An Ohio man claims his iPhone XS Max exploded in his pocket, and that he may sue after Apple refused to replace the handset after he told them he wanted to keep the damaged device.
A man who wishes to be referred to as J. Hillard has reported to iDrop News that his three-week-old iPhone XS Max caught fire in his pants pocket. The incident reportedly took place on Wednesday, December 12, 2018, at 3:00 pm near Columbus, Ohio.
On Hillard’s lunch break, he noticed a strange smell coming from his phone which was located in a rear pant pocket. Hillard reports that he felt a “large amount of heat” as well as burning on his skin.
Hillard says green and yellow colored smoke began billowing from the iPhone.
“A VP of our company put the fire out with a fire extinguisher because he heard me yelling,” Hillard told iDrop News. “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.”
Hillard says he took the damaged device to an Apple Store, where a store employee offered him a replacement phone, but only if the store kept the destroyed unit. Hillard later contacted the AppleCare support line and after supplying photos of the damage, a safety department supervisor “essentially offered a new phone.”
Hillard isn’t happy with Apple’s response to the issue and says he also wants the Cupertino firm to reimburse him for his damaged pair of pants and also pay him for the cost of his cell plan while he was without a usable phone. He is also examining his legal options regarding the incident.
