Is Sabrent 4 port usb-a hub safe to use after water spill?

I have a dell xps 15 9520. Last week or so, I had water spill all over my desk. My laptop is connected to 2 external monitors via usb-c to displayport and hdmi to dvi cable. The usb-c port on my laptop... has a Dell supplied 2 in 1 Dell 20A adapter that has an hdmi port and a usb-a port. So that hdmi port is connected by hdmi to dvi cable to my asus monitor. The usb-a port i plugged in the sabrent usb a 4 port hub to give it more usb a ports since this laptop has 0 usb-a ports. The 1st usb-a port is wireless mouse dongle. The 2nd usb-a port I use wired keyboard. I normally leave the 3rd and 4th usb a port empty. I normally use one of the ports with a cable matters ethernet adapter for wired internet but having issues with it so not using it. And I would use the last usb-a port for a usb flash drive sometimes etc.


The thunderbolt 4 port is used for usb-c to displayport for my main 32' 4k monitor. The 2nd thunderbolt 4 port is for my dell charger.


Now when I spilled water over my desk, the water touched the sabrent usb a 4 port hub. I took bounty towel and tried to wipe it as quick as I could. I don't believe any water touched my laptop though. Now a bit after this, I turned off my laptop for few hours. Also when this occurred, there didn't seem to be any issues at all. But I am pretty sure water went into the holes of the sabrent usb a 4 port hub especially the 3rd and 4th ports since those were empty etc. The 1st 2 usb-a ports was plugged in with wireless mouse dongle and wired keyboard so most likely water didn't get in there that much? So far no issue at all with the 1st 2 usb-a ports with the wireless mouse dongle and wired keyboard.


My question is... are there any safety precautions I could take before attempting to plug something into the 3rd or 4th usb a port? Such that if i plug in a cable matters ethernet cable or usb flash drive... it not only could cause damage to it... but it could cause damage to the Dell 20A 2 in 1 Adapter which it is connected to... but also my main dell xps laptop? I heard you could short your laptop this way?


The thing is earlier in the week, I had a usb error message showing in device manager and I am not sure if that is because of my sabrent 4 port hub or if it could be my 24' asus monitor. My asus monitor has been acting up a lot as one of the buttons seem to be stuck. But now that usb error message is no longer there. This is the message it showed below but not there anymore. I thought it was the sabrent 4 port hub because it says bad usb but is it possible its the usb a ports on my asus monitor which I never use?


It's under Universal Serial Bus Controllers and shows as


Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)


Does anyone have any advice on what I could do to test my sabrent 4 port usb a hub safely in this situation? Is it safe plugging in a flash drive into either the 3rd or 4th port? Should i plug this sabrent 4 port hub into another laptop and then plug in a flash drive to test? Do I need to use a hair dryer and blow the sabrent 4 port hub to remove any possible water that still remains? The main thing here is I do not want to risk damage to my main dell xps 15 9520 system. At the moment I am only using the 1st 2 usb-a ports without any issue. However, I would like to also use the 3rd and possibly the 4th usb-a port as well but am concerned if connecting something to it could possibly short the port hub and then the Dell 20A 2 in 1 Adapter and finally the laptop itself?

Newmann said:

I have a dell xps 15 9520. Last week or so, I had water spill all over my desk. My laptop is connected to 2 external monitors via usb-c to displayport and hdmi to dvi cable. The usb-c port on my laptop... has a Dell supplied 2 in 1 Dell 20A adapter that has an hdmi port and a usb-a port. So that hdmi port is connected by hdmi to dvi cable to my asus monitor. The usb-a port i plugged in the sabrent usb a 4 port hub to give it more usb a ports since this laptop has 0 usb-a ports. The 1st usb-a port is wireless mouse dongle. The 2nd usb-a port I use wired keyboard. I normally leave the 3rd and 4th usb a port empty. I normally use one of the ports with a cable matters ethernet adapter for wired internet but having issues with it so not using it. And I would use the last usb-a port for a usb flash drive sometimes etc.


The thunderbolt 4 port is used for usb-c to displayport for my main 32' 4k monitor. The 2nd thunderbolt 4 port is for my dell charger.


Now when I spilled water over my desk, the water touched the sabrent usb a 4 port hub. I took bounty towel and tried to wipe it as quick as I could. I don't believe any water touched my laptop though. Now a bit after this, I turned off my laptop for few hours. Also when this occurred, there didn't seem to be any issues at all. But I am pretty sure water went into the holes of the sabrent usb a 4 port hub especially the 3rd and 4th ports since those were empty etc. The 1st 2 usb-a ports was plugged in with wireless mouse dongle and wired keyboard so most likely water didn't get in there that much? So far no issue at all with the 1st 2 usb-a ports with the wireless mouse dongle and wired keyboard.


My question is... are there any safety precautions I could take before attempting to plug something into the 3rd or 4th usb a port? Such that if i plug in a cable matters ethernet cable or usb flash drive... it not only could cause damage to it... but it could cause damage to the Dell 20A 2 in 1 Adapter which it is connected to... but also my main dell xps laptop? I heard you could short your laptop this way?


The thing is earlier in the week, I had a usb error message showing in device manager and I am not sure if that is because of my sabrent 4 port hub or if it could be my 24' asus monitor. My asus monitor has been acting up a lot as one of the buttons seem to be stuck. But now that usb error message is no longer there. This is the message it showed below but not there anymore. I thought it was the sabrent 4 port hub because it says bad usb but is it possible its the usb a ports on my asus monitor which I never use?


It's under Universal Serial Bus Controllers and shows as


Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)


Does anyone have any advice on what I could do to test my sabrent 4 port usb a hub safely in this situation? Is it safe plugging in a flash drive into either the 3rd or 4th port? Should i plug this sabrent 4 port hub into another laptop and then plug in a flash drive to test? Do I need to use a hair dryer and blow the sabrent 4 port hub to remove any possible water that still remains? The main thing here is I do not want to risk damage to my main dell xps 15 9520 system. At the moment I am only using the 1st 2 usb-a ports without any issue. However, I would like to also use the 3rd and possibly the 4th usb-a port as well but am concerned if connecting something to it could possibly short the port hub and then the Dell 20A 2 in 1 Adapter and finally the laptop itself?

Dont use it again. Unless it was distilled water, there is minerals in the water left as residue when it dries. That residue may or may not be conductive.

It is drinking water. The issue though is this water bottle is originally other drink where it has sugar.


But you are seriously saying don't use it anymore? So what if you have a usb flash drive that gets water on it. You don't attempt to use it anymore?


The thing is at the moment there is no issue with the 1st 2 usb a ports since the wireless mouse dongle and wired keyboard works without any issue. But the usb a ports 3 and 4 is what I am unsure about. So what about plugging in a usb flash drive into each of those ports to see if it is okay. Or is that just too risky?


I mean I can't imagine people tossing out equipment once after water gets into it but you let it dry?

"I mean I can't imagine people tossing out equipment once after water gets into it but you let it dry?

The choice is yours.
USB hubs are cheap - computers less so

Water goes in, parts go into the trash...

Unless you can open the device and clean it properly with something that will not only remove water, but also the residue that the water leaves behind, and then dry completely with no residue, then throw the hub away. It's not worth risking damage to your PC or a fire, is it?

Newmann said:

It is drinking water. The issue though is this water bottle is originally other drink where it has sugar.


But you are seriously saying don't use it anymore? So what if you have a usb flash drive that gets water on it. You don't attempt to use it anymore?


The thing is at the moment there is no issue with the 1st 2 usb a ports since the wireless mouse dongle and wired keyboard works without any issue. But the usb a ports 3 and 4 is what I am unsure about. So what about plugging in a usb flash drive into each of those ports to see if it is okay. Or is that just too risky?


I mean I can't imagine people tossing out equipment once after water gets into it but you let it dry?

Catnip beat me to it so i will quote them....

Catnip said:

Water goes in, parts go into the trash...

Unless you can open the device and clean it properly with something that will not only remove water, but also the residue that the water leaves behind, and then dry completely with no residue, then throw the hub away. It's not worth risking damage to your PC or a fire, is it?

It's your gear and your money, but im not the only one that wouldnt.

Well let me ask this. So basically getting anything wet that touches the computer or a port hub is risky then? So you are telling me if say you are using a wireless mouse and get water on the wireless mouse dongle somehow... let say it wasn't connected to the laptop at the time... you going to toss the wireless mouse dongle out?


So what if you get water touching your laptop charger? It is only if it is the plugin to the outlet... that you wouldn't feel safe using it? You would toss that charger out and get a new one? But if you get the laptop charger wet I am talking about the physical charger but not the plugin... you are fine using it after drying it?

Newmann said:

Well let me ask this. So basically getting anything wet that touches the computer or a port hub is risky then? So you are telling me if say you are using a wireless mouse and get water on the wireless mouse dongle somehow... let say it wasn't connected to the laptop at the time... you going to toss the wireless mouse dongle out?


So what if you get water touching your laptop charger? It is only if it is the plugin to the outlet... that you wouldn't feel safe using it? You would toss that charger out and get a new one? But if you get the laptop charger wet I am talking about the physical charger but not the plugin... you are fine using it after drying it?

My rule is that if it gets wet, toss it. There is no sense risking damage or a fire just to save a dollar or two. Most of these hubs and such are not built very robustly and are usually not that forgiving of short circuits (and water or dried water can cause short circuits).

In the end, as @tomdsr so eloquently put it. It's your money and gear. Do what you want, but do it at your peril. Just my opinion, but having a lot of experience in electronics, I know what I would and would not do.

Newmann said:

Well let me ask this. So basically getting anything wet that touches the computer or a port hub is risky then? So you are telling me if say you are using a wireless mouse and get water on the wireless mouse dongle somehow... let say it wasn't connected to the laptop at the time... you going to toss the wireless mouse dongle out?


So what if you get water touching your laptop charger? It is only if it is the plugin to the outlet... that you wouldn't feel safe using it? You would toss that charger out and get a new one? But if you get the laptop charger wet I am talking about the physical charger but not the plugin... you are fine using it after drying it?

You are asking the same exact questions with different words and examples. My answer remains the same.

Okay so during this entire time, i still using the same sabrent 4 port hub but only used the first 2 hubs on my xps laptop. Did not want to try to plug anything into the last two port hub because of concern of the water that might have spilled in those two last port hubs months ago. But should that still be a concern or not?





Thing is i will soon make a trip to the US so i can buy a new one. Now you all would suggest this 100%?





So it would still be risky to use the same sabrent port hub on my laptop if i want to use all the port hubs on it? I only connect my wireless mouse usb hub and wired keyboard to it. Normally i would use at least 3 ports... the 3rd would be for ethernet adapter for wired internet and the last port hub for a usb flash occasionally. So during this entire time, i had to only use wifi and if i wanted to plug in a usb flash drive, i would temporarily remove my wired keyboard to put in the usb flash drive and then use my xps laptop keyboard temporarily. The thing is my xps laptop cost over 2k usd so it isn't worth the risk for it right? But if there was any water issues with the sabrent 4 port hub, wouldn't it already showed problems since i been using the first 2 port hubs? Or are these port hubs individual and doesn't effect the other port hubs on the sabrent 4 port hub? Thus imagine the 3rd or 4th port hub has damage or water? The thing is do people throw it a port hub out after this? Or should i connect the sabrent port hub to another laptop to see how the 3rd and 4th port hub are or not worth it?