A Florida woman has reported that her iPhone 3GS began spontaneously smoking and overheated so badly that it melted her car’s floor mat.
Jacqueline Ivanov was driving on the interstate near Orlando when she saw smoke billowing out of her iPhone. She tried to pick the smartphone up, but promptly dropped the fiercely hot device. The iPhone had melted the car mat by the time she was able to stop the car.
“It would have melted my hand. It would have melted my skin right off,” she told reporters.
Apple has yet to issue a comment, other than to pledge it will investigate the incident.
See also: How to fix an overheating iMac | How to fix a hot iPhone: Fixes for overheating iPhone | How to fix an overheating MacBook
These kinds of overheating incidents are frequently the result of a previous knock or liquid intrusion, either of which can disrupt the internal circuitry and cause short-circuits. Ivanov has said she dropped the iPhone 3GS into a swimming pool more than a year before it overheated, but thought she’s solved the problem by leaving the iPhone in a bowl of rice for a few days.
Author: David Price, Editor
David has loved the iPhone since covering the original 2007 launch; later his obsession expanded to include iPad and Apple Watch. He offers advice to owners (and prospective owners) of these devices.