@haeckerfelix I love ESD and other EM weirdness... People underestimate what a wild zoo their homes can be. I have these bluetooth headphones that somehow pick up everything, turning things on and off always gives me some static... and I remember I had an old FM radio that was able to notice all kinds of weird shit too.

@haeckerfelix How do you thread a post? The post even has a banner: “THREAD”… I am going to check and see if I can just reply to myself and get a ‘thread’

@haeckerfelix I know you know this already... but this is *excellent* problem solving.

My favorite new mystery series via @haeckerfelix !

@haeckerfelix Happens with my SecretLab chair all the time. Goes away for a while if I spray the chair with Febreze.

@haeckerfelix This is why we test all aircraft components and assemblies and the integrated whole like crazy for electromagnetic effects. Crazy unexpected effects among unrelated components if you don't control it. We try to avoid some situation like "This is the captain speaking. We've turned off the fasten seatbelt light and would like you all to stand up for the remainder of the journey so that the flight computer will stop cutting out."

@haeckerfelix I have this *exact same problem with my Markus chair. For some time I had a heavy stranded copper wire connected to it that ran direct to my basement copper water supply pipe as ground. I also changed from a glass mat to a plastic mat and then to a 4x4ft OSB board underneath. Still didn't solve it completely. I have since changed to the Ikea JÄRVFJÄLLET chair and it happens much less frequently.

@haeckerfelix as someone who had to ground a chair that doubled as a supercap, i feel your pain! (no display issues though, i was just afraid to handle vintage chips when sitting on it)

@haeckerfelix I have the same problem! Was thinking it was monitor-related since it was happening with two different computers. Thank you so much for posting!

I can't check it right now, but I'll see whether that makes a difference as soon as I can.

#Ikea #Monitor #Graphics #ComputerTrouble

@haeckerfelix @chendo 10/10. Love the chair-screen posts.

@haeckerfelix Solution: Baby terry mattress cover, works perfekt for me.

@haeckerfelix

We used to do the fabric softener and water spray in the studio for static, might be easier than a big grounding cable.

@haeckerfelix Reminds of Cafe Simulator :blobCat_corrupted_joy:

@haeckerfelix
Time to update the PEBKAC acronym

@haeckerfelix you can find an article on the website of the DisplayLink organisation about this issue (which is not related only to the IKEA chair) :

https://support.displaylink.com/knowledgebase/articles/738618-display-intermittently-blanking-flickering-or-los

@haeckerfelix and while you are at it, check your clothes: https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/28/on_call

@haeckerfelix o_O

@haeckerfelix Woah! I encountered similar issues with my (non-IKEA) chair and screen. It briefly turns off when I get up from my chair, but not when I do any other movements in front of it. It's very reproducible and totally weird. This might be the cause for it. Thank you for this thread!

@haeckerfelix huh, thought I'm the only one. For me it's putting the DECT phone back in it's charger or operating the light switch in the room.

Last week I did put my mobile phone under one and it started drawing "scanlines" until I set the phone to plane mode o0

Super sensitive tech apparently. Some are connected via DP. Some are HDMI. Doesn't matter 🤷

No idea about the chair. It's also Ikea but the gas suspension gave up already and I'm still building courage buying a new one 😜

@haeckerfelix I think I got a screen gifted to me thanks to this.
Someone claimed that this screen wouldn't be working correctly anymore and I said I'll take it
Works perfectly fine for me!
They have such an IKEA chair :D

Broke student is thankful!

@haeckerfelix wait i‘m not the only one with this Problem 😂😂

@haeckerfelix I have a flintan chair that regularly discharges when I use it.

@haeckerfelix I'm sorry that it's causing issues but also, this is absolutely hilarious.
Which screen do you have?

@haeckerfelix I remember JayzTwoCents having the same issue.

They discovered that because they live in a dry environment it causes static electricity buildup which was knocking out their monitors when they sat at the desk.

@haeckerfelix I got the Dell XPS 15 some years ago, and it had random BSODs relating to the wifi driver.

There was no system to it, but it only happened in our living room, never at the office.

After much sleuthing I figured it out: every time I was in the living room, and my wife used the microwave, it had a BSOD.

It was 100% reproducible.

I switched to an Intel card and all problems were gone.

@haeckerfelix My Herman Miller chair doesn't turn off the screen, just Spotify.

@haeckerfelix Yup, can confirm same issue with Ikea Hattefjäll. Workaround: hold the chair with one hand on the side every time you move. You get a nice electric shock every time but the screen stays on.

@haeckerfelix @heinragas This reminds me of a classic story where someone’s password was rejected when he was sitting down, but accepted when he typed it standing up.

It appeared that two keyboard caps were swapped. Sitting down he typed blind, standing up he peeked at the keyboard…

@haeckerfelix Wow, Nice detective work. 🕵️ 👏🏼
I had similar black screens on my laptop, and they told me this was a known issue for this series. I wish I knew your story then, would have tried to test that theory. 🔍

@haeckerfelix Same problem here with Acer external monitor plugged in via HDMI to a Toshiba laptop. IKEA Markus chair.

External monitor blinks off for about 5 seconds. Laptop's internal monitor is not affected. Happens every few days but not particularly associated with standing up or sitting down. Will try to observe how I'm sitting when it happens.

@haeckerfelix EEVBlog covered this effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-V_Z3bD_PA

@haeckerfelix Incredible… For some time, my screen at work has been going off for few seconds. Although we do not have IKEA chairs, this may be a very good explanation! I do have an IKEA chair at Home, and still haven’t suffered this problem. Maybe it is better suited for the job as it is marketed as a “gaming” chair, whatever they mean with it? (Model is MATCHSPEL). Thanks for sharing!

@haeckerfelix Yesterday, I build such a chair…today I saw this toot and 5min ago I opened my laptop (T530) and blackscreen, I had to reboot. Well…coincidence?

@haeckerfelix my head exploded when reading your toot. Because the same thing happen to me. Not an ikea chair, and only happened since I got my new ultrawide screen months ago. I was like "This should be a problem with a cable" but couldn't find anything... and stopped looking for a reason... "ok, nevermind"

I didn't even think someone else could have the problem :D

Thanks for the explanation, and the "it blew my mind" moment I had while reading your first message, like "WHAAAAAAT" :D

@haeckerfelix We had that once in the office (~10y ago) - one office chair and one specific monitor and only if you sat down with a lot of force. But yeah, since then I know that's a thing :P

@haeckerfelix @olasd I've been seeing this at home as well; moving from a Dell laptop, its dockstation, and DisplayPort to a different brand/model, without dockstation, and HDMI (with the same screen as before). With an X-chair by Milani.

@haeckerfelix maybe some kind of floor protection mat helps? IKEA is selling them too. 😈

@haeckerfelix it’s known, but not widely known. Most people don’t make the connection from the bug to a non-computer-related physical issue :-) https://superuser.com/questions/1406140/monitor-screen-that-blanks-due-to-static-electricity-in-my-chair#1406142

@haeckerfelix This reminds me of one of my better "I was a fool" stories which you might find amusing.
One day at work back before flat-screens my monitor kept making a zapping noise and briefly going blank. I filed a ticket asking for someone to look at it, then I had to add a sheepish comment admitting I'd realized why it was happening: I'd put my boots on top of the monitor to warm up and the snow on them was melting and dripping onto the capacitor.
The fix: paper towel under the boots.

@haeckerfelix this is funny, I remember reading troubleshooting horror stories from as far back as the 90s tracking down this exact problem in different situations

@haeckerfelix not the first time I hear something like this

I think it's the gas piston that generates the EMP.

@haeckerfelix Good work teasing out the details, and thanks for sharing!

I've got a similar issue with my non-Ikea chair. However, it only really happens when there's really low humidity. I'm in a place with cold, dry winters so a little humidifier solves this (and several other) problem almost entirely for the ~six months a year it's a real problem.

@haeckerfelix I had the same problem (cheap chair but not Ikea). After some googling, I tried spraying the chair and floor mat with a mix of fabric softener and water once every couple of weeks. Problem went away.

@haeckerfelix Haha, wow!

@haeckerfelix interesting... Got another chair at work and from time to time one of the dual monitors blinks black, now I have to check the chair! WTF

@haeckerfelix
Good to know I also having same issues with esd discharge on a diffrent not IKEA chair. I can hear the esd shock. Funnely out of 3 mlnitors. Only one is effected. I will probonly just ground it.

If it is the fabric I guess I can swap it out, but a lot of work. Think just adding a cable good enouth

@haeckerfelix I have Ikea chair and my monitor flipped on and off some time ago 😳

@haeckerfelix OMG I don't have an IKEA chair but do have a monitor that sometimes goes black. I blamed my $70 KVM switch or the 9-in-1 Anker USB-C hub.

@haeckerfelix Not IKEA, but we dealt with this with this exact scenario a few years ago with one individual and... it was mind boggling.

@haeckerfelix this is another reminder that IKEA is Swedish for HELL

@haeckerfelix I don't have that specific chair but I've had that same issue before, it didn't take me long to figure out it's a problem with static electricity though because I always get zapped when I touch metal after getting up from chairs/couches (I joking call this the curse of Nikola Tesla).
It happens so much that I have a rule/ritual: always touch metal while getting up from a seat (not after!), this way the charge didn't build up in the first place!

@haeckerfelix I’ve been having this issue! I finally have an explanation. 🥳

@haeckerfelix
Could it explain an electric desk. The electrician came to replace the control ventilation, the tester light up when in contact with the table (fake wood from Ikea)

@haeckerfelix my non ikea office chair does that sometimes too.

@haeckerfelix @foosel Reminds me of the RasPi 2 xenon flash reboot. https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/xenon-death-flash-a-free-physics-lesson/

@haeckerfelix @siracusa I had this problem with my Secret Labs chair. I made a video about it: https://youtu.be/7HSaJ05oGvA

Not only was it interfering with various devices, but it was also hurting me.

I fixed it with a leather(faux, I think) seat cover from an auto parts store.

@haeckerfelix might be more practical to shield the monitor, since having a tethered rolling chair kind of sucks. But that ESD can be hitting all your other electronics too

@haeckerfelix @siracusa they do make ESD-safe chairs that we always use in our electronics labs, so I guess they actually do something!

@haeckerfelix Wow, that's wild!

Would a humidifier in the space help? I live in a super dry area and haven't heard of this, but it makes sense given the materials and constant rolling.

@haeckerfelix makes me nostalgic for the “Internet of Shit” account I used to follow on twitter.

@haeckerfelix I was aware of the problem, found it at my office chair at work and showed a coworker already. Other chair manufacturer. Connection dont remember, either HDMI oder DVI-bss

@haeckerfelix HA! Your screen blackout saga resonates with me because my keyboard completely locks up, requiring a replugging, thanks to the same exact IKEA chair!

It's a Drop CTRL mechanical keyboard that I believe is known for being a bit sensitive to static electricity. I've been contemplating replacing the keyboard for a while, but now I'm wondering if I should replace the chair instead. Hmm...

@haeckerfelix :ohgod_ohfuck:

@haeckerfelix crazy!!

@haeckerfelix

https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/28/on_call/

@haeckerfelix Yo' Momma so fat, she sets off an electromagnetic pulse every time she sits down.

@haeckerfelix So *that’s* what’s been messing with my DisplayPort monitor! Thank you for posting this; I thought the power supply was going bad after leaving it in sleep mode for an extended period. Time to ground my computer chair…

@haeckerfelix this... Wow. I should check this for my USB-c monitor, which randomly goes black for half a second seemingly at random...

@haeckerfelix Same chair and regular disconnects of USB devices when standing up 🤷‍♂️

@haeckerfelix

Now I'm wondering if my chair is the reason one of my monitors sometimes goes black for a couple seconds... :ablobgrimace:

@haeckerfelix I....what....??..

The Future Is Stupid.

@haeckerfelix this might be the first case of PEBKAC thats not the user's fault

@haeckerfelix this is wild. I got rod of a Samsung ultra wide because it would shut off randomly. My wife took it to her office and it has zero problems. Now I need to take my chair into her office and test lol

@haeckerfelix Once I also had problem with my computer turning off when I got up to get a drink. I thought it was random for a while, then I noticed the pattern of finding a dead computer when I got back from getting a drink.

The extra force of standing was enough to move the floor a little in our old building, and that moved the desk and power supply a little... enough to trigger a short.

Replacing the power supply solved the problem deadly water breaks.

@haeckerfelix
late 90’s i had a Mac that would get stuck on boot up while the extensions were loading. after a bunch of investigating and see what was wrong I discovered that if i moved the mouse around during boot up there was no problem. never did figure out how or why but it worked so…

@haeckerfelix https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/28/on_call/

You have a chair, the writer here had a hair(y) jumper 😂

@haeckerfelix this is like a much more absurd version of the time i noticed my old phone was blinking infrared light all over the place for no reason and the remote sensor for my preamp from the 80s would catch it and turn on and off

@haeckerfelix Crazy! I have this same problem with an Office Depot chair I've had for years. In my case, it's pretty rare, maybe once every couple weeks, but it is when I sit down hard on the chair.

@haeckerfelix - same here. Markus on a PVC carpet protector mat, typically wearing isolating Birkenstocks. Gives me loads of little shocks when I get up. I've noticed that stretchier pants are worse than all-cotton.
Ended up buying another 4K monitor to solve it - now I have two :-] and I believe a solution to the issue...

@haeckerfelix I've been having a similar issue and i'm not bothered enough to do anything about it, so i hope it's not damaging to the hardware. It's probably a good end though, because i thought that some of my computer components were dying.

@haeckerfelix cool story. Never thought that a chair can turn off a computer by ESD.

@haeckerfelix Lighters are another ESD source that are known to cause some monitors to malfunction

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ia1mli/i_was_lighting_a_candle_and_my_lighter_turns_off/

@haeckerfelix OMG, I don't have this chair in particular but ever since I've built my new pc i've had random usb disconnects, mostly my microphone or my DAC and it only happened when I got up or sat back down. I've tried everything, even replaced the motherboard. I've now just realized that it's the static discharge from the chair. Thank you so much. It was driving me insane. I've found a way for my chair to ground it, i can't wait to test it out.

@haeckerfelix Have legit had this problem for years

@haeckerfelix

Please don't make this go viral. If IKEA "fix" this bug, I would need to buy both a chair *and* a screen protector going forward. Look, my setup works for me, I shan't be pressured by Big Chair into buying both!

https://xkcd.com/1172/ #xkcd

@haeckerfelix

^ This IKEA thread reminds me of this classic Mr Bean episode 😅

https://youtu.be/1FhhhFEfuaE?t=4m #mrbean

@haeckerfelix Thank you for sharing this! We've had so many problems with screens at the office. We've changed cables, docking stations and screens in some cases. But no one expected that it could be the chair. Almost everyone has this chair. For now...

@haeckerfelix this is wild.

@haeckerfelix Might this be somewhat mitigated by raising the relative humidity in your home?

@haeckerfelix Problem Is Chair Not In Computer (PICNIC)

@haeckerfelix Okay … so I can tell that Markus is compatible with the Samsung SyncMaster 2443BW, as I never had that problem. 🤓