Gaming Mouse Fire: User's Apartment Nearly Burned Down

Imagine sitting in your apartment, and suddenly, the smell of smoke fills the air. That’s exactly what happened to Reddit user lommelinn, who was shocked to find their gaming mouse engulfed in flames while their PC was in sleep mode. This unexpected incident with a Gigabyte M6880X mouse not only filled their room with black smoke but also left it covered in soot, including their modular synthesizer. Thankfully, lommelinn managed to put out the fire before it could cause more damage, but the event was a close call that could have resulted in a much worse outcome.

Sharing their harrowing experience on Reddit, lommelinn detailed the alarming situation: “I smelled smoke early this morning, so I rushed into my room and found my computer mouse burning with large flames. Black smoke filled the room. I quickly extinguished the fire, but exhaled a lot of smoke in the process and my room is in a bad shape now, covered with black particles (my modular synth as well). Fortunately, we avoided the worst, but the fact that this can happen is still shocking. It's an older wired, optical mouse from Gigabyte.”

The Gigabyte M6880X in question is an older model of wired gaming mouse, powered by a USB 2.0 connection that typically uses a safe 5V at 0.5A. Despite its seemingly innocuous design and lack of a battery, this mouse unexpectedly caught fire, leading to widespread curiosity and concern about its catastrophic failure.

Photos shared by lommelinn show the extent of the damage, with the top rear panel of the mouse completely melted away, while the underside remained relatively unscathed. The cause of the fire, particularly why it only affected the top casing, remains a mystery. Additional images also reveal damage to the user’s desk, with a melted section and a compromised mousepad.

My Gigabyte mouse caught fire and almost burned down my apartment

byu/lommelinn inpcmasterrace

In response, Gigabyte took immediate action, posting a comment in the Reddit thread to address the situation:

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."

Following the incident, lommelinn expressed their disbelief in a follow-up post, stating, "My PC was in sleep mode. Since then, I checked the USB port with a voltage meter and it's fine. No clue how this can happen." This unexpected event has not only raised questions about the safety of electronic devices but also highlighted the importance of vigilance and quick response in preventing potential disasters.