Can a personal fan break the tablet if the USB plug is broken?

Dinny Weber

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Aug 16, 2013
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Personal fan on solid state dell tablet has been banned by IT. Any data that the motor of the fan will mess up the laptop?
The feedback I have so far is that there is no electrical problem, IT likely just über protective of hardware. Another scenario came up. These tablets are moved in and out of exam rooms 50 times per day. Someone suggested if the fan connector bumped a wall, it could break off. It would not just disable the USB port but could damage the bus and be more serious. The tablet is a Dell Latitude XT2. Thoughts?
 

nbelote

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Oct 5, 2009
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It's a possibility that the fans in question draw too much power or uneven amounts of power and the USB port on the tablets can't handle it. That could cause damage, yes. Breaking the end off of a USB connector that's doing nothing but drawing uneven amounts of power could also damage the USB port and/or bus. I believe that your IT's concerns are valid, especially since they know more about these fans than we do.

If the exam rooms are hot enough to need a fan on a tablet, I would think more about contacting maintenance about poor airflow or I would lower the temperature in the exam rooms a bit more.
 

Dinny Weber

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Aug 16, 2013
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Dinny Weber

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Aug 16, 2013
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It is a PERSONAL fan, not everybody is hot and that is why climate control for a few specific people worked so well. Two different types of fans have been used for a total of 10 months with no incidences. The fan does not draw much power at all. Unclear if it is "uneven". I don't know how you would check. Would it be different than the blue tooth mouse attached to another port? It seems that some IT people are more superstitious about hardware than grounded in evidence based science.