I bought a Lenovo Legion 5 with an RTX 5050 and an i7 HX processor last month. About five or six drops of water landed near the Tab key. I shut it down immediately and left it upside down for around 18 hours. It worked normally the next day, but afterward I repeatedly received "USB device not recognized" notifications for several minutes at startup. The same thing happened the following day, but everything has seemed normal for the past five days.
The laptop is still under warranty, although accidental liquid damage may not be covered. I'm worried about being charged more than I can afford as a student, and I haven't opened the laptop because I don't want to risk affecting the warranty. What should I do now?
2 Answers
The safest option is to stop using it and take it to the manufacturer or a reputable repair shop for inspection. If there is still moisture or residue inside, continuing to power it on could cause more damage. Liquid damage is often excluded from standard warranties, so they may either repair it as a paid service or determine that no repair is needed. Avoid trying to hide what happened or repeatedly testing it.
Even ordinary drinking water contains minerals that can leave conductive residue after drying. The initial shutdown was helpful, but drying the outside does not guarantee that the inside is clean. The battery should ideally be disconnected, and the affected area cleaned with high-purity isopropyl alcohol by someone experienced with laptop repair. Since opening the chassis could complicate a warranty claim, don’t disassemble it yourself unless you accept that risk; have an authorized service center or qualified technician inspect it. Back up important files only if the laptop remains stable, then power it down until it has been checked.
That’s fair. I was mainly worried about the repair cost, but I’ll get it inspected instead of continuing to use it.