Hey all, seller here So to go into further details on this one, what initially lead me to believe that it was corrosion was a build up around the inside of the charging port on both the tablet and docking station connectors, when i was trying to figure out how to clean these areas i noticed a white residue that fell out of the air intake where the fan is, which made me think it was worse on the inside. As for where it was located, me and my fiance kept this on our entertainment center which is in the corner of the livingroom, we kept the tablet part docked in the station and only ever used the joycons/controllers when we played on the device, so it never really moved from that spot. This lead me to believe someone did this intentionally as my mother was living with us until she got back on her feet, I'm sure you can imagine how well that went.
The shape of salt crystals is a six-sided cube similar to a dice. Sugar crystals on the other hand resemble a hexagonal prism. The edges of sugar crystals are often more sharp.
Salt is a great electrical conductor while sugar conducts electricity poorly. That tells me that it is probably sugar, since the board is not fried. Maybe you can check the solution and its resistance while you dissolving the grains.
Looks like sugar to me. Granulated sugar has almost rounded off edges and readily clumps together even when dry; whereas salt keeps very sharp edges and when dry won't clump together as easily. I think if it had been salt it would have noticeably scratched some surfaces and wouldn't have been clumping up in places like in the fan(3:24).
A couple of tests you can try: When you dissolved it did you use distilled water? If so, you can use your ohm meter to test...If it's salt then you should get a reading of some kind... If you have enough to light on fire then sugar burns a brownish color, whereas salt burns yellow
@@tank2045 no he didn't, but at about 07:03 ~ he puts some in a glass of water. I was wondering how someone would test this and checked the comments to see if any clever people [such as yourself] had any interesting suggestions! 👍🏻
So like the PS5 Spider-man "special edition" that is actually no more special than a regular PS5 besides the plates? (Its actually a lesser console internally).
I had my switch and dock behind the tv which is a location liquid entering it would be suspicious. Maybe they had it in a place where liquid would not be likely to accidentally enter. That’s my guess.
Agreed, that's what I would take it to mean too. My Switch is docked in an entertainment center, there is no reasonable way that any food or beverage should be getting in it, so if some did end up in my Switch I would also find it suspicious.
I love watching these videos. I should have used the link for iFixtit since I ordered a tool kit and track pad for my Macbook Pro. Can’t wait to use the tool kit and star doing my own repairs.
To sabotage a switch, sugar seems more effective to me. Maybe the person hoped it would melt, as sugar does at the right temperature. Salt does dissolves faster in water tough.
Omg I love your work! I'd love to be able to do this! I used to do phones and laptops a little on the side but ended up running out of free time and wasn't good enough to do it full time! You make me happy watching your videos 😊
@TronicsFix You could have really taken it to the next level by sending a sample of the powder to a lab and having it analyzed. Great video always and thanks for the ❤
Alcohol dissolves sugar, and is unreactive when it comes to common salt. Therefore it is generally used as a solvent when a mixture containing both sugar and salt is present. Ethanol is preferred, but isopropyl alcohol works as well (just slower).
if you have a TLC plate you can put a spot if this crystal in water on it, dry it ,then spray with 50% sulfuric acid and heat it up with a heat gun. Sugars will burn and give a brown spot , salt will be nothing. Or you can check salt with solution of AgNO3 for chloride anions. If you were near me, I could take crystal for you and check in the lab
This is hard to tell considering that when salt is dropped in the water you cannot see it so you can't tell if it is dissolved until you stick your finger in the water. Salt does take some time dissolve so this may be just sugar since a lot of things were pretty much untouched. Salt would cause some corrosion onto the board.
Put the stuff on a hotplate and slowly increase Temperatur. If it melts at around 200°C (360 °F) it's sugar...if it never melts because you cannot reach 800°C on a hotplate it's salt.
If you burn the substance with a torch you would know if its sugar if it turns brown and caramelize. If its salt nothing would happen as salt has a very high melting point.
I believe it will be sugar from a sugary drink. Mix a lot of it with a small amount of water, dissolve and touch it with your finger, if its stickyish then its sugar
I'm leaning towards sugar. I believe salt is more conductive and it could've shorted the components where sugar would just melt. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
So many complicated answers to find out whether salt or sugar. It's literally so easy. Put a drop of water on a pile of grains. If it's sticky, it's sugar. If not, it's salt.
i would say sugar, based on the fact that you said it was sticky. if it was salt, i would expect to see a ton of corrosion. sugar would just make a sticky mess
Judging by the speed the substance dissolved at in the warm water my guess is sugar because sugar dissolves quicker than salt in warm water. I’m a baker and try to observe
Might be rice pieces after someone put it in a bag of rice and shook it. Thinking after the liquid damage it might dry it up. I've seen this before and it looked like the same type of substance inside.
As a female gamer, i am slightly amused by all of the comments saying that it was a woman. Please...if we are going to destory something...it won't work again ever. As a theory, I am thinking that there was accident and the seller is embarrassed by what happened. Just because of the wording.
I would say it's most likely sugar as sugar can cause electronic components to erode much quicker than liquid alone. Obviously grasping at straws, but that's my opinion for whatever it's worth.
If I were going to try to damage a system, I would use salt because of the corrosion it causes. However, the condition of the board makes me think it was sugar.
I never understood breaking other people's property after a break up. I mean, I guess if they cheated and you feel like you need revenge, I empathize with it (still don't agree with it) but why potentially risk getting sued for damages? It's never worth it lol Edit: Lol at the guy who said "Fee mails only do this, males do not" like what? I've seen plenty of guys destroy TVs, beds, cars, PETS of all things, and especially computers/laptops/phones/etc. It's even MORE idiotic if you think only 1 gender does all the damage when it's nearly 50/50.
My first thought was borax. Some people spread it around their carpets when they have a flea problem. I like the idea that it might have been accidental instead of sabotage.
Only thing I can see is that someone was trying to water plants nearby with an additive and accidently flung some into the system and overtime it evaporated leaving the sugar behind.
Nah, that doesn't make sense, there's no actual liquid damage anywhere. And the sugar wouldn't turn back into granules when the water evaporates, it would leave patches of sticky residue behind.
Salt dissolves slower, also, why didn't you try if it's sticky. Sugar is sticky, salt isn't. That would give you a good hint also smell. Sugar smells different from salt This was most likely sugar.
need to get yourself one of those little vac/blower for stuff like this i bought one awhile ago and its a life saver for getting dust out of stuff (mostly pc parts for me but i do tear consoles sometimes to if they get very dirty)
Has Steve ever talked about a preferred brand of thermal paste? I have been using a some weird unbranded tubes that a Dell repair tech gave me for years. Dude gave me like 50 tubes.
I had a bunch of Dell ones from my years doing support, and most of them dried out and became thick after 5+ years. I'd get new stuff, especially if you are repairing things where temps matter (aka, not office pc's). I tossed most of them.
😮 if you want to find out its sugar or salt then put 2 electrodes in the solution and connect it to - + battery. if electrolysis occurs then its salt. If dosent then its sugar.
By the looks of it, it's more likely to be sugar than salt, since salt granules don't adhere to each other like they looked to do when clumping up in the fan. You should dissolve some of it in a small drop of water to get a concentrated solution, then see if it's sticky. If it is, then it's most probably sugar.
Never seen salt before in your life, huh? If you had, you'd know salt clumps very easily. So easily that most people put a few popcorn kernels or rice grains in the salt shaker to break up the clumps while shaking it.
@@mihaitha The world is a humid place unless you live in the desert. Salt will clump very easily unless the air is bone dry. Again, I have to assume you've just never seen salt before in your life. Btw, humidity is why sugar sticks to itself too. It's not just an inherent property of sugar to be sticky. When it's dry it is not sticky.
How would you go trying to get a Sega Saturn fixed?I have 4 off them with only power but no vision.if I can send you them would you have a go at fixing them
going off topic here (apologies) do you have any videos on how to Delid a Slim Ps3? looked at other vids but don't trust them, and i always watch your repair videos (bought a couple of sets of iFix it kits due to watching you)
Sugar. It was most likely LaCroix that was spilled in it. I'm guessing they spill the can of LaCroix on the table and some it got in the switch before they removed it.
If I had to guess, it's more like sugar than salt. Not very many salty beverages, and if it was soup or something salty, there would likely be other clues.
9:23 As always: the actual fix. And yes, this is what we are all here for. The glass of water part was pure genius, though! It's amazing when you throw random stuff like that on your videos. You could have cut right before taking the sip, and then come back with an empty glass in your hand, saying "ahhh, that was refreshing!", LOL!!!
Hey all, seller here
So to go into further details on this one, what initially lead me to believe that it was corrosion was a build up around the inside of the charging port on both the tablet and docking station connectors, when i was trying to figure out how to clean these areas i noticed a white residue that fell out of the air intake where the fan is, which made me think it was worse on the inside. As for where it was located, me and my fiance kept this on our entertainment center which is in the corner of the livingroom, we kept the tablet part docked in the station and only ever used the joycons/controllers when we played on the device, so it never really moved from that spot. This lead me to believe someone did this intentionally as my mother was living with us until she got back on her feet, I'm sure you can imagine how well that went.
better your mother than your mother in law XD
Your own mother! I really didn't expect that, my condolences for your dead switch
Are you buying it back now Steve’s fixed it
Geez family huh?
did you ask her about it or call her out?
It was Professor Plum, in the library, with the salt shaker.
Lol!
I can't count the times I've mistaken a switch for a hummingbird feeder....
Lol
becuase it's 0
The shape of salt crystals is a six-sided cube similar to a dice. Sugar crystals on the other hand resemble a hexagonal prism. The edges of sugar crystals are often more sharp.
Time to bust out the microscope. lol
nice!
Salt is a great electrical conductor while sugar conducts electricity poorly. That tells me that it is probably sugar, since the board is not fried.
Maybe you can check the solution and its resistance while you dissolving the grains.
Hmmm...interesting idea.
How about just faawking lick it. So easy to find out. If you can't tell taste of salt vs sugar maybe you shouldn't be able to breathe. Js
@@johnrambo1349 maybe he can send you a sample and you can lick it for him
@@johnrambo1349 Yeah, it's always a good idea to lick unknown powder coming from a random console.
@@PenguinYayOne Works fine in movies, though 😁👍
Just toss some grains in pan and heat it up. If it melts it's sugar, if it doesn't it's salt. You could even do it in a spoon with a lighter.
Looks like sugar to me. Granulated sugar has almost rounded off edges and readily clumps together even when dry; whereas salt keeps very sharp edges and when dry won't clump together as easily. I think if it had been salt it would have noticeably scratched some surfaces and wouldn't have been clumping up in places like in the fan(3:24).
A couple of tests you can try:
When you dissolved it did you use distilled water? If so, you can use your ohm meter to test...If it's salt then you should get a reading of some kind...
If you have enough to light on fire then sugar burns a brownish color, whereas salt burns yellow
watch the video
@@nukfauxsho Did he mention what it was in the last two seconds of the video??? Because that's about when I stopped watching...
Great !!! Good Info.
@@tank2045 no he didn't, but at about 07:03 ~ he puts some in a glass of water. I was wondering how someone would test this and checked the comments to see if any clever people [such as yourself] had any interesting suggestions! 👍🏻
@@nukfauxshohe did watch the video, and still you don't understand
I always thought this special edition was pretty low effort, effectively a normal grey switch with a tiny bit of added artwork
Whatever they can do to keep a bottom line ;)
Yeah, I can see your point there. I love that they included the custom case though.
funny because this variation of the switch just doesn't seem to exist even on eBay, been searching for some years and nobody is selling this one
So like the PS5 Spider-man "special edition" that is actually no more special than a regular PS5 besides the plates? (Its actually a lesser console internally).
@@Jedzelex how is it a lesser console internally? AFAIK its the exact same console but instead of white plates its the spider-man plates
Another great video! Always appreciate the uploads and the informative commentary :)
Much appreciated!
I had my switch and dock behind the tv which is a location liquid entering it would be suspicious. Maybe they had it in a place where liquid would not be likely to accidentally enter. That’s my guess.
Agreed, that's what I would take it to mean too. My Switch is docked in an entertainment center, there is no reasonable way that any food or beverage should be getting in it, so if some did end up in my Switch I would also find it suspicious.
I love watching these videos. I should have used the link for iFixtit since I ordered a tool kit and track pad for my Macbook Pro. Can’t wait to use the tool kit and star doing my own repairs.
I love your video. Especially how you take special projects that alot of repair tech wouldnt touch. Like the house fire PS5
To sabotage a switch, sugar seems more effective to me. Maybe the person hoped it would melt, as sugar does at the right temperature. Salt does dissolves faster in water tough.
salt is very corrosive. maybe someone figured just putting salt in there will corrode the device.
The melting point of sugar is 186 C, I would hope that switch doesn't get that hot. Salt also melts, but at like 800 C.
@@lorduggae With enough heat, everything melts (or starts to burn).
heat, air circulation..... maybe a drop of water ..... this seems like revenge to me @@MyRegardsToTheDodo
@@MyRegardsToTheDodo yes but, pouring sugar into a handheld device hoping it would melt is a bit silly.
Omg I love your work! I'd love to be able to do this! I used to do phones and laptops a little on the side but ended up running out of free time and wasn't good enough to do it full time! You make me happy watching your videos 😊
What a steal! Just a bit of cleanup and it's a perfectly working switch.
Yeah, this one was a good deal
@@Tronicsfix sell it back for $150 lol
@@Tronicsfixlucky this one is pretty rare to find
I'd say it's salt because it dissolves much faster than sugar in hot water
@TronicsFix You could have really taken it to the next level by sending a sample of the powder to a lab and having it analyzed. Great video always and thanks for the ❤
Time to get a high powered microscope to look at all of the crystal structures, stray hairs and roach babies that you find.
That would be really interesting.
Sugarry water doesn't generally leave crystals when it dries as it simply becomes a sticky stain. Salty water definitely does, though.
I literally screamed "NO" out loud when I thought you were going in for a taste 😂
Sounds like a girlfriend got upset about them playing the switch too much.
Or maybe a kid, lol
Diablo 😅 😈
@@Alice_was-here_1999Damn bro chill, its ok bro
@@Alice_was-here_1999 What the?
@@Alice_was-here_1999 tf i do?
This was a golden opportunity to do the old switcheroo with a duplicate glass of clean water that you drank. LOL
Alcohol dissolves sugar, and is unreactive when it comes to common salt. Therefore it is generally used as a solvent when a mixture containing both sugar and salt is present. Ethanol is preferred, but isopropyl alcohol works as well (just slower).
2:00 Literally did what I was thinking but glad you didn’t actually go through with it 😂😂
If there isn't any corrosion it's sugar, salt is very corrosive
A way to test whether it's sugar or salt, you can try to dissolve it in IPA. Sugar dissolves in alcohol, salt does not. And yes, I studied chemistry.
if you have a TLC plate you can put a spot if this crystal in water on it, dry it ,then spray with 50% sulfuric acid and heat it up with a heat gun. Sugars will burn and give a brown spot , salt will be nothing. Or you can check salt with solution of AgNO3 for chloride anions.
If you were near me, I could take crystal for you and check in the lab
This is hard to tell considering that when salt is dropped in the water you cannot see it so you can't tell if it is dissolved until you stick your finger in the water. Salt does take some time dissolve so this may be just sugar since a lot of things were pretty much untouched. Salt would cause some corrosion onto the board.
Clearly the owners broke up and the other tried to sabotage the switch as it had some emotional value. That would be my theory.
She was... salty
Or someone did a huckleberry finn and destroyed it so tronicfix would upload an video about it
She got mad because she asked him to give her some sugar. And he said no, so she gave him some and his console lol
Put the stuff on a hotplate and slowly increase Temperatur. If it melts at around 200°C (360 °F) it's sugar...if it never melts because you cannot reach 800°C on a hotplate it's salt.
Dissolve them and then evaporate the water. Salt will form into cubes while sugar will form into pointy crystals
If you burn the substance with a torch you would know if its sugar if it turns brown and caramelize. If its salt nothing would happen as salt has a very high melting point.
i believe that is sugar. Sugar dissolves faster then salt.
I believe it will be sugar from a sugary drink. Mix a lot of it with a small amount of water, dissolve and touch it with your finger, if its stickyish then its sugar
Try and burn the powder. Salt turns or bright yellow due to the sodium contained.
Sprinke a bit into a blue gas flame - if it the flame goes yellow it's salt (or at least contains sodium).
If its sugar, the wather in the cup will nor conduct energy if sugar it will... So its possible to identify it without drinking
I'm leaning towards sugar. I believe salt is more conductive and it could've shorted the components where sugar would just melt.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
So many complicated answers to find out whether salt or sugar. It's literally so easy. Put a drop of water on a pile of grains. If it's sticky, it's sugar. If not, it's salt.
I'd say sugar from the shape of the grains. Had to share a kitchen with someone who had unlabeled jars of salt and sugar. Quite easy to tell apart.
Sugar has a lower melting point compared to salt you could always throw some into a hot pan and see if it melts.
i would say sugar, based on the fact that you said it was sticky. if it was salt, i would expect to see a ton of corrosion. sugar would just make a sticky mess
Wow mission accomplished! I believe it was particles of sugar inside of the Nintendo Switch though! You've got the Master of Fixing trophy lol!
With damp fingers, touch the granules and rub your fingers together. Salt will not feel syrupy.
You could always take the granules and get them wet and then let it dry. If it's sugar, it will be sticky.
Judging by the speed the substance dissolved at in the warm water my guess is sugar because sugar dissolves quicker than salt in warm water. I’m a baker and try to observe
Were the grains dull or shiney? If they were dull its salt, if they were shiney grains its sugar
Might be rice pieces after someone put it in a bag of rice and shook it. Thinking after the liquid damage it might dry it up. I've seen this before and it looked like the same type of substance inside.
My son bought me that ifixit toolkit, I love it.
Do you resell the items that you fix and if so, where can I go to purchase them?
As a female gamer, i am slightly amused by all of the comments saying that it was a woman. Please...if we are going to destory something...it won't work again ever.
As a theory, I am thinking that there was accident and the seller is embarrassed by what happened. Just because of the wording.
Lololol! Great point!
The right thing to do would be to give it back to couple. Good job on fix.
I would say it's most likely sugar as sugar can cause electronic components to erode much quicker than liquid alone. Obviously grasping at straws, but that's my opinion for whatever it's worth.
Interesting. Thanks for chiming in
I hope the taste test becomes a standard troubleshooting step in future videos. 😂
I always like to have my Switch nearby while baking cakes and cookies, and regularly dump sugar all over it. Doesn't everyone???
Ha, ha!
You the best bro... Learning from you alot just started......
If I were going to try to damage a system, I would use salt because of the corrosion it causes. However, the condition of the board makes me think it was sugar.
I never understood breaking other people's property after a break up. I mean, I guess if they cheated and you feel like you need revenge, I empathize with it (still don't agree with it) but why potentially risk getting sued for damages? It's never worth it lol
Edit: Lol at the guy who said "Fee mails only do this, males do not" like what? I've seen plenty of guys destroy TVs, beds, cars, PETS of all things, and especially computers/laptops/phones/etc. It's even MORE idiotic if you think only 1 gender does all the damage when it's nearly 50/50.
wet sugar should be sticky. Salt wouldn't be, or would actually be the exact opposite and get slicker.
The taste test got me 🤣
For sure! Got me too 😂🤣😂
Lol, so glad to hear this
I bet nobody even realized he should have checked in the beginning if it was working or not until the end of the video. :p
My first thought was borax. Some people spread it around their carpets when they have a flea problem. I like the idea that it might have been accidental instead of sabotage.
Try applying heat to the residue, salt and sugar will react very differently.
Nicely done Steve!
I love your channel, always a great video to have in the background or to watch
It’s definitely sugar as if you filtered that water the salt will be in the filter it doesn’t dissolve
The fastest way to check if it's salt or sugar is to expose a dry sample to a flame. If it lights on fire, it's sugar. If not, it's salt.
Heating the substance on a spoon would form a brown caramel liquid if sugar. Salt wouldn't melt.
Only thing I can see is that someone was trying to water plants nearby with an additive and accidently flung some into the system and overtime it evaporated leaving the sugar behind.
Nah, that doesn't make sense, there's no actual liquid damage anywhere. And the sugar wouldn't turn back into granules when the water evaporates, it would leave patches of sticky residue behind.
Salt dissolves slower, also, why didn't you try if it's sticky. Sugar is sticky, salt isn't. That would give you a good hint also smell. Sugar smells different from salt This was most likely sugar.
Just taste it :) if you don’t want to, sugars are soluble in organic solvents like ethanol or chloroform, salts are not
2:01 LMAO that made my day. I was serious as f*k and a laughter came out of nowhere
Slightly confused. Was the device broken or just needing a tear-down and clean?
No try to turn on before the breakdown?
need to get yourself one of those little vac/blower for stuff like this
i bought one awhile ago and its a life saver for getting dust out of stuff (mostly pc parts for me but i do tear consoles sometimes to if they get very dirty)
Has Steve ever talked about a preferred brand of thermal paste? I have been using a some weird unbranded tubes that a Dell repair tech gave me for years. Dude gave me like 50 tubes.
Artic Silver 5, it's linked above.
I had a bunch of Dell ones from my years doing support, and most of them dried out and became thick after 5+ years.
I'd get new stuff, especially if you are repairing things where temps matter (aka, not office pc's).
I tossed most of them.
Sugar will dissolve in water but will start to reform pretty quickly. Salt however will stay dissolved in water, so I'm gonna say it's salt
If it is sabotage, that's pretty petty thing to do to someone's stuff.
Yes, so true
😮 if you want to find out its sugar or salt then put 2 electrodes in the solution and connect it to - + battery. if electrolysis occurs then its salt. If dosent then its sugar.
Is the battery on the joycon swollen or was that just camera angle?
Chem class, how does it react to ice? Salt will make it melt faster.
Where do you find all these broken consoles and games?
Nah, wouldn’t be a mystery in my house. Everyone would be having a sit down at the table until someone fessed up and said why.
Hi, the screw head of my controller is worn. what do you recommend me to do to unscrew it?
By the looks of it, it's more likely to be sugar than salt, since salt granules don't adhere to each other like they looked to do when clumping up in the fan. You should dissolve some of it in a small drop of water to get a concentrated solution, then see if it's sticky. If it is, then it's most probably sugar.
Never seen salt before in your life, huh? If you had, you'd know salt clumps very easily. So easily that most people put a few popcorn kernels or rice grains in the salt shaker to break up the clumps while shaking it.
@@AnachronisticGamer salt clumps when wet. When dry, it flows. Pour some salt on the table and see if it clumps or spreads.
@@mihaitha The world is a humid place unless you live in the desert. Salt will clump very easily unless the air is bone dry. Again, I have to assume you've just never seen salt before in your life.
Btw, humidity is why sugar sticks to itself too. It's not just an inherent property of sugar to be sticky. When it's dry it is not sticky.
How would you go trying to get a Sega Saturn fixed?I have 4 off them with only power but no vision.if I can send you them would you have a go at fixing them
Another great video. Thanks ❤
Would think salt is more fine and would cloud water?
Het it up in a spoon if it melts it's shugar if not is salt
This is one of my beautiful Switch version with Monster Hunter 😊
Sugar is probably left over after the liquid evaporated. It was probably coke or another fizzy sugary drink.
The previous owner probably thought it has water damage and put it into salt trying to dry it out.
It almost looks like the tartaric acid they put sour candies that builds up in the bag.
going off topic here (apologies) do you have any videos on how to Delid a Slim Ps3? looked at other vids but don't trust them, and i always watch your repair videos (bought a couple of sets of iFix it kits due to watching you)
Sugar. It was most likely LaCroix that was spilled in it. I'm guessing they spill the can of LaCroix on the table and some it got in the switch before they removed it.
I have a question regarding the paste under the shield (processor). Have you tried replacing it PTM 7950?
It appears someone placed the tablet in sugar instead of rice to try and absorb the liquid that may have got into the switch.
If I had to guess, it's more like sugar than salt. Not very many salty beverages, and if it was soup or something salty, there would likely be other clues.
9:23 As always: the actual fix. And yes, this is what we are all here for.
The glass of water part was pure genius, though! It's amazing when you throw random stuff like that on your videos. You could have cut right before taking the sip, and then come back with an empty glass in your hand, saying "ahhh, that was refreshing!", LOL!!!
So what's with Tronics tear drop tattoo? Is that a scar or am I reading into it too much.