Watch an iPhone Burst in Flames After Third-Party Battery Swap

One of the last things you probably want to see while driving is your iPhone burst into flames. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to one woman in China.

The undoubtedly frightening incident was captured on video, which was obtained by Asia Wire and distributed by various UK and US tabloids.

The clip shows the woman driving along a busy highway in Shanghai when her iPhone suddenly pops. While that’s obviously not intended behavior, the situation almost seemed fine until a few seconds later when the iPhone burst into flames, sending the woman bolting from her vehicle.

The woman’s husband, identifying himself only as Jiang, told Asia Wire that the explosion was seemingly unprovoked. “She was driving alone; no one touched the phone,” Jiang said. “It just suddenly blew up. She wasn’t charging or even using it at the time.”

But he added that they had the phone’s battery swapped at a third-party repair shop earlier that year. Staff at that shop said the battery was genuine at the time, and Jiang said they are refusing to take responsibility for the incident.

This certainly isn’t the first time that an iPhone with a third-party battery has exploded. But, of course, there are probably other factors at play.

Some social media users pointed out that the iPhone was sitting in the sun on what was likely a hot car dashboard. Reportedly, the temperature was just shy of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 Celsius) in that area of China this week.

Tips to Protect Yourself

For other iPhone owners, the video illustrates two important points to keep in mind.

• Firstly, you should only get your iPhone battery swapped at an Apple Store or by an Apple Authorized Service Provider. It isn’t smart to rely on a third-party repair shop, no matter how reputable they may seem.
• Similarly, you should do your best to keep your iPhone safe and cool during these hot summer months. That’s especially true in parts of the world where we’ve seen unprecedented temperatures.

While the heat wasn’t likely the only culprit (a first-party battery probably wouldn’t have exploded as easily) leaving the iPhone on a hot dashboard in the sun probably didn’t help.

Apple is currently offering discounted first-party battery swaps through the end of the year.