Woman claims iPhone 4S spontaneously combusted and Apple will not replace it

We have heard stories like this before, a battery or phone spontaneously combusting or melting, sometimes with no obvious reason as to the cause.

In this case however, we do not think it is that big of a mystery, although anything really is possible. Shibani Bhujle is a Marketing Manager in New York City and she says that her one year old white iPhone 4S combusted and oozed acid, burning her fingers.

“My iPhone was on a coffee table and randomly the power went off,” Bhujle said. After smelling fumes, she picked it up and tried to turn it on. The device felt very hot in her hands and smelling something burning, she says she panicked and tried to remove the battery by prying the back plate off the phone. The battery was melting and in the process of oozing liquid. You can already tell where this is going, right?

Bhujle managed to remove the battery by basically tearing the device apart. Whether that helped to avert further injury to herself or prevent a fire we will never know. Feeling that this was a manufacturing defect, she went to an Apple store hoping to address the issue and get a replacement iPhone. Apple was willing to take her damaged phone, but was not offering a replacement device. After talking with managers and other staff at Apple, there is no resolution. Naturally, that is not an outcome Bhujle is happy with.

Viewing the photos below, one thing becomes evident in the second picture immediately. The liquid indicator inside the device is full-on-red.  That leads to questions about the brown stains, are they from coffee or tea?  Maybe chocolate milk?  Unless you have equipment insurance, you are not likely to get a replacement device with liquid indicators showing positive and the manufacturer is certainly not going to see eye-to-eye with you on claims of a manufacturing defect.

via: VentureBeat