super rare over there too or I'm looking in the wrong places.

Originally Posted by Bertie Bear

If you can get by with Wifi (free access in all Wetherspoon pubs, so should suit you OP), then this is the better bet as you get 64GB storage (as opposed to 32GB), much better battery life & better display.

Not happening. The times when I use unsecured public Wifi are super rare unless it's my own home's unsecured Wifi.
It's a matter of personal preference but I'd prefer to use my own cellular connection that I'm paying for.

Believe me, �86 is a lot of money to a skint student, but I'm a student so that makes it okay! :rotfl:
If that seller begins selling the PlayBook 4G LTE then I shall look into securing another one and probably sell this one for parts.
Any takers? :p

It's the fourth day since that accident and it looks like it has proven critical.

The PlayBook will no longer charge.

I'm sad to announce that Alcohol has claimed the life of yet another beautiful piece of technology.
This message was posted from that exact PlayBook, connected to the charger. Despite being connected to the charger all day, the poor thing wouldn't charge past 1%. I know that the charger isn't a problem because it charged my dad's PlayBook no problem.
I know the when I turn off its life support, it probably won't work again.
Man I am absolutely gutted. I was hoping to use this PlayBook during my University lectures.
If that seller comes back and continues selling the devices, I will probably buy another.
In the meantime, I will go on a Student night out tomorrow to celebrate the short-lived life of this PlayBook... :crying: (only joking, I was going out anyway!)
And my 2 year old Curve 9360 which has suffered much more abuse still lives on, and the best bit is, it still looks brand new!

Originally Posted by dphjeff

I had a full bottle of Honey Brown dumped on my Playbook and it lasted a year until my house caught on fire and the fire department sprayed it with water. The funny thing is my wife's playbook had water pouring out of it when I picked it up and still works. That was four months ago.

I can't tell of you have really good luck or really bad luck.

Posted via CB10

You may be fine as long as it dries out completely... I spilled half a half pint glass of IPA in my laptop before now and just heard it all sloshing around. It dried out completely and works to this day but... It smells like a Brewery every time I power it up lol.

Originally Posted by vinniesworld

You may be fine as long as it dries out completely... I spilled half a half pint glass of IPA in my laptop before now and just heard it all sloshing around. It dried out completely and works to this day but... It smells like a Brewery every time I power it up lol.

Coincidentally, I'm actually currently repairing the local pub owner's laptop where this accident happened. It was covered in booze. The keyboard is a write-off but the rest of the laptop is in good shape.
The thing about laptops is that laptop keyboards have a layer of plastic underneath them to catch any excess liquid. So obviously the keyboard takes the hit, but that keyboard just sacrificed itself to prevent damage to the motherboard.
Now, I doubt the headphone jack on a PlayBook has this kind of protection...

Obviously I will leave it a few days before deeming it a complete write off, but my gut is telling me that it won't recover. :eek:

Worse case. It'll be phone socket corrosion. Cider is a wonderful thing. You may be able to take the playbook apart though but I don't own one so not so sure, I know I can take my tablet apart when I flick the back cover off.

I wish you all the luck that it might just be ok.

You now have no excuse to not take it apart and see if you can solve the issue. I've been wanting one of the Lte versions. It just works a touch better than the wifi version. A little more crisp.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by Someone7272

The PlayBook will no longer charge.

We will have a moment of silence for your loss :( And beer.

probaby too late but previous threads mentioning exposure to fluids basically called for unit into ziplock of rice for at least 2 days !

After not using my PlayBook for weeks after this incident, to my surprise it has started charging again and powered up. Although, sometimes the speakers stop working and the device can just shut off even when the battery has charge left. I still think this should be written off, but I can't source a new one because they're not selling them anymore! :crying: