150F power button?

[brado902]

Hello All

 

I’m an IT manager and got a ticket about a Dell Latitude 7430 where the power button/fingerprint reader was hot to the touch. Not exaggerating—it was around 150°F and uncomfortable to even press.

I cracked open the case and didn’t see anything obviously wrong. Never seen anything like this in my career, and I’m coming up short online.

Anyone ever run into this?

 

[KidKid]

7 minutes ago, brado902 said:

Hello All

 

I’m an IT manager and got a ticket about a Dell Latitude 7430 where the power button/fingerprint reader was hot to the touch. Not exaggerating—it was around 150°F and uncomfortable to even press.

I cracked open the case and didn’t see anything obviously wrong. Never seen anything like this in my career, and I’m coming up short online.

Anyone ever run into this?

 

How hot is your CPU and GPU (using software)?

[OhYou_]

Yes actually, I have. 

However, I have no explanation either lol. In my case the button was cracked, but it also still worked for reading fingerprint, also it's an iPhone. 

Perhaps it has something to do with how fingerprint sensors work, idk. 

[OddOod]

Does the fingerprint reader work? 
I'm suspecting a short in the sensor, but that's a LOT of power it's putting off.
There's nothing up there that should be generating anywhere near that much heat. Like, it should be just the Wifi card and little else

[brado902]

55 minutes ago, KidKid said:

How hot is your CPU and GPU (using software)?

Within spec. Unrelated to these components. 

[brado902]

22 minutes ago, OddOod said:

Does the fingerprint reader work? 
I'm suspecting a short in the sensor, but that's a LOT of power it's putting off.
There's nothing up there that should be generating anywhere near that much heat. Like, it should be just the Wifi card and little else

We have Windows Hello disabled via Group Policy, so fingerprint sensors aren’t used in our environment. I haven’t tested whether it works or not. I agree that a short in the sensor seems likely, since in that heat gun image it appears to be isolated to that button alone. What would be causing the short- the button itself? 

[Kilrah]

Well the sensor inside/probably on top of the actual button, yes

[OddOod]

On 6/12/2025 at 3:15 PM, brado902 said:

What would be causing the short- the button itself? 

Likely a capacitive scanner and some of the wires are crossed? I really don't know enough about this stuff

[The K-Man89]

On 6/12/2025 at 2:15 PM, brado902 said:

We have Windows Hello disabled via Group Policy, so fingerprint sensors aren’t used in our environment. I haven’t tested whether it works or not. I agree that a short in the sensor seems likely, since in that heat gun image it appears to be isolated to that button alone. What would be causing the short- the button itself? 

It is most likely a localized short on the button itself, if you crack it open you should be able to re solder the connection or just replace the button entirely especially if you're not using the fingerprint functionality of it 

[UnhingedIT]

Most likely power adapter shorted your sensor. Best option as a IT manager is to contact an authorized service center and send the laptop there. If the laptop has warranty, they should fix the problem for free. Dell are generous with their warranty policy (2 years). BUT if they catch a whiff that you used product that is not Dell (eg. off-brand adapter, off-brand USB Hub or a docking station that is not DELL) they will deny your request for warranty fix and tax ur ass...

Knowing those assholes they will most likely say that is your fault and tax you for the service.