14 DAY TRIAL // A Beijing resident surnamed Ma says his iPhone exploded on a nightstand while it was in standby, without any accessories connected to it. He doesn’t want any compensation from Apple, but he wants an explanation as to why the incident occurred.
The owner admitted his iPhone was pretty old, which probably means it was also kind of beat up. A 3GS model, the four-year old device was reportedly sitting in standby on a nightstand when it suddenly blew up, with the broken pieces “still warm” when he touched them.
Ma learned from an Apple support employee that the most likely cause for the explosion was the phone’s aging battery. The staffer enumerated some potential factors, including abnormal temperature or humidity.
The phone had not been in use for years, but Ma said he recently started using it again for work-related reasons.
The Apple employee also said, “[the battery] may not have fitted the battery compartment well.”
Apple's customer service told Ma they’d be happy to have a look at the phone and confirm the cause of the explosion, but only if he could produce a relevant receipt and all components.
“Another Apple store said that if Ma was using an original battery, the most likely cause was the aging battery since he bought the phone four years ago,” reports China Economic Net, citing the Beijing Morning Post.
This is just one of many such reported incidents, all involving a faulty battery that exploded / swelled up / caught fire. One Chinese iPhone owner, strangely also named “Ma” (but female) died a few months ago after being shocked by her iPhone 4. The cause of death was ruled a knockoff charger.
This doesn’t mean iPhones are to be avoided, as handsets sold by other vendors also exhibit such behavior.