When the new Nexus devices, the Nexus 6P and the Nexus 5X, were announced, Android users were very excited. Not only were these devices supposed to give the best Android experience of any smartphone, they also shored up what was traditionally every Nexus device’s weakness: the camera. Even more excited than others were the fans of Google‘s old Nexus 5 because they finally had an upgrade to their beloved 4.95-inch phone.
Well, that was until it melted in one of their pockets.
User AFChimpanse took to the /r/Android forums yesterday and shared a story about how his/her brand new Nexus 5X had a meltdown, literally. According to the OP (original poster), the device was sitting in his/her pocket when suddenly it started heating up. When the OP took it out, it continued to heat up and started producing a “low frizzling sound” releasing an “extremely toxic smell”. The smartphone eventually got too hot to hold in the hand and the OP had to put it down.
When (we’re assuming the frizzling had died down) the device was picked up again, the user noticed that a portion of the back cover to the right of the LG logo had melted inwards. User DarcyFitz and GlassHalfFull pointed out that it should be a battery issue judging from the location of the melted bit relative to the device’s internals identified by iFixit’s teardown photo:
According to AFChimpanse, the device was only 11 days old and had never been plugged into a third-party charger before. So I guess we can rule out faulty cables as a cause.
While there is nothing official to validate the user’s claims, this isn’t the first time a smartphone has exploded, as there have been cases where this OnePlus One and this Samsung Galaxy S3 (though this was because of a counterfeit battery) suffered a similar fate. Most smartphone batteries are filled with chemicals that could potentially be triggered if it endures excessive force or physical trauma, as can be seen in this video by TechRax below:
Although you might not be taking a hammer to your device, there is a chance that these devices may come in contact some unfavourable conditions which may cause undesired reactions. Unfortunately, when it comes to phones you stop drop and roll so if your phone is getting a little hotter than usual, our suggestion would be to take it out of your pocket immediately. We don’t think this is the type of explosion you’d want in your pants.
As you know, the Nexus 5X isn’t officially available in Malaysia, but you can get it through DirectD. If you own a Nexus 5X yourself, do drop us a comment if you’ve experienced any overheating issues or if you think your device smells funny.
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