iPhone 4 bursts into flames, burns hand

Boy Genius Report ^ | 07/08/10

[driftdiver]

Wow, I wonder if they’ll waive the restocking fee for this one.

[driftdiver]

So will there be a software change to properly reflect the real flame level from 4 bars to 1 bar?

[Mind-numbed Robot]

He was charging it wrong. /s

:-)

I'll bet they accidentally touched the antenna.

[corkoman]

very very cleva

Dia Gut!

[freekitty]

It makes you wonder how much anyone test a new product before they send it out for sale.

[barb-tex]

Remember the 9500(?) Powerbook, which could be used as an IED.
barbra ann

[KarlInOhio]

It looks like the USB connector was damaged more than the iPhone. I would check the current limiting circuit on the computer it was connected to and whether some pins were shorted out on the connector.

[o2bfree]

The owner must have been a Democrat... only a Liberal would be so stupid to make a call with a smoking cell phone!

[TheBattman]

I wonder if it is the cable or the phone... Not that it matters if both were “Apple” supplied. Either way, fried phone and hand.

That being said - I am curious as to how it “burst into flames” with the relatively low power that goes through that cable. I would expect Apple to fully investigate this. The kind of heat it takes to melt/set ablaze those materials would have been noticeable and not an “all-at-once” kind of thing. Just not enough “juice” flows to cause an immediate burst into flames. The USB port just doesn’t have the power to jump that kind of heat, even if there was a direct short (which would likely have damaged the computer and/or USB port.

[tacticalogic]

That being said - I am curious as to how it “burst into flames” with the relatively low power that goes through that cable.

Just speculation, but I suspect the problem was in the cable, and most of the current was coming from the partially charged battery, rather then from the USB port of the computer.

[GreenLanternCorps]

Never watch this movie on an iPhone 4:

[dfwgator]

[GreenLanternCorps]

This is a better app:

[GreenLanternCorps]

Wow, that is just creepy.

That look on her face...

[GreenLanternCorps]

Wow, I wonder if they’ll waive the restocking fee for this one.

No, the package is clearly open...

[The Great RJ]

The latest I-phone aps:

Fire Alarm...this ap automatically calls 911 and gives the fire department the phone's GPS coordinates when the its temperature reaches critical levels.

Hot Line ...this ap gives the location of the nearest product liability lawyer

[dfwgator]

The picture was actually staged, the burning house was an abandoned house used by the local fire department for training purposes, a couple kids had gathered to watch the fire fighters when somebody with a camera got the idea to take a picture of the girl.

[grey_whiskers]

So will there be a software change to properly reflect the real flame level from 4 bars to 1 bar?

Not likely on *these* threads...

Cheers!

[TXnMA]

I have done hundreds of hours of small and micro-scale failure analysis on electronic devices.

The first thing I would look at in this case is the USB cable connector. A problem inside the phone most likely would have caused far more damage to the phone itself -- and wouldn't have extended melting/charring as far as we can see back up the cable.

First guess: bad cable...

[TXnMA]

#39 courtesy ping to the thread originator