Sony SZ Gives Electric Shock?
I was seriously considering buying Sony’s new SZ ultraportable notebook computer. However, when I was googling some specs, I came across an interesting forum. In this forum, the members talk about their lovely SZs, and how they are getting a bit of electric shock from the metal finished restpad.
A user called GlennOC stated:
“I thought I was crazy, but I could swear I was feeling an electric shock from my palms as I lay them on the metal surface of my new SZ laptop…
At first this felt like a vibration from the HD, but then I noticed when I glide my fingers gently over the brushed metal surface (palm rest area of the SZ) that I feel a tingle in my finger tips.
If you really want to feel a tingle.. hold the ground / shield of a USB cable from say an external hard drive that is plugged into a wall or touch a large metal desk, then try to softly glide your fingers on the metal area of your SZ.
If you feel a tingle.. you are getting voltage.”
To prove his point, our friend GlennOC tested his SZ with a voltage meter. As he stated, “[A]s soon as you touch the palm rest area.. bam voltage jumps… above shows it at 1.5.. but it varies and sometimes spikes to 3 volts. this is’nt a huge voltage and I can live with it.. but it gets annoying sometimes if you rest on it plugged in for a while.”
Apparently, in order to feel the voltage, your Sony Vaio SZ must have a metal palm rest, and the AC adapter must be plugged in (you must also be propertly grounded). Also, this problem does not affect everyone; rather, it is thought to be a problem affecting only a small batch of notebooks. While the voltage (1.5-3 volts) is not a huge amount of electricity, but I imagine the slight shock might be mildly irritating. A similar article was posted at Geek.com. Will the slight “tingling sensation” stop Vaio lovers from buying the laptop? I think not! As one user commented, “This little tingle, doesnt matter to me…Im getting my SZ next week.”
This entry was posted on Friday, June 23rd, 2006 at 8:24 pm and is tagged with sony vaio sz, ultraportable notebook, palm rest, sony vaio, metal desk, tingling sensation, electric shock, external hard drive, voltage meter, metal surface, brushed metal, notebook computer, szs, rest area, finger tips, sony sz, volts, usb cable, spikes, ac adapter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback.
8 Responses to 'Sony SZ Gives Electric Shock?'
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on July 4th, 2006 at 6:16 am
“external hard drive that is plugged into a wall” - power unit of such devices almost like a sh*t, so it is a source of power phase on the case.
Let him measure voltage between ground and external hard drive case w/out plugging it to laptop. He will get his power outlet voltage there.
So - don’t use cheap external bays… or use those w/out external power (like tiny bays for tiny drives).
on October 15th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
I have a Sony SZ330P laptop and the electric shock syndrome is real. I feel it all the time and though I am not familiar with voltage ratings, this feels like more than 3 volts claimed in the postings. It can be very disconcerting. My laptop has a metal palm rest. I don’t know if this is common among all the models in this series. Does anybody know if Sony is aware of this problem?
Manu
on October 30th, 2006 at 8:42 pm
I recently purchased a Sony SZ360P and have been experiencing a similar problem! There are electric pulses that emanate from the metal palm rest area when the unit is running on the power supply! I suspect Sony has been already made aware of this problem since it has been found in previous models but never rectified. This is heavily discussed in the link above. I’m very disappointed and will take this unit back.
After the battery fiasco, it seems that Sony has managed to “shock” its customers once again …
on November 3rd, 2006 at 11:15 am
I just bought a SZ and it has the same problem. I will be returning mine today and buy a Thinkpad instead.
on December 26th, 2006 at 5:23 am
Hi, I bought mine 10 days back and left the country for my Asia travel. Don’t have a choice but to live with it. Does anyone have a suggestion like using any anti-shock or grounding sheet for the palm rest ?
on July 6th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I had the exact problem with my VGN-SZ230P. FInally after a few months of haggling, Sony’s accepted it as a known issue and are giving free replacement of A/C adapter and power chord. Call up their customer care (international number: 1-888-476-6972), describe the problem, give your model number and serial number, and replacemnt will shipped to you free ONLY INSIDE THE US
on August 19th, 2007 at 5:07 am
hi there, i have sony vaio sz4 since last ,about 3 months. i use my laptop 5 or 6 hrs a day, some times more. i never ever have this problem with my laptop. the only little fault is this that there is tiny dot on lcd display. its so small that its not visiable from 1 fit distance. any its not a big problem for me. im happy with my purchase.
on September 3rd, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I just bought a pink sony vaio and i loved it. until it bit me! I swear the shock that is gives you is so uncomfortable. i kept thinking it was my mind, but whenever the power supply is plugged in and you are grounded, like with your feet on the ground, you will get shocked! It gets my forearms on a regular basis, it is a huge nuisance.