phantom power destroys Force's built-in audio interface?

Maybe I've been living under a rock, but while doomscrolling the Force group on Facebook today I saw a post about the phantom power switch being capable of destroying the built-in soundcard in the Force.

I was Googling for more info on what conditions cause this to happen, but wasn't having much luck. It seems that it may have something to do with turning phantom power on while hot-plugging an XLR jack.

Does anybody have the definitive answers on:

(a) what NOT to do in order to avoid damaging your Force when turning on phantom power, and

(b) what the procedure is to safely use phantom power on the Force?

misterflibble wrote:Maybe I've been living under a rock, but while doomscrolling the Force group on Facebook today I saw a post about the phantom power switch being capable of destroying the built-in soundcard in the Force.

I was Googling for more info on what conditions cause this to happen, but wasn't having much luck. It seems that it may have something to do with turning phantom power on while hot-plugging an XLR jack.

Does anybody have the definitive answers on:

(a) what NOT to do in order to avoid damaging your Force when turning on phantom power, and

(b) what the procedure is to safely use phantom power on the Force?

Simply put: this is not a thing. A handful of users (out of tens of thousands) maybe had an issue with their units, but it's not a normal issue. They likely had bad units.

For the record, I've been hot-plugging my Force with phantom power on and off and have had zero issues.

Hi.
I just destroyed my soundcard exactly like this. Plugging xlr cable and turned on phantom power. Now I am Out of warranty since 2 months....
Anyone know if akai gonna give help with that or know what I can do? Its annoying soundcard is **** from a problem that should not exist....just after warranty gone....wtf.
Please if someone had the issue and knows a solution I would be more than thankfull.
Cheerz

Fuchur wrote:Hi.
I just destroyed my soundcard exactly like this. Plugging xlr cable and turned on phantom power. Now I am Out of warranty since 2 months....
Anyone know if akai gonna give help with that or know what I can do? Its annoying soundcard is **** from a problem that should not exist....just after warranty gone....wtf.
Please if someone had the issue and knows a solution I would be more than thankfull.
Cheerz

Your solution is to pay to have it fixed through an authorized dealer. There’s no magical fix for hardware failure, I’m afraid.

Not the most s3xy answer but an external soundcard should work.

Fuchur wrote:Hi.
I just destroyed my soundcard exactly like this. Plugging xlr cable and turned on phantom power. Now I am Out of warranty since 2 months....
Anyone know if akai gonna give help with that or know what I can do? Its annoying soundcard is **** from a problem that should not exist....just after warranty gone....wtf.
Please if someone had the issue and knows a solution I would be more than thankfull.
Cheerz

Sorry man, I’m really sorry to hear that you’re dealing with that.

So is there actually a “known safe” way to use the phantom power and XLR on a Force? Do you have to totally power down the Force and make all the connections and configure the switches on the back of the unit before powering it on?

EnochLight wrote:

misterflibble wrote:Maybe I've been living under a rock, but while doomscrolling the Force group on Facebook today I saw a post about the phantom power switch being capable of destroying the built-in soundcard in the Force.

I was Googling for more info on what conditions cause this to happen, but wasn't having much luck. It seems that it may have something to do with turning phantom power on while hot-plugging an XLR jack.

Does anybody have the definitive answers on:

(a) what NOT to do in order to avoid damaging your Force when turning on phantom power, and

(b) what the procedure is to safely use phantom power on the Force?

Simply put: this is not a thing. A handful of users (out of tens of thousands) maybe had an issue with their units, but it's not a normal issue. They likely had bad units.

For the record, I've been hot-plugging my Force with phantom power on and off and have had zero issues.

Can you tell me what the source is for your numbers? Or are you speculating based on what you’ve seen yourself?