A redditor's gaming mouse spontaneously combusted, nearly causing a house fire. The user, lommelinn, reported waking to the smell of smoke and discovering their Gigabyte M6880X wired optical mouse engulfed in flames. The incident occurred while their PC was in sleep mode.
The resulting damage was significant. Images show the mouse's top rear panel completely melted, while the underside remained relatively intact. The desk and mousepad also sustained melt damage. The cause of the localized damage remains a mystery, given the mouse's simple design (wired, no battery, powered by a low-voltage USB 2.0 connection).
My Gigabyte mouse caught fire and almost burned down my apartment
by u/lommelinn in pcmasterrace
Gigabyte responded to the incident on the Reddit thread, stating they are investigating the matter and have contacted lommelinn to offer support.
“Hi Everyone, We have been made aware of the incident...Our customer's safety is our top priority and we are actively looking into this case...In the meantime, we appreciate the community’s understanding and patience as we work to address this issue. Best, The GIGABYTE Team.”
lommelinn expressed bafflement, noting their PC was in sleep mode and that the USB port tested fine. The unexpected fire highlights a potential, albeit rare, safety concern regarding even seemingly simple computer peripherals.
