Inspection After Eleven Months

[kramekooc]

App version: 2.1.0
Home name: Front Yard South
Serial number: 3353U9
Mobile device: iOS

This device (3353U9) has been learning since July 17, 2025. While it still had plenty of battery life left (41%, 1.27v), I decided to remove it based on the issues I had with moisture leakage on another device (337CYU, the subject of a separate thread) that had been in service for the same amount of time. I wanted to report what I found mostly FYI, with a couple of questions at the end.

After opening the battery compartment, I noticed a small amount of moisture on the battery spring board, on two of the batteries, and on the right side of the battery compartment (when looking at the serial number tag) near the bottom of the compartment (which interestingly is the same place I noticed moisture on device 337CYU).

After removing the O-ring from the battery cap, I noticed moisture in the O-ring groove of the battery cap.

Fortunately, there was only a tiny amount of corrosion (rust) on the battery spring board, on the middle positive terminal.

I removed the battery spring board per the O-ring cleaning instructions to thoroughly clean the battery cap. I found some moisture on the cap under the spring board.

I inspected the O-ring per the O-ring cleaning instructions and found no cuts, tears, or other damage.

The front probe (the one farthest from the battery compartment) is skewed out approximately 1/8” at the tip, making it not parallel to the other probe.

Since there is no apparent damage to the device, I have cleaned it up according to the O-ring cleaning instructions, will allow it to dry out indoors for 24 hours, install new batteries and O-ring, and then place it back into the soil.

Questions:

Is the amount of moisture I found inside the battery compartment from condensation? Is this normal?

Will the fact that the probes are not exactly parallel impact the function of the device?

Photos attached.

[homedigy-stanley]

Hi @kramekooc ,

Thanks for reporting this. Given the similarities, I would like to refer to this response by @homedigy-lawrence again: Device Inspection after Invalid Reading Notice - #2 by homedigy-lawrence

To answer your questions, we have explained it in detail here, specifically the Condensation section: [Important] Troubleshooting Moisture Ingress: App Warnings and Erratic Battery Readings

If the probes are not perfectly parallel, our software actually has ways to compensate for this. A member of the engineering team may expand on this further if they have the time. Please feel free to ask about this on our town hall, and it’s likely explained in the upcoming knowledge base.

As far as this device goes, given the status of the moisture ingress, the same two options remain (until we have a new policy) if you want to restore service on that specific unit: (1) ship the unit back to us for inspection via RMA repair, or (2) send us photo evidence of sensor probes being destroyed with serial number visible before paying for a replacement.

Once you let us know your preferences, we can make arrangements via tech-support@homedigy.com to finalize the details on restoring service on this unit.

Thanks,

Stanley
Marketing PM
Team GeoDrops

[kramekooc]

Hi Stanley,

On this particular device (3353U9), I did not have any indications of a moisture ingress problem such as erratic moisture, temperature, or battery voltage readings as described in the linked article. Everything seemed to be working normally prior to me removing it and opening it up for inspection and cleaning of the O-ring. I decided to check for moisture ingress on this device because it had been in service for the same amount of time as another device (337CYU, the subject of a different thread) that did have app notification and erratic readings warning of potential moisture ingress.

So while there were no indications of moisture ingress on 3353U9, I was concerned about it because it was in service for eleven months, same as 337CYU that did have problems. And because Lawrence recommended in his reply to my thread on 337CYU to be super safe the o-ring should be checked and cleaned (or even replaced to be super super safe) twice per year instead of once per year when changing out the batteries.

Because 3353U9 was still working properly before I removed and checked it, and because it did not have any damage to the battery spring board as did 337CYU, I followed the O-ring cleaning instructions, cleaned and dried everything (indoors for over 24 hours), installed a new O-ring and batteries, and reinstalled it into the soil at a location about two feet from its original location using the “Move Device” button in the app. It is currently learning the soil in the new location according to the app.

But if 3353U9 should have had zero moisture ingress in the battery compartment after eleven months in service, then this was not the case—there was some moisture, but it had not yet caused the device to become erratic or caused corrosion inside the battery compartment.

Given the above, what is your recommendation on the path forward on 3353U9? Should I leave it in service after having cleaned and dried it, and installed new O-ring and batteries and hope for the best (maybe check it again in 3-4 months), or send it back to you now for further evaluation of the seals?

Thanks for your help!

Mark

[homedigy-stanley]

Hi @kramekooc ,

Regarding 3353U9, the condesnation is likely due to a significant temperature difference when bringing your device indoors after winter can cause water condensation to form (i.e., “fogging”). There is a possibility of the condensation damaging the electronics, but if it’s still working fine, I would just advise drying it in warm temperatures for longer than 48 hours before blowing potential debris out of the compartment with a hair dryer, just to ensure there’s no more moisture left to potentially damage the electronics.

If you have any doubts about the O-Ring, I would advise replacing it. I will get the engineering team to check the internal flags this serial number is having though before concluding. Are you seeing any alerts on your app regarding this serial number?

Stanley
Marketing PM
Team GeoDrops

[homedigy-alpha]

Hi @kramekooc

Thank you for patience. From the looks of it seems like you have already installed the device after drying. I have just check “3353U9” and everything seems to be functioning normally.

That said the installation seems to be a bit loose near the top. I suggest first try compacting the soil around the device a bit. At some point the GeoDrops AI will determine if the installation was good enough and if it still complain about loose soil, then I would suggest reinstalling the device in a fresher patch a few inches away from the original location.

One note about “Move my device” which is currently not quite correct in the notification and will be fixed over the weekend is that for simple “adjustment” installation of the device like what you are doing, that is installing the device back in the same type of soil for the same plant type roughly around the same area, you do not need to use “Move My Device”. The feature was intended for moving the device and use it for a different plant or soil type. You can simply reinsert the device and hit “Calibrate->Learn Soil Profile” again in the latest app version to let the AI know that there was a reinstallation and it will re-profile the soil. This should make the process easier. We will also be adjusting the app to make this point more prominent.

Feel free to let us know if you see any more issue

P.S. Regarding potential moisture ingress due to condensation. Our current recommendation now is for users take the device out of the soil through winter to prevent potential problems if they do not need to use it over winter.

Al
Engineering