21st November 2025 – (Shanghai) A resident of Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, has alleged that an iPhone 16 Pro Max began to smoulder while charging, reigniting concerns over handset safety during power top-ups. Mr Zuo said he purchased the device in January from an official online flagship store for his son in Beijing for 8,871.65 yuan. On the morning of 27th August, the phone reportedly emitted smoke from the charging port area during routine charging, with the incident now mired in a dispute over responsibility.
The user was asleep when a burning smell woke him. He then noticed smoke coming from the base of the handset and scorch marks around the charging interface and connected cable. Following Apple’s instructions, documentation was submitted and the device was sent to Apple in Shanghai for inspection on 7th September. After weeks without a response, Mr Zuo pursued the case on his son’s behalf and received a call from Apple on 26th October.
A recording provided by Mr Zuo indicates Apple concluded the issue was not a product quality defect, while also stating it had not attributed the incident to human factors. The company was unable to specify the ignition source and did not issue a written inspection report. Mr Zuo questioned how the cause could remain unexplained if neither user error nor product quality was implicated.
When Apple did not provide clarity, Mr Zuo turned to the e-commerce platform that sold the device. The platform initially requested the handset for testing; after he arranged for Apple to forward it directly to the platform’s inspection point, the platform said it could not conduct its own analysis and would defer to Apple’s conclusions. Mr Zuo expressed frustration at being passed back and forth without resolution.
Photographs taken by Mr Zuo show limited damage to the body of the phone but melted rubber around the charging port. Some iPhone users quoted in reports said they had occasionally experienced minor leakage with charging cables, though not self-combustion. Others noted that genuine Apple cables often feature electroplated markings on the connector, though the burn location in this case coincided with where such markings would be, making verification difficult. Mr Zuo maintained the cable was original and said it was included when the device was sent for inspection. He argued that, had the cable been non-genuine, Apple could have stated so rather than decline to identify the cause.
An employee at an authorised Apple reseller, cited in the reports, cautioned that markings alone are not definitive because variations in factory batches mean some genuine cables may lack them. Based on the images, the cable’s appearance was said to be consistent with an original accessory.
On 19th November, Mainland media contacted Apple customer service, which verified the purchase via the device’s serial number but said there was no record of this incident in its service system. The representative did not address the event or potential fault causes directly.
At present, the handset can still power on, but the charging port is damaged and the phone is difficult to use normally. Mr Zuo said he has not sought extra compensation, only a clear explanation and a reasonable resolution.
