Gaming Mouse Overheats, Nearly Causes Apartment Fire

Imagine the shock of finding your gaming mouse engulfed in flames while your PC is in sleep mode. This was the alarming reality for Reddit user lommelinn, who shared their harrowing experience on the platform. The incident reportedly almost led to a devastating fire in their apartment.

In the early hours of the morning, lommelinn was alerted by the smell of smoke. Rushing into their room, they discovered their Gigabyte M6880X, an older wired optical mouse, ablaze with large flames. The room quickly filled with black smoke, which they managed to extinguish, though not before inhaling a significant amount of smoke. The aftermath left their room, including a modular synthesizer, covered in black particles.

The Gigabyte M6880X is a standard wired gaming mouse, powered via USB 2.0 with a mere 5V at 0.5A, making the incident even more perplexing. Photos shared by lommelinn showed the top rear panel of the mouse completely melted, while the underside remained relatively undamaged. The cause of the selective damage to the mouse's top casing remains a mystery. Additionally, the images revealed damage to the user's desk and mousepad.

My Gigabyte mouse caught fire and almost burned down my apartment

by lommelinn in pcmasterrace

Gigabyte responded promptly to the incident on Reddit, stating:

Hi Everyone,

We have been made aware of the incident shared by lommelin regarding the M6880X gaming mice. Our customer's safety is our top priority and we are actively looking into this case. Our team has reached out to lommelin to offer support and to investigate the matter fully. In the meantime, we appreciate the community’s understanding and patience as we work to address this issue.

Best,

The GIGABYTE Team.

In a follow-up post, lommelinn expressed their disbelief at the unexpected event, noting that their PC was in sleep mode at the time. They also mentioned checking the USB port with a voltage meter, which showed no issues, leaving them puzzled about how such an incident could occur.