Co Workers iPhone 4 blew up today...

[TexasRangerFan]

Right as I walked in the building this morning I smelled smoke, and my co worker told me to come check this out.

He said he was holding his phone this morning and it started getting really hot. He said that as he was walking out of his office it started smoking and became so hot he couldn't hold it, and dropped it where these pictures were taken.

He said the phone had visible flames come out of it and it popped the case open as seen in the photos.

Pretty crazy. Phone is a 16gb iPhone 4 on ATT, probably two years old.

Any ideas on why it would randomly do this?

 

[dontwalkhand]

Even if its out of warranty, definitely take it to Apple.

 

[robanga]

Very occasionally Lithium batteries will cook off for no apparent reason. Electrically there is a failure that occurs and the built safety mechanisms don't stop it. Its happened on a few planes, where you can imagine it is a bit more frightening.

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Even if its out of warranty, definitely take it to Apple.

Indeed they will probably give him an iPhone 5 to replace it.

 

[frayne182]

lol nice. Good story to tell.


One time my computer monitor died at work and started smoking and caught on fire.

Good thing I was at work........ Or was it?

 

[Arnezie]

Yea good thing he dropped it when he did could have been a bad hair day

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Good thing it wasn't on an airplane, in flight!

 

[tigres]

That's on hot phone...

Crazy

 

[bad03xtreme]

Should have left it in his pants for lawsuit purposes... j/k

 

[richmds]

That usually happens after he decides to accept the mission.

 

[Sheik Yiboudi]

Looks like a thermal runaway of the battery. The best way to put this out is pour water on the device. Do NOT use ice as ice acts as an insulator and the runaway will continue.

Contact Apple. They will want to know about any thermal runaway incidents and will probably also want the phone in question and may be willing to provide a free device to make that happen.

 

[TexasRangerFan]

No Apple store relatively close..Closest one is about an 2 hours away. He is going by the AT&T store but I doubt they will do anything. I told him to call Apple too though. I have a few more pics that I will upload soon.

 

[sou1 so1di3r]

No Apple store relatively close..Closest one is about an 2 hours away. He is going by the AT&T store but I doubt they will do anything. I told him to call Apple too though. I have a few more pics that I will upload soon.

definatley call apple

 

[rmatthewware]

That's why you don't jailbrake your phone

 

[pmau]

Reminds me of the China Syndrome.

Good that it did not melt through the floor to come out on the other side ... at foxcon.

 

[iParis]

As far as I can tell, I've only heard of iPhone 4s doing this. Hopefully he gets something else when he takes it to Apple! Err, he better at least take it to them, nothing to lose, much to gain!

 

[vastoholic]

Definitely call Apple to at least advise them of that. That is freaking crazy! Had he been playing with any ouija boards lately that might cause the phone to be possessed?

 

[willmtaylor]

That's what he gets for not forwarding that e-mail! It warned him that if he didn't post it on 10 of his friends' Facebook pages that something bad would happen. Where there ya go!

 

[darster]

The iPhone 4's are set to self destruct 2 weeks after release of iphone 5. Steve's last parting gift.

 

[CatsTide]

Good thing it wasn't on an airplane, in flight!

True...He probably would have been drug off the plane in hand cuffs.

 

[jtp098]

True...He probably would have been drug off the plane in hand cuffs.

that would have been so bad. you get put on the no fly list and all till it is cleared up that is was apple's fault


Defiantly call apple they will maybe give him the 5 for free..

 

[astral125]

Last time this happened on a plane it was because of a loose screw inside the iPhone. Everyone immediately blames Apple, but in that case it was an unauthorized repair shop that had worked on the phone. I'm not saying that happened here, but none of us know where that phone has been.

 

[TexasRangerFan]

As far as I know it hasn't been repaired in any way prior to this, and wasn't jailbroken. Will check with him though.

 

[VulchR]

We used to have Dell laptops and every so often one of them would start smoking and sizzling. However this looks bad, although I am surprised that so much of the floor is scorched - heat rises.....

 

[GoCubsGo]

You really want to deal directly with Apple on this one, they'll make it right.

 

[TexasRangerFan]

We used to have Dell laptops and every so often one of them would start smoking and sizzling. However this looks bad, although I am surprised that so much of the floor is scorched - heat rises.....

It wasn't so much scorched, more like ash or powder expelled from the phone when it was on fire. It mopped up pretty easy.