Google made a major breakthrough with its 2018 flagship phones. And while these phones received all kinds of praises, especially for their stunning camera system, they also had their fair share of bugs. However, a recent combustion incident is a first for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones.

Dyson Bork Sphere, a registered Reddit user, posted recently claiming that his Pixel 3 XL burst into flames, and said the device was overheating during charging. Admittedly, this is a rare, if not the first incident, which is attributed to Google’s latest flagship tier. However, Google can take relieve that the issue isn’t widespread – considering how the incident happened.

Fresh details from his post, reveal that the burnt phone was a recent replacement the user had received because the initial one was also overheating during charging. However, the first device didn’t catch fire or at least show signs of thermal throttling. But Dyson says that he used the same charging adapter and USB cable from the original Pixel 3 XL he had purchased. And immediately he started using the old charger; things began getting toasty.

How it actually happened

In his post, the user reported, eating during charging. Admittedly, this is a rare, if not first incident to be reported, which is attributed to Google’s latest flagship tier. However, Google can take relieve that the issue isn’t widespread; considering how the incident happened.

In his post, the user reported,

“I charged [the replacement Pixel 3 XL] with the charger from the first Pixel, left it to go play on my PC.” Dyson continues to explain saying,

“I came back to it extremely hot like the first one and it had two notifications, one that certain features were limited due to overheating and another saying it shut off due to being too hot.”

According to Dyson Bork Sphere, his new replacement unit had a nasty scratch underneath the notch, something that made him raise initial suspicions – well, at least before the whole burning incident happened. The user also reported that once he noticed the overheating, he tried to take out to cool down – but all in vain.

“It was getting hotter and released a bit of smoke before the screen shut off and it got thrown onto my balcony where it promptly released more smoke, started to glow red, and spewed flames,” Dyson reports.

Dyson also took measure to report the incident to Google, and according to him, the whole episode is currently being looked into. And while we cannot affirm the real cause of combustion, we suspect it’s the charger; the only thing linking the two devices – as of this point. Nonetheless, we’re keeping an eye out to see whether Google will issue a public statement of the issue; but, it’s highly unlikely they will.

Possible cause

In the past, we’ve seen several headlines about smartphones bursting into flames; the only explanation can be by the Lithium-ion battery that powers most smartphone gadgets, which possess inherent risk. To our knowledge, if the physically separated electrodes under the battery unwittingly come into contact; normally as a result of electrical shorts on the charger – the battery will explode, and the phone with it. And if the battery were to expand due to overheating, then combustion might happen as well.

We understand that the manufacture of modern batteries is under strict safety conditions; so such combustion happening to your mobile device is very minimal. Moreover, the debacle about Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was as a result of a notable fault during production, which was a consequence of space issues inside the phone; making various components ram into each other. Therefore, we haven’t observed or received proof; if whether the incident of Pixel 3 XL was as a result of production issues.

Wrap up

We understand that anomalies arise with each production; you’re always going to see surfacing reports about an iPhone bursting into flames; a Samsung gadget blowing up, and so on. However, environmental factors could also cause these issues. For instance, an unforeseen nasty drop could cause your device battery to erupt.

Therefore, we don’t think a one-off report is any reason for worrying. But we recommend always to stay alert of any overheating, or abnormal thermal issues on your devices. And should you find yourself in such a mess of thermal behavior; we warn that you immediately plug out the charger and try isolating the phone from the battery if possible. Take it out, and let it cool off before you contact customer support of your seller.