Silica bead stuck

I had faced the same issue

i tried several method but all fail till i used the tweezer.

withing 2 3 try bead broke into small pices and done.

I had the same problem and tried out almost every idea given in this discussion but non of them has worked out. Finally i found my own way and got it out.

• I used my hand drill with very little drilling bit (It was the thinnest, number `1` bit). I drilled very carefully to the center of the bead and moved the drill around after going just a little deeper and the bead crashed and i vacuumed it afterwards. It may sound crazy but it is very easy actually.
• The key is you shouldn't drill deep, just drill it little bit into bead and move the drill around so the bead get crashed.
• It only took a few seconds. I have spent hours to other methods.
• There wasn't any sound problem afterwards, it works as usual.

One has to ask: how did you do that?

Sticking anything else in there is not a good idea...but if you had a long, thin (less than 3.5 mm) object that was sticky on the end you might be able to stick to the bead and pull it out.

I would not try that, however. The best bet is the Apple genius bar were they can open it up and extract the bead.

I'm not sure what you could use to stick to the bead, you really don't want to put any kind of glue on the end of a stick or tooth pick as you will more than likely gum up the insides doing that.

You could try something like a piece of some type of tape, rolled into a tight cylinder, that could very carefully be inserted and see if it would stick to the bead enough to pull it back out...but be really careful you don't push it in further.

I still would not try it myself, too risky to my liking.

I've been browsing forums to see if anyone has had the same experience and just thought I'd jump in here. I've had 3 or 4 of these beads fall out of my early 2011 model macbook pro. Another one fell out tonight, and I have no idea where they are coming from. I know I haven't had a silica bead packet in my backpack. At one time, I could hear one rolling around inside the computer. Luckly none of them have gotten lodged anywhere. It's just weird. Best of luck, hopefully you have resolved your problem by now!

Hi! Were you able to take out the bead? How did you do it?

My ipod also has a bead stuck on the jock, it has been there for almost two years. I've tried everything but it wouldn't come out, I only did worse because the bead got too stuck.

A steady hand, a cocktail stick with the pointy bit sliced off, a small glob of contact adhesive, the type that needs to cure for a few minutes to get really tacky. Evostick is a common brand.

Use the flat end of the cocktail stick to apply a really thin/small amount to the bead, don't wipe the stick afterwards as you will need both surfaces to be tacky. Make sure you leave the machine in the same orientation as when you applied the sticky stuff to the bead. After 10 minutes or so use the tacky end of the stick to make contact with the tacky spot you made on the bead. Pull gently and it should come out, if it doesn't then try again until it does.

Some people use to recommend superglue but this is just too runny if you use too much or have unsteady hands, as you have to hold it in place until it sets. Contact adhesive is far better for this job as it is a lot easier to apply and does not need you to hold it in place until it sets.

Hope that helps.

Jerry

These bothersome little creatures!

I just wanted to let those of you who have had this problem with Ipods know that there is a relatively quick solution. It's a little rough, but has worked flawlessly for me twice now. You need to straighten out a paperclip, and then heedless of whether or not the bead get pushed down as far as it will go, chip away at it with the instrument. After about ten minutes of chipping which is just a matter of making small movements with the paperclip, try tapping the Ipod on a table lengthwise with the hole down. Keep doing this until it comes out! It really seems like you're not making progress, but if the pod's important to you then I suggest this with aplomb... Good luck!

I tried this as well and if you're careful and slow enough it works perfectly. Just keep drilling a little to wear away the bead, blow out the resulting dust, and test with a headphone jack. Keep going until you're done.

Had the same problem. I really didn't want to use glue.

I used the sharp point on a compass and the bead immediately shattered. I blew outctge shards with compressed air and it worked perfectly again.

Try a cocktail stirrer or tooth pick with a sliver of masking tape wrapped around the end. Option two, use a vacuum cleaner.

Ciao.

A jewler is a possibility, but may not be happy about it if he thinks there is liability if there is damage...but at least they do have loupes to see better with and fine tools.

Hi,

This just happened to me ! The silica pouch broke in my backpack and a bead got jammed into the headphone jack of my MacBook. Anyone have success in getting it out ?

Bill