iPhone Catches Fire, Explodes Inside Man's Pocket

An Ohio man is exploring legal options against Apple after his three-week-old iPhone XS Max exploded in his pants pocket. Though the incident took place on Dec.12, it came to light Friday, after the company refused to repair the device for free.

Josh Hillard, the owner, said that while having lunch, he noticed a strange smell from his rear pant pocket. He then felt a “large amount of heat” and burning sensation. He noticed “green and yellow smoke” coming from his iPhone XS Max. This resulted in him suffering significant burns on his skin.

Explaining the incident to IDrop News, Hillard said, “Left no other option, I had to exit the room since there was a female in the break room with me and remove my pants. I ran to the boardroom where I got my shoes and pants off as fast as possible. A VP of our company put the fire out with a fire extinguisher because he heard me yelling.”

“Once the phone was extinguished, I was left with a hole in my pants, fire extinguisher on my pants/shoes, and some pain/irritation in my buttocks region where the pocket of my pants was located,” he added.

Hillard further stated, “From the time of first noticing the fire and between removal of the pants and taking the phone out of my pocket and placing it outside, I inhaled A LOT of smoke. Later in the day, the team told me about the video that the office security camera captured.”

He then went to an Apple store where he was left dissatisfied by the representative’s inability to address the issue or offer a new phone on the spot.

“I went directly to the Apple Store with the burned/melted remains of the phone, case, and plastic screen protector. Once in the Apple Store, I went to the back and asked for a manager. I explained my story and the leader, she said that she would send a senior tech. I told her that I expected a call from customer relations and there was nothing that a tech could tell me about the melted phone. After spending about 20 minutes with an employee and answering questions, she removed the SIM card in effort to pull up my profile but it was melted,” he said.

“The employee told me that she had to call the safety team and took the phone to a back room and did not return or update me on the status of my problem for about 40 minutes. After receiving this cold treatment with zero engagement from the team while waiting, I found a manager to locate the employee with my phone. The employee resurfaced with the phone already packaged and told me that they were going to send it back to the engineering team. The manager then came up to me and said that this is the only way that I could receive a replacement phone,” he added.

He was then told that nothing could be done in the store. He went back home and called the Apple Care line. He gave all the information about the phone, incident, location to a senior specialist after which he was sent a mail stating that he had to send photos of the phone, his clothes, and if there was any injury.

“I stated that I would send pictures of the damaged phone and clothes, but that even if there had been a visible injury I would not be comfortable sending pictures of such sensitive regions of my body,” he said.

The following day a supervisor looked into the file and offered a new phone.

Hillard said that getting a new phone isn’t a solution for the situation and that he is also seeking restitution for the clothes and shoes ruined in the incident. He said he is exploring legal options against the company and that he has lost trust in the company.