I've noticed there have been quite a few deals on Xiaomi phones on Ozbargain lately and came across these articles today.
www.androidheadlines.com/2016/09/xiaomi-mi-max-mi-4c-reporte…
www.xda-developers.com/xiaomi-mi4i-explodes-while-in-use-at-…
I own a Mi4c myself and have had no problems with it in the past, but now I'm not sure whether I should continue using it. Am I being too cautious over nothing?
For those who have Xiaomi phones, what are your thoughts?
I wish it were as simple as that however according to the first article: "…the device was being charged with the official charger in a home and it exploded, which caused a fire and also damaged the home. The device was bought from Xiaomi’s official online store."
Of course they'll tell anyone this to cover their ass for warranty purposes, with the amount of chinese cables coming into Australia its a wonder more cases aren't out there with the lack of quality control in cables not handling the Amps and Voltage
Whats the bet it was a dodgy cable / and or charger and its caused the fault
Just like a car says unleaded fuel and idiots still put diesel in it LOL
Batteries are only as good as the input people put through them,
Incorrect, typical batteries in mobile devices carry some risk of explosion or combustion. The input may or may not affect this likelihood but it's there.
Eh, most phones (excluding the OnePlus w/ VOOC maybe) regulate the charge voltage inside the phone. A shoddy USB charger could kill the phone, but if it overcharges the battery then the phone itself is faulty.
The is distinct from, say, a 18650 or hobby battery charger where the charging circuit is in the charger itself and has a direct connection to the battery.
Toss up. The risk has always been there. Lithium batteries, like petrol in your car, all have the ability to go supanova and burn you. Even in the case of major incidents like the samsung thing, you're looking at less than 1% chance of anything bad happening. It's up to you though whether the risk is worth it.
Treatment and using the right charger is important
Using cheap cables causes issues
how?
Superstition.
That's true, thanks for your reply. I think I'll continue using it for now, unless more of these reports surface.
Yeah, you'll probably be fine. Even so, there are things you can do to make it safer.
Avoid using $2 chargers. These aren't built with fail-safe in mind, and they have shoddy soldering. Thing gets hot, something goes wrong, and next thing you know you have 240v racing up the wires to the battery charging circuit. Charge it from a computer if you want something safer. More layers of protection.
Cables, not so much an issue, unless it breaks inside and short circuits.
Don't leave it plugged in forever. Once it reaches 95% charge, unplug it. Likewise don't let it get too low, as in under 20%
Avoid using the phone while its charging. This puts extra demand on the battery.
If it starts getting hot, put it down quickly. If its plugged in, unplug it from the wall side
When you really look at it though this is all general advice that applies to anything with a lithium battery. It takes the risk down from negligible to even more negligible. In most cases though it won't make a difference. If fate decries that your phone will explode and burn you, your gonna get burnt, son!
Thanks for your advice! I'll try and remember these. Your last sentence made me laugh :)
I bet its the crap usb chargers people are using that cause the issue that cant supply the right current to the device
Batteries are only as good as the input people put through them, overcharge a battery and what happens, it blows up