Another Nord 2 5G explodes, injures a man

The Galaxy Note 7 curse lives on! This time the culprit is the OnePlus Nord 2 5G - yet another device has spontaneously caught fire and exploded inside one man’s pocket, injuring him in the process.

The news was first picked up by LetsGoDigital - the Dutch site stumbled upon a Twitter post by the injured man in question - Gaurav Gulati, and contacted him to get more information.

Gulati, a lawyer and social activist, was at work when he felt a strange warmth emanating from the pocket of his coat. He quickly took it off as the heat was getting unbearable, only to witness the explosion that followed.

As you can see from the images, the Nord 2 is completely toasted, and the man himself suffered burn injuries to the body. The phone was brand-new, bought on August 24th, 2021.

“I feel like I've had my death certificate (the Nord 2) in my pocket. I am very happy that I am still alive," wrote Gulati to LGD.

Third Nord 2 explosion in less than two months

This isn’t an isolated case, either. Last month, LetsGoDigital reported on another Nord 2 explosion, this time during a bike ride.

A man named Ankur Sharma received a OnePlus Nord 2 5G from his wife as a gift. A week later, the unlucky wife decided to go for a bike ride carrying the Nord 2 in a sling with her.

With no obvious reason, the Nord 2 suddenly exploded, knocking Mrs. Sharma off the bike, and injuring her both physically and mentally.

OnePlus negotiated with the Sharma family and the pictures of the toasted Nord 2 were quickly taken down. LetsGoDigital was able to save them, though, so you get another look at the subsequent devastation.

There was yet another report from India that a Nord 2 device caught fire and exploded. A guy named Shubham Srivastava posted on Twitter that the Nord 2 he got as a gift for his father suddenly exploded.

There is no visual evidence in support of this case but judging by the other Nord 2 accidents, there’s a strong possibility that the man is telling the truth.

Our take

Some of you might remember the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco with batteries exploding left and right. It all blew out of proportion and lead to Samsung withdrawing all existing Note 7 units, and calling it a day.

It seems that something similar is happening here with the OnePlus Nord 2. The company has issued a statement concerning the bike explosion, reading:

“Our top priority is the health and safety of our customers. We reached out to the concerned user immediately after hearing about this incident and initiated a thorough internal investigation. The results indicate that the damage to this device was caused by an isolated incident involving external factors and not due to any manufacturing or product issue. However, we remain in close touch with this user and have offered our support to address their concerns and ensure their wellbeing."

There’s no official statement regarding the latest explosion, but it seems that OnePlus thinks that these are isolated accidents. We’ll continue to monitor the situation, and it’s a shame really because we were genuinely impressed with the Nord 2 during our time with the test unit.

You can check out our full Nord 2 review for more information. Meanwhile, maybe wait a bit longer before rushing off to buy a Nord 2 phone.