Extremely hot Miniature WiFi Module

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SwedFTP
 
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Extremely hot Miniature WiFi Module

Post by SwedFTP »

Hello,

On Black Friday I purchased a Raspberry Pi Starter kit(Rasp inc.), including the Miniature Wifi Module, I received the order a couple of days later, and quickly began playing. I noticed while playing with the WiFi module on my Desktop PC, the module would get extremely hot, to the point where I had almost dropped the module removing it from the USB port. I shrugged it off after a quick google, and reading that some models do get quite warm. However, after plugging the module back into my desktop PC and playing around for some time as my Pi installed Raspbian, I noticed a funny smell and checked out the wifi adapter, and I found that the blue light was no longer blinking. I assumed it was the adapter, so I went and tested a different USB port to make sure, I found the Module to still be in working order and that the USB port had gone out. I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at but I took these pictures. Needless to say, currently, I'm beyond afraid to plug this thing into my Pi.

(Besides being dirty, I think the problem is the trace on the left port in this picture.)
Image

Image

Also, on an unrelated note I non-consciously broke the plastic piece that holds the string for the Micro SD USB Card Reader almost as soon as I got it,

Image

I would recommend a through hole design if at all possible, similar to this,

Image

Thank you,
SwedFTP

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Extremely hot Miniature WiFi Module

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

WiFi modules can run hot, but it sounds like yours may be drawing more current than the USB port wants to provide.

Most USB-2 ports will shut down if the device connected to them tries to draw more than 500mA. It's a safety feature that keeps the port from being damaged if the connected device shorts out. The port on your computer should reset after it has a chance to rest, or after your reboot the machine.

A WiFi dongle shouldn't draw enough current to shut down a USB port, but the photo you've posted shows a board with what looks like a repaired trace. Since the dongle still works in another port, it's hard to say if the problem was with the dongle itself or if the dongle didn't like that particular port.

Try the dongle in another port for a while and see if it still gets hot. Don't wait long enough for it to shut down the port, but see if it can coexist peacefully. If not, we'll get you a replacement.

WRT the lanyard pin, that's out of our control. Thanks for the suggestion though.

SwedFTP
 
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Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2013 5:16 am

Re: Extremely hot Miniature WiFi Module

Post by SwedFTP »

adafruit_support_mike wrote: WiFi modules can run hot, but it sounds like yours may be drawing more current than the USB port wants to provide.

Most USB-2 ports will shut down if the device connected to them tries to draw more than 500mA. It's a safety feature that keeps the port from being damaged if the connected device shorts out. The port on your computer should reset after it has a chance to rest, or after your reboot the machine.
The USB port seems to be dead, I've powered down the computer for an extended period of time and no change in state. I don't know if you can see anything in a higher resolution image, also I accidentally linked the same picture twice, click the image to see a higher resolution.
Image
Image
adafruit_support_mike wrote: A WiFi dongle shouldn't draw enough current to shut down a USB port, but the photo you've posted shows a board with what looks like a repaired trace. Since the dongle still works in another port, it's hard to say if the problem was with the dongle itself or if the dongle didn't like that particular port.

Try the dongle in another port for a while and see if it still gets hot. Don't wait long enough for it to shut down the port, but see if it can coexist peacefully. If not, we'll get you a replacement.

WRT the lanyard pin, that's out of our control. Thanks for the suggestion though.
The module gets extremely hot regardless of the port being used on my desktop, I didn't let it stay in long enough to see any additional damage, however I did put it into the raspberry pi and it's still extremely hot, it seems like it would bake the Pi if left in the enclosure.

In other news the Micro SD Card reader has stopped working altogether as well, I was able to install NOOBS onto the bundled micro sd card yesterday, yet today when trying to do the same thing today, after I went out and bought a 32GB micro sd card in my excitement, it's no longer recognized by any of the PC's in my house, Mint, Ubuntu, or Windows.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Extremely hot Miniature WiFi Module

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

That sounds like a dead unit.

Send a note to [email protected] with a link to this thread and we'll get you a new one.

SwedFTP
 
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Re: Extremely hot Miniature WiFi Module

Post by SwedFTP »

Is that just with regards to the WiFi module? Should I make a separate thread for the MicroSD USB reader?

Thank you very much,
SwedFTP

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Extremely hot Miniature WiFi Module

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Sorry, I was just thinking about the WiFi dongle.

To double-check the microSD reader, does it work with the card that came with it?

SwedFTP
 
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Re: Extremely hot Miniature WiFi Module

Post by SwedFTP »

No problem at all. Negative, It worked flawlessly for the first day, and I was able to extract NOOBS to my Pi, however I haven't been able to use it with ANY micro SD card since including the one I received with the kit. I found out by trying to use the new 32GB micro SD card, I've temporarily resorted to using my old SD USB card reader with the micro sd adapter, at a blazing 600kB/s ;).

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Re: Extremely hot Miniature WiFi Module

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

All right, let's get you some replacements: one wifi dongle, one microSD adapter.

Send a note to [email protected] with a link to this thread and they'll take over.

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