Report of an iPhone 4 Catching Fire - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Report of an iPhone 4 Catching Fire

173626 fire

BoyGeniusReports posts pictures of one customer's iPhone 4 having caught fire. The photos come from an AT&T source after the customer brought the iPhone 4 in.

It's the first time our guy has seen this happen (us too), but the brand new iPhone 4 caught on fire while being hooked up to a computer using the Apple USB cable that accompanied the device. The customer wanted to exchange the iPhone -- obviously -- for a new, non-charred unit however the AT&T store in question was out of stock. An Apple Store did confirm to our AT&T connection that this did appear to be a defective USB port and not some sort of user error. Our source went onto say that the phone bezel was extremely hot (obviously), and it slightly burned the customers hand.

Apple's iPod nano has in the past been linked to overheating and potential fires. Apple issued replacements for those iPod nanos that dated back to 2005-2006.

So far, this seems to be an isolated incident.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.5 Features: Everything New in iOS 26.5

Monday May 11, 2026 5:09 pm PDT by
Apple released iOS 26.5 after a few months of beta testing, and while it doesn't have the Siri features we were hoping for since those are being held until iOS 27, there are a handful of useful changes worth knowing about. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. End-to-End Encryption for RCS Support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

11 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 18 Pro

Monday May 11, 2026 9:01 am PDT by
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro May Have 'Aggressive' Starting Price Despite RAM Crisis

Tuesday May 12, 2026 6:53 am PDT by
While the ongoing RAM chip shortage is leading some Android smartphone makers to increase prices, one analyst believes that Apple will take advantage of the situation with the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. In a research note with GF Securities today, analyst Jeff Pu said he expects Apple to outperform in the smartphone market by having an "aggressive pricing strategy" for the ...