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Macs can now inform Apple if any liquids have been detected in the USB-C ports

9to5mac.com

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Re: Macs can now inform Apple if any liquids have been detected in the USB-C ports

#81

Post by scarface_74 »

userbinator wrote: post #47
michaelmrose wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like fake outrage at a restriction that exists only in a hypothetical that nobody on earth would ever implement if for no other reason than the fact that it would be incredibly hard and complicated. If some future despot actually wanted to forbid dirty power wouldn't they just do that instead of making your phone not charge?

A lot of people said the same things about DRM and many other predictions that turned out to be true.

No one ever said that about DRM. There has been analog right protections for media sense Macrovision in the 80s

Re: Macs can now inform Apple if any liquids have been detected in the USB-C ports

#82

Post by redox99 »

jeanlucas wrote: post #76
userbinator wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How it works (on page 52): "The TPS25751 supports liquid detection by measuring the voltage level across the SBU pins of the Type-C connector. When a short occurs across the SBU pins to another Type-C pin(s), the TPS25751 takes action to protect the the Type-C port by disabling the power paths and notifies the embedded controller when applicable. Once liquid has been detected, the TPS25751 continuously monitors the S…

Dumb question: wouldn't non-conductive liquids be harmless? i.e., the USB port can in theory work even if it is immersed in some non-conductive liquid, no?

> Dumb question: wouldn't non-conductive liquids be harmless?

Mostly yes, except for things like concentrated sulfuric acid which is highly corrosive but a bad conductor.

Re: Macs can now inform Apple if any liquids have been detected in the USB-C ports

#83

Post by chris_wot »

astrange wrote: post #68
izacus wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They'll save money on warranty repairs in that case - by blaming your mom for a water spill - so it'll all work out for them. It's not even a new trick, some scammy repair companies here in Europe loved to claim water damage to avoid warranty repairs.

There are tabs inside the device that change color on water intrusion for that.

Which also change colour due to humidity changes.

Re: Macs can now inform Apple if any liquids have been detected in the USB-C ports

#84

Post by scarface_74 »

tonyarkles wrote: post #66
dgrin91 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Touchscreens are terrible for any sort of environment requiring ruggedized gear. A little bit of rain or dirt makes the touch screen get very confused and totally useless for actual touch.

Resistive touchscreens work ok in that kind of environment, can be used with gloves… but suck quite a bit otherwise. None of the fun multitouch stuff, just a single pressure point to click with

Old Rant: way back in the day Garmin made a capacitive touch screen watch for runners. Why did they think this was a good idea seeing that your hands would be sweaty and wet if you were running

2023 rant: if I press the button on my watch and tell Siri to “start swim workout” when I’m in the water, my watch still expects me to press a button on the screen while I’m in the water.

Re: Macs can now inform Apple if any liquids have been detected in the USB-C ports

#85

Post by chris_wot »

dmitrygr wrote: post #42
PcChip wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have to use that displaylink software with terrible framerate and latency compared to native? I tried to get 3 monitors working on a work Mac with a new triple DisplayPort dock and had a terrible time, I went back to my Linux desktop since I can easily get smooth 165hz native performance on three monitors

I have a 4K monitor connected via usb3 displaylink and it gets 60fps.

Yeah, the key here is you must use a DisplayLink adapter. Most laptops other than Apple MacBook Airs don’t need this to have more than one extra monitor.

Re: Macs can now inform Apple if any liquids have been detected in the USB-C ports

#86

Post by finnjohnsen2 »

ddxv wrote: post #35

Possibly not related, but my past two Samsungs have had this feature and it drives me crazy. Usually they seem to trigger when using non standard cords and from 0% battery life. This means that I get a very loud warning sound triggering when trying to charge my phone from a battery pack or borrowing someone's cord. Oddly, charging when on (ie not completely dead), this feature doesn't trigger the alarm. I really disl…

Me too. I switch to wireless charging when this happens and usually I don't get these alarms the day after.

Re: Macs can now inform Apple if any liquids have been detected in the USB-C ports

#88

Post by chris_wot »

millzlane wrote: post #21
httpz wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't even have to be waterproof to prevent 99% water damage cases. It just needs to be water resistant against liquid pours from the top, like how a car can withstand rain.

Most of the liquid spills I see are from people carrying water bottles in their bags with the laptop.

I can confirm. I work at a school with a massive fleet of Macs. The kids generally kill their devices with water by keeping their water bottle in the same bag as their MacBook. Doesn’t matter how often I tell them not to, they insist on doing this.

Re: Macs can now inform Apple if any liquids have been detected in the USB-C ports

#89

Post by gardaani »

userbinator wrote: post #45
DannyBee wrote: post #39

This is a feature of newer usb-c pd chipsets. See, e.g., https://www.ti.com/product/TPS25751 in the features section. Apple has historically used TI chipsets for their USB power controllers. The feature likely comes from this.

How it works (on page 52): "The TPS25751 supports liquid detection by measuring the voltage level across the SBU pins of the Type-C connector. When a short occurs across the SBU pins to another Type-C pin(s), the TPS25751 takes action to protect the the Type-C port by disabling the power paths and notifies the embedded controller when applicable. Once liquid has been detected, the TPS25751 continuously monitors the S…

Does the USB-C specification allow that? Can such devices get USB-C certification?

OTOH, I haven't seen any USB certifications on Apple USB cables or devices, so most likely Apple doesn't care.

Re: Macs can now inform Apple if any liquids have been detected in the USB-C ports

#90

Post by dmitrygr »

chris_wot wrote: post #85
dmitrygr wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a 4K monitor connected via usb3 displaylink and it gets 60fps.

Yeah, the key here is you must use a DisplayLink adapter. Most laptops other than Apple MacBook Airs don’t need this to have more than one extra monitor.

But they cannot last 20h on a battery, win some, lose some
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