The iPhone 5S may have some serious battery problems, if this latest report from 9to5 Mac is to be believed. The website received some photos and an accompanying story from one owner of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s latest flagship handset who says the battery inflated and then spontaneously burst into flames.
Today’s report comes just weeks after reports that a student’s iPhone 5C spontaneously caught fire in her pocket. And the fact that it comes with very detailed photos makes it look quite suspicious indeed.
iPhone 5S battery may be to blame
When the phone caught fire, it was reportedly not even plugged in. The person said he was using it to browse Facebook right before the battery began to overheat. The owner of the iPhone 5S said the battery initially started to inflate, pushing the top part of the screen up high enough so that the person “was able to grab ahold of it and rip it off from the bottom UP.” The person noted that the handset was getting extremely hot and said there was a malfunction in the battery.
The owner used a lot of force to rip the screen off, stripping the screws—a process that went on for approximately three minutes. During that time, the person said their home filled up with smoke. Since the iPhone 5S owner works on computers, they were able to remove the EMI shields while the handset was still smoking using a screwdriver. They wanted to disconnect the battery to remove it and take it outside.
Snapping photos for proof
The person said the iPhone 5S isn’t his main phone, which is a Moto X. He said the first thing he thought about when seeing the iPhone begin smoking was to grab his Moto X and snap photos to prove that his story is true. He noted the other reports of iPhone 5S fires and explosions recently, saying those stories are why he felt compelled to get proof.
