Xiaomi Mi Band 5 allegedly does a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and explodes while charging

Fitness tracker user Michele Costa has been posting images on to Reddit of a completely burned-out and destroyed Xiaomi Mi Band 5 wearable. According to Costa, the band exploded while it was being charged on a table. While it’s clear to see burn marks on the Mi Band 5, the user did admit to throwing it on the floor and stepping on it presumably after it caught on fire. So not all the damage visible in the images (see below) was caused directly by the explosive malfunction.

However, it still seems to be a hardware issue rather than a user issue, as Costa claimed the official cable that came with the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 was used during charging along with a basic Xiaomi 5v 1a charger. The global variant of the device, which is known as the Mi Smart Band 5, comes with a dedicated charging cable that attaches magnetically to the fitness tracker and utilizes a USB connector. Many users would likely use a larger device such as a laptop to charge the Mi Band 5.

Unsurprisingly, Costa has contacted Xiaomi about the Mi Band 5 meltdown and has also sent the beyond repair gadget back to Amazon. There have been plenty of reports over the years of smartphones and other electronic devices exploding or catching on fire either through a hardware fault or random flaw, with the infamous Galaxy Note 7 battery defect issue costing Samsung an estimated US$17 billion in revenue. Xiaomi better start hoping this is a very isolated incident.

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