Reader D’s first-gen iPod Nano was chugging power from his PC’s USB port when suddenly he saw it “explode open and start shooting sparks and spewing smoke.” Pictures inside, along with Apple’s response.
Dale sent us his lengthy missive to Steve Jobs:
I am writing this in regards to an issue I have had with an iPod nano, first generation. I have included the relevant pictures of my iPod after this incident and links to related issues.
I had plugged the iPod in to charge on Saturday August 16, 2008. I was using the USB cable that came with the iPod and charging via the USB port on my PC. After being plugged in for somewhere between 5-10 minutes I heard a sizzling sound. I looked down on the iPod just in time to see it explode open and start shooting sparks and spewing smoke. I managed to unhook the iPod from my computer’s USB port immediately. I had noticed that a small fire had started on the table I had the laptop and the iPod sitting on, and I managed to extinguish those flames quickly before any apparent damage could be done to my laptop. Unlike in other cases, I’ve read about, my iPod continued to spew smoke and spit sparks while throwing out some kind of sooty substance from the inside of the iPod for several minutes after removing the cable from the computer. I moved the still spitting iPod from the table and placed it on a book case across the room. I noticed that while doing this, the iPod was still extraordinarily hot to the touch.
I immediately called up the apple tech support line while I opened a window to clear the smoke out of my apartment. After weeding through their electronic menu, I was put on hold for around 15 minutes. This gave me some time to calm down, and after telling the representative that my iPod nano exploded, I was transferred directly to the customer support supervisor at the time. His extension is X86702. He walked me through a 20 minute survey regarding the issue before putting me on hold again to contact the “engineers”. After this, he informed me that he did not get through, but would hear back from them that evening for certain. I was also informed that Apple would replace my iPod regardless at this point even though it’s older. I have to take a few moments to commend him as he seemed to genuinely want to help me. I had asked what I could do to get a replacement iPod ASAP. I was told to go to the nearest apple store and they should be able to replace it. I also asked if it was ok to make an appointment for that evening, and I was told it would be fine as we should have heard back from the “engineers” by then.
After waiting several hours and not hearing back from the supervisor, I attempted to contact him at the extension and number I was given. This was transferred directly to his voicemail and I did not hear back from him that night. I had then traveled to the local apple store in Pittsburgh, PA to see what could be done about the iPod. Here I was told that “it’s been submitted as a request to the ‘engineers’ and can’t be handled”. The support tech at the Genius Bar seemed genuinely concerned and opened a separate case file to see if he could do anything to help me out. He found out that all he could do was submit it to the engineers who would NOT be in until monday. At this point, I became overly frustrated that the original tech had led me to believe this issue could have been sorted out that day. Also I do not think I’m being unreasonable by asking a company to replace the iPod with a different iPod product, as I could easily have been hurt or injured by the one that had malfunctioned!
I had asked the tech if there’s any way he can replace it as the guy on the phone had told me that the local store could swap it out. He then went into the office to confer with the manager and the GM via phone. He returned to tell me that they can NOT exchange the iPod, and can only escalate the claim to the “engineers”. At which point, I became upset that, once again, the original tech was wrong that this could be handled on-site at the local apple store. I once again asked if they could do anything as I’m overly frustrated with the service I’m receiving; I was told that the iPod would be replaced regardless. At this point, the tech went back to the office to confer once again with the manager.
The manager comes out with the tech shortly after and explains to me that no one at apple has EVER heard of this happening (although, I have found articles that counter this), and that she did not believe there was anything that she could do. She asked me to “do her a favor” and wait until monday night (EST) to handle this matter. I informed her that I understand that she’s stuck in a hard situation, but I was promised by someone in the support that this could be handled at a local store, and that the iPod would be replaced. She walks back into the back room, and shortly returns with a phone number. She calls up the GM and puts him on the phone with me. At this point, I want to commend the in-store staff as they seemed concerned about this issue and really wanted to make it right. I really do not wish to paint the store employees in a bad way as they had really tried to help me. The GM is, of course, another issue.
The GM gets on the phone and tells me who he is and he’s sorry to hear this. He goes on to inform me that they CAN NOT and WILL NOT give me another iPod. He mentions that this has to go to the engineers first before he will even CONSIDER dealing with the issue. I mention that I have read the reports of this happening before, and that there are numerous instances. He scoffs at this and implies that this is a completely unusual occurrence and no one he knows of has heard of it.
I mention to him that the guy at tech support had told me this can be replaced at the local store. Once again, he says that NOTHING will be done until the engineers look at the iPod, and until he talks with them on monday. I ask why that is, and he says “to make sure there are no safety issues or concerns.” I asked what were the issues regarding the safety, to which he replied “there are numerous things that could probably cause this”. I asked him to name a few, and was met with “the list is too long to mention.” I found this odd, as he had told me before he had never heard of this issue, yet could think of a long list of things that could cause an iPod to explode and catch fire.
I continued to ask what the safety issue would be if he just replaced the iPod. To which he said “it could be the cables”. I told him that the tech support on the phone informed me that i should not use those cables, and that they would be replaced when the iPod is. The GM informs me that they DO NOT replace cables. I continued to say, but, if he was to replace the iPod and the cables, that it would eliminate any safety risk. He assured me that was not the case. I then informed him that it sounds like he was accusing me of intentionally doing this to my iPod. He claimed he wasn’t, but I pointed out that if you replace any and all apple hardware involved, there’s no safety issue, UNLESS the issue is with my existing hardware that’s not apple. he informed me that that was not the case. I informed him that if this was due to a defective iPod, replacing the iPod eliminates the safety issue. He told me that it might not be that case. To which I asked, what exactly safety issue there was if the fault was NOT with apple software. He repeated that they need to look over the iPod to determine any safety issues before even considering replacing the iPod. I became very frustrated at this point that he was trying to use double speak in order to make excuses and push the blame onto me.
At this point I offered to leave the faulty iPod with the apple store to send off to the engineers as needed, but that I wanted my iPod replaced as I was promised by the tech on the phone. The GM informs me that the tech was in no way, shape, or form allowed to make that guarantee to me. At this point, and I am ashamed to say, I lost my temper with the GM. I told him that I was not pleased at all with this service since I was promised that the iPod would be replaced, and yet it was not going to be. The GM informed me that he wasn’t even sure if it NEEDED to be replaced let alone if apple WOULD replace it. After this turn, my language became peppered with profanity. The GM continued on to tell me that he’s not going to do anything about the issue, and that I could sit there all night and tell him how he should handle it, but it is NOT now he will handle it.
In other words, the GM wanted to take up more of my time in order to try and push the blame on me for the iPod breaking, completely negate anything I was told originally by tech support, and try to get me out of their store as quickly as he could without doing anything to resolve the issue.
After reading another issue or two, it appears as though apple is now saying that even if it is a faulty piece of equipment and does damage to other objects or people, that it is NOT their responsibility to replace it unless you have a current warranty. I had not picked up the extended warranty due to the fact that, at the time, I had not received word of any issues. Now, I am fully regretting that decision as I’m sure that they would not allow me to take out a warranty now to cover the issue. This upsets me as they have made a precedent to replace products, even out of warranty, if the issue is due to a severe product malfunction such as this.
After this, I can fully say that I am not pleased at all with how this issue has been handled by apple. I have been informed of an email address within the Apple company, and I plan on sending a copy of this email, along with the pictures to that address also. From the various stories I have read, of which I have included links, it has been made clear that this is NOT an isolated incident as Apple would have me believe. I do not feel that Apple has been doing a sufficient job of resolving this matter in any way, shape, or form. Based on the other reports, I do not have much hope that this matter will be resolved in any timely fashion, that my iPod will be replaced, that I will be compensated for anything, that I will get an apology for their tech support making claims that they were not permitted to, or for the store obviously not being on the same page as tech support. Frankly, in my search for information regarding the iPod, I’ve found other reports that claim this type of fault for other issues. This ranges from problems with computers, to mp3 players, and even to censoring comments and forum posts regarding bugs with their products. By bringing this up, I hope to make it known that these type of issues appear to be common with apple. Like other manufacturers, they sometimes produce faulty products, however, they seem to want to protect their corporate image and pockets more than make up for their faulty product. In this case, it was a known issue with this model of iPod and the company did not seem to make any motions to address the issue. I hope that by making this public, people may be able to avoid this issue happening with their own electronics, and that they may be prepared for what they would have to deal with in the process of attempting to resolve the issue. While Apple may produce numerous ad campaigns that make them seem almost invincible, their products are like any others: buyer beware.
The fiery Nano:
Dale’s burnt desk:
The pictures look awfully similar to other iPods that have spontaneously combusted.
This iPod exploded yesterday and we don’t see the harm in giving Apple a day to sort out what went wrong. Still, we’re not sure how the engineers can do much without the physical unit, and it would seem wise for the Apple store to have an unspoken policy of ‘Return Exploded iPod, Get 1 Free!’
Update: Apple agreed to replace the iPod.
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@TheDude06: Not all Lithium battery chemistries are explosive.
The big offender is LiCo batteries … if they get hot enough to breach the casing, they burn wildly once Oxygen gets inside.
LiFePO4 is dead safe, but more expensive and slightly heavier than LiCo. General Motors is currently having the folks at A123 systems make 12V batts for them, basically stacks of A123 3.3V2.3Ah cells ( each a little larger than a “D” cell ) inside a case that is shaped like the old Saturn hybrid 12V case.
I think if Apple really wanted to fix this, they would go to a LiFePO4 prismatic gel-cell, and just accept the slightly greater weight per Amp-hour tradeoff. An added benefit would be that you get more charge cycles as well ( twice was many as with LiCo ).
Um, so, yeah. What? Ok, I work in customer service, at a cable company, and I always try to make sure people are happy with the service I am able to provide them. But sometimes, this just doesn’t work. For example, a customer calls in and has some issue with the service that cannot be resolved over the phone, so I must schedule a technician to go out to the home and investigate. The customer wants credit now, but I cannot give credit until the technician has resolved the issue. The customer gets upset. “I don’t want to wait until tomorrow for my credit”. [insert appropriate amounts of swearing and foot stamping and phone throwing here]
Same thing applies here. The OP didn’t want to wait until Monday (OMG… MONDAY) for a resolution. It seems to me (and apparently most of the other commentors as well) that the CSR you spoke with over the phone said “We can replace it today if we here back from the engineers” but you heard only “We can replace it today”. When you were told that the CSR had no place to guarantee that the iPod would be replaced the same day without engineers being there, you should have realized that either you or the CSR had made a mistake and dropped it.
I think you should be happy that they are even considering replacing your out-of-warranty iPod. Stop demanding immediate resolution and deal with the fact that you most likely won’t have had to shell out the cash to buy another one.
This is the kind of thing that’ll make companies like Apple stop reading EECBs and hose over the rest of us (with VALID complaints) in the process.
@CubsPride: Who buys Zunes? For the record, I generally hate blame the OP posts, but this is one circumstance where I feel it is warrented, if only because it devalues the EECB process for people with valid complaints… such as complaints that aren’t going to be solved any other way as opposed to complaints that will be resolved once the weekend is over.
Instead of getting in a huff, just go buy the superior Zune and forget about it. I own both and my iPod sets my desk drawer. Poor Apple.
I was a Mac Genius for years, and I worked for AppleCare for years
before that. This story astounds me.
Forget about the phone agent; honestly, he was Exactly Right, and he
didn’t promise anything he shouldn’t have. The retail chain completely
and utterly dropped the ball on this, and it’s issues like this that
are why I left. The Mac Geniuses are more in league with AppleCare;
they follow AppleCare’s policies, they use AppleCare’s systems, they
are in effect local AppleCare agents. However, they are lead, managed,
organized, and otherwise warped by Retail management that has exactly
Zero clue about how AppleCare does business. As such, they wind up
leading the Geniuses astray from their own prescribed policies.
Apple has had a long standing policy regarding safety issues; it
changes very little over time. The phone agent appears to have done
his job to a T, and what he promised the customer is what the Retail
store should have delivered. End of story. The Genius was unaware, and
management (including the GM) just lead them further and further astray.
I did not see where that laptop had a label that said, “iPod capable”! I mean, it’s Vista capable, but clearly not iPod capable.
@djns1: xctly wrds ws lkng fr ”tmpr tntrm”. Thnks.
@Zk13: ‘m blmng th cstmr bg tm n ths n. Y cldn’t wt tll Mndy fr mr dtls? Srsly? lng wth swrng nd bcmng bllgrnt, dd y cnsdr stmpng yr ft nd cryng? t’s n Pd, nt yr dlyss mchn, r hrt mdctn.
Y dn’t knw nythng bt cnsmr lctrncs, wht cnsttts cmmn flr, r ny cl wht “knwn ss” mght mn, nd t shws. f crs, y wnt t rs s bg stnk s y cn, bt t jst mks y cm ff s tht mch mr chldsh t ppl wh r knwldgbl n ths rs, nd tht mch hrdr t hlp y.
Pls dd “bd cnsmr” tg.
At the Apple Store in Cincinnati they replaced my iPod nano with a brand new one just because they didn’t like the way it was heating up when charged. I brought it in b/c I couldn’t get it to turn on and was hoping they could fix it, and left with a brand spanking new one.
@CubsPride: Believe it or not, it is possible to believe BOTH that Apple’s customer service is subpar AND to believe that in this case, the OP took a legitimate complaint and made an ass of himself with it. It’s not like they said he would have to wait six weeks to get his Nano repaired.
And really, swearing at the CSRs is just stupid.
tl;dr.
n th tm t tk y t wrt ths nvll y cld hv gttn rplcmnt, sld t n By nd bght rl md plyr.
Scks bt yr dsk, thgh. dg th stmr-trnk wrk srfc.
Is this a first gen Nano issue because everytime I read/see/hear about this it’s always happened to a first gen Nano.
I hope Apple replaces your iPod, because what happened sucks.
The OP was expecting too much from Apple in a short amount of time on a weekend. The phone tech support implied something he shouldn’t, but did state that the engineers needed to look at the issue before you can resolved it which was also the statement of the GM. I believe he took the GM inability to take legal responsibility for something that apple needed to investigate as blame. Apple is usually very good at replacing obviously defective products you just need to give them a little time. Do you blame people for not working on weekends.
In the end, its just a frustrated person not giving the company time to give the obvious answer which the GM is not trully authorized to give with a phone tech implying something he’s not authorized to imply. I blame a instant on society that expects immediate results because they have immediate answers.
At least its a happily ever after right.
So you have a problem with a 3 year-old iPod, whose warranty had expired 2 years prior and Apple wants to replace it after they allow their engineers to investigate and you have enough of a problem with that to create an issue? You were obviously trying to weasel a brand new 3rd Gen iPod since the Apple stores only sell 3rd Gen iPods anyway. Technically, Apple had absolutely no liability to replace your old iPod. They offered to replace it if you could be patient enough to let it go through the engineering department, yet you decide to be a little brat about it.
The only problem with this entire situation is you not accepting a replacement for your 3 year-old iPod under the terms that Apple had laid out, especially when they were under no obligation to do so.
Everyone, remember the comment code; blaming the poster is not OK and is, frankly, completely out of hand here. Keep the discussion on topic and rule-abiding!
@CubsPride: If you have a beef, how about emailing me to take action (moderator@gmail.com)? Leave your flip comments out of comment threads.
@pileofmonkeycrap: Posting the equivalent of “TLDR” is useless spam. Don’t comment again unless you have something relevant to say.
While that sucks I think the OP was a little too impatient, made the issue a bigger deal than it needed to be and put everyone in compromising positions. The outcome was all foreshadowed by the last sentence in the 3rd paragraph.
It was conveyed to me in that 3rd paragraph that the engineer’s say-so was needed to go ahead with the replacement. It was clear in the last sentence that receiving a replacement in-store that night was contingent on the engineer’s response. The OP never got the response, thus the OP shouldn’t have expected to get a replacement.
Did the OP have the right to be upset that the rep didn’t call back? Yes. Did that warrant harassing the Apple Store staff and GM with expletives? No.
I think some fault belongs on the rep for not calling back but the majority goes to the OP for being impatient and not waiting to hear from his technical contact before storming off to the store to demand a replacement. Additionally once it was explained to the OP in the store that there was nothing to be done without an engineer’s approval, the same story conveyed by the rep on the phone incidentally, the OP still insisted that an exception and replacement should be granted.
Apple is very good at replacing defective items that are new to the market without any fuss at all. They replaced my two day old iPhone without any unnecessary aggravation. However for items that are older, I would not expect that same kind of accommodation. It is much more severe when items catch fire. These claims should be taken more seriously by Apple, and I would expect that a higher level of due-diligence before handing out new replacements of old hardware. I’m sure they’ve seen many bogus claims, mistreated equipment, and some staged defects. To automatically hand out replacement iPods to anyone that walks into an Apple store in a huff isn’t a realistic expectation of a customer, and it would not be a good business practice by Apple. But after the engineers have a chance to review the damage, the customer should be provided something within a reasonable amount of time. In my experience, Apple has been very good at this.
So, recap.
Dude’s iPod freaks out.
Dude calls AppleCare, its the weekend, the issue is escalated, he is told it will be replaced.
Dude goes into Apple Store, the same day, and flips his shit since they say it has to be escalated before they can replace it.
Dude write giant email to Steve.
Its a freakin’ iPod. Yes, its an issue that is asploded and could have caused more problems. That doesn’t mean it should get the ZOMGWTFWHOASTEPRIGHTOVERHERESIR VIP treatment. He needs/needed to calm down.
And its nice to see that the censorship that’s ok for anti-censorship people to use, championed by that ultimate hypocrite from Boing Boing has made its way to Consumerist. Way to be condescending and pandering, thanks. Almost as awesome as how my first account was disabled, without warning or explanation, even after inquiring about it.
There’s a reason the Consumerist isn’t in my RSS reader anymore, and its equal parts free airtime to blowhards like this douchebag, and the same clever mods who think “disemvowelling” is a good idea.
@Consumerist-Moderator-Roz: I understand the policy Roz and we should always try to give the OP the benefit of the doubt, as this is the Consumerist, but not every OP is correct, and sometimes being helpful means letting the OP know that they are expecting too much from a company. As long as they are told this politely, it shouldn’t be against policy.
Should´ve opened the letter with: “Hey, John Mayer here…”
It looks to me like your battery was overcharged or overheated. The Lithium ion polymer cell may have swollen and gone into thermal runaway and thats why it was still hot and smoking after you unplugged it. Laptop companies actually performed recalls when this happened with their batteries… though thats much more powerful batteries and those are in steel cans so more explosive. Could be the effect rather than cause though.
looks like he’s a windows user. that explains everything.
@mermaidshoes:
that doesn’t explain everything. Millions of people consistently use iPods with Windows software and their devices don’t spontaneously combust. Honestly, I use my 1 generation nano with Windows Vista and have never had any problems beyond having to eject the iPod using iTunes rather than Windows. La di freakin dah! Not really too much of a hassle if you’re already using iTunes. Don’t criticize others just because they use Windows. Not everyone can afford to replace their computer and OS to switch to Apple, and honestly I like the range of devices I can use with my Dell. With apple you are more limited with accessories and software.
So don’t blame Windows for the problem. If iPods weren’t compatible with Windows I doubt Apple would market them as such. Perhaps you’re just another Apple fanboy whose elitist attitude gets in the way of your own common sense.
in theory if the motherboard was setup incorrectly with a usb connector plugged into a firewire header then yes, that could easily fry an ipod. virtually all motherboards come with this warning. impossible to say if that would be the case, although the port would not function for usb.
I blame terrorists.
Oh, alright, I’ll make a serious post. Sheesh.
The iPod fried. Probably an internal short or resistance in the battery….there’s a lot of energy stored in that really tiny battery, so I’m actually surprised (and thankful) that this type of thing doesn’t actually happen more often. I would have been a little freaked out too, although it didn’t exactly explode and destroy his apartment…but sparks and fire would have been enough for me.
Apple should obviously replace the iPod. Even if it’s out of warranty, it would still be a graceful gesture, considering their product could have burned down the OP’s apartment. Their customer service over the phone sounds like it sucked, and it sounds like they were rude…but on the other hand, the OP admitted he lost his temper and his conversation began to be “peppered by profanity”, so I can picture a heated exchange between telephone tech support and the OP, who by his own admission, was pissed off and freaking out. I don’t know why the tech and GM accused him of doing something that would have caused the thing to burst into flames.
I can see Apple wanting to do a post-mortem on the charred remains, and I didn’t see exactly how old the unit was in the post (maybe I missed that), but I would hope that they would at least make some kind of goodwill gesture (if it’s out of warranty)…or replace it with no questions asked (if it’s in warranty). I consider Apple to be a premium brand, and I would expect service to match.
Japan is reporting Nano fires–that’s the product, not the size of the overheating batteries:
[news.yahoo.com]
three cases of nano’s overheating in japan: [news.yahoo.com]
@jiminator:
The USB port does still work. I know this person.
If anyone’s still reading:
Apple fessing up to problem, will replace exploded 1st Gen Nanos
[news.cnet.com]
I’m not saying what happened or didn’t happen but all the hate is disturbing. Apparently there were more people there to actually witness the incident than just the OP.
Ipods are perfect or at least perfect enough that they don’t explode.
The OP is a scammer or a piece of scum for trying to get a new product to replace his defective one.
Since the warranty expired OP had no right to expect anything from Apple, not even when it started a fire.
OP is too greedy, trying to get a replacement that day (despite the fact that that’s what he was told)
Am I missing something? I have a hard time believing anyone here would just chill out and relax after having a piece of hardware spontaneously combust on their desk.
Apple states it will replace all Ipod Nanos of this generation that have this problem.
[arstechnica.com]
Congrats: You have successfully saved anyones ass.
Apple let this go a little too far, because it might destroy all that consumer good will generated by the expensive mac vs pc ads.
Really stupid of them to let it get this far.
PS: I am typing this on an IMac and we have an IPhone 3g…
We would like to think apple is more responsive and in our personal experience they have been.
This may have something to do with this:
[www.reuters.com]
That GM is way too rude. And given that it’s the pittsburgh area doesn’t surprise me much. I’ve had trouble with that apple store when my ibook drive stopped working within the warranty period. After having my computer for a week they tell me that they cant fix it because of “liquid damage on the motherboard. Nevermind the fact that liquid was never anywhere NEAR my ibook. They then proceded to tell me that it would cost $700 to replace. At that point I was pretty pissed off so I just grabbed my computer and left. I wish I would have known about this site before hand. I just assumed that Apple would be uncooperative.
@metalrules24: While I agree that the post by mermaidshoes was ridiculous (and frankly, embarrassing to me as a Mac user and lover), that business about Macs being “limited” by “accessories and software” is a myth, just like the idea of offshore drilling making an impact any time before 2013.
You really shouldn’t believe everything you hear…
More on topic, I think it’s safe to say that OP’s story should be a lesson in what not to do, which is just as helpful as all the other posts on Consumerist that define what will work.
@iMike: My bona fide suggestion on the appropriate tagging for this story was disemvoweled. Inappropriate use of disemvoweler.
Exploding MP3 in “playback mode”. Any quick comments on my MP3 expoloding and filling room with snoke/fumes and burned bed covers. It was NOT being charged. I was listening to the music. This is a dangerous product. What rights do I have to claim “health and safety” issue? I had extended waranty on MP3, and it was replaced at point of purchase.