iPhone 5s just caught on fire

[TehFalcon]

Is this store in the united States or somewhere in West Virginia?

Its in Colorado, USA.

 

[Gwcheney]

Just wondering.... What was the first name of the apple advisor you talked too... Or your mom talked too?

 

[Troneas]

lol this thread is epic.


are people still investigating the OPs claim?

 

[arian19]

I don't think I verbally assaulted anyone. And I don't work for Apple or their legal team. I was stating that what I think he is doing is actionable if his story is proven false. The only "impossible scenario" is the one the OP has presented. Here are some observations that substantiate my theory, minus the *magic.*

The display was not "ripped off." The pentalobe screws on either side of the lightning port were removed with a pentalobe screwdriver, that the OP admitted to purchasing, even though he had "no reason" to open his phone. If they "snapped off" as the OP claimed, they would still be inside the phone. They were not, in the photographs.

After removing the display, the ribbon cables underneath are attached to the logic board. The connection points are protected under an EMI shield that is held in place by four screws. If the display were ripped off, it would indeed tear the ribbon cables off as the OP claimed after being questioned about it. However, those cables would not be laying freely as pictured in the follow up post. They would still be attached under the EMI shield. The shield and its four screws were removed with a screwdriver. It could not be removed by force without damaging the surrounding elements of the logic board. It is important to note that in the photographs, the EMI shield and cables are not present when the device is smoking.

Also shown in the photographs, the battery ribbon cable is disconnected. This cable is also located underneath a second EMI shield, held in place by two more screws. It cannot even be suggested that this shield was "ripped off" because the battery was not removed and the ribbon cable is undamaged. This piece was also intentionally removed.

For those unfamiliar with dismantling an iPhone 5/5S, the process would be to remove the two pentalobe screws as Ive described. Remove the display as Ive described. Remove the first EMI shields, then unplug the ribbon connectors, as Ive described. The next step is to remove the battery. That would involve removing the second EMI shield, unplugging the battery cable (again as Ive described above) and THEN PULLING THE BATTERY UP FROM THE ADHESIVE IN THE CASING. This step is very dangerous if done improperly. If one is not aware of the danger of lithium batteries, they may try to use the screwdriver they've been using up to this point to wedge underneath the battery and pry it upward. This can result in the sharp metal end puncturing the underside of the battery. Puncturing a lithium-ion battery will cause a chemical reaction that results in bulging and possibly fire.

It is my theory that "ripping off" the display and leaving the phone in its pictured condition is physically impossible. Taking the time to remove 10 screws, 2 EMI shields and disconnecting 4 ribbon cables during a battery fire is also highly improbable. It is also not the version of events being alleged by the OP. You can agree or disagree but I believe the phone was intentionally being taken apart for one reason or another, the battery was inadvertently punctured and a story was fabricated (including the damage done to the display and ribbon cables AFTER the incident) that would lead to the OP getting a replacement phone from Apple, which he received. You don't have to believe me, but that is what the pictures tell me. If anyone has any technical or factual information to dispute my claim, I'm all ears, but the fact remains that ripping the display off would've caused damage inconsistent with what we're seeing in the photographs. Either way, OP got a new phone and I doubt we'll ever know the findings of Apples internal investigation of the matter.

But there is a flaw in your story... why would he need to replace a less than 6 month old iPhone 5S battery? It wouldn't need replacing at this stage...

on top of that, if i saw my phone smoking, my first instinct would be to try and remove the battery ASAP.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

I've seen posts before of such a thing, usually the glass breaks or something. If you google 'phone exploded battery' you'll find some pretty ugly pictures including a few iphones.

Surprisingly, the iphones usually break where the screen pops off on one side and the battery spews out that side lol. Some of the non-apple phones in there have some really nasty looking results where the battery busted a hole in the middle of the plastic.

Ouch!

Glad to see things worked out well for the OP, I was thinking Apple would probably blow him off seeing his reaction was to unplug the battery and disassemble the phone given the chance. That's fast thinking, and pretty gutsy lol. If my phone was acting like that I'd either throw it in the sink and call the fire department or run outside.

That said, I wish batteries were still easily removable. You'd be able to stop an out of control battery instead of just sitting there watching it blow up.

Lol same here

 

[869639]

Owner of that particular Apple Store, maybe Owner isn't the right word... I'm not sure. His Mom is the one that opened up and runs that particular store for Apple.
Yes, this is an actual Apple Store.

What on this planet are you smoking? Apple does not Franchise its stores....they are owned by Apple and Apple only....now I'm 100% convinced with my claims against this entire situation.

If anyone's mom thats going to open up and run a apple store its going to be Apple's mom....and she doesn't exist

I highly doubt a "reseller" store is looking at your iPhone on behalf of Apple especially after you "spoke" to Apple via phone....

 

[TehFalcon]

What on this planet are you smoking? Apple does not Franchise its stores....they are owned by Apple and Apple only....now I'm 100% convinced with my claims against this entire situation.

If anyone's mom thats going to open up and run a apple store its going to be Apple's mom....and she doesn't exist

I highly doubt a "reseller" store is looking at your iPhone on behalf of Apple especially after you "spoke" to Apple via phone....

Couldn't care less what you think.

That is what the Apple Store's manager told me. Whether or not he was correct has nothing to do with anything.

No Reseller looked at the phone, it was the Apple Store. I took a picture while I was in there for proof earlier in the thread, keep quoting words like "spoke", it only makes you seem more ignorant. Dude i'm fixed up now, if you do or don't believe it happened then thats cool, I don't care, in the end it ended up well.

Maybe you should get off whatever YOU are smoking, stop playing detective, and step back and realize that this happens, and it happened as I said. I have no reason to lie, I had a perfectly working phone, still looked brand new, I had no reason to open it up, I didn't even get the screwdriver I ordered until the day AFTER the incident.

 

[Azzin]

Apple has a pretty outstanding reputation for customer satisfaction. I on the other hand would've told the OP to kick rocks, but I don't run a multi-billion dollar empire lol.

I can't imagine why.

 

[Infinus.gold]

My iPhone 5S has just caught fire while i was using it (not charging.)

Screen bulged up so I yanked it off, and disconnected the battery.

I have pictures.

No 3rd Party cables or anything. All stock.

Image

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1. contact S*mS*ng and tell them all, they will give you money and make new anti apple advertisement.

2. Contact your local/regional cable tv news. you will be on TV

3. Go to hospital & hire a sw*ne lawyer, he will help you milk large amount of money from Apple.
..
Luck has struck you.

 

[Brian Y]

Owner of that particular Apple Store, maybe Owner isn't the right word... I'm not sure. His Mom is the one that opened up and runs that particular store for Apple.
Yes, this is an actual Apple Store.

Apple stores don't have owners. Nor do they have people who "open them". They're not franchises...

Oh well, more holes. Glad you got your phone swapped. Moral of the story - be careful with screwdrivers in the future so you don't have to lie your way out of a sticky situation .

1. contact S*mS*ng and tell them all, they will give you money and make new anti apple advertisement.

2. Contact your local/regional cable tv news. you will be on TV

3. Go to hospital & hire a sw*ne lawyer, he will help you milk large amount of money from Apple.
..
Luck has struck you.

 

[sundog925]

This thread did nothing for my insomnia.
You conspiracy theorists crack me up.

 

[maflynn]

[MOD NOTE]
I think this thread has run its course.