A redditor's gaming mouse spontaneously combusted, nearly causing a house fire. The user, u/lommelinn, reported discovering their Gigabyte M6880X wired optical mouse engulfed in flames while their PC was in sleep mode. The incident resulted in significant damage to the mouse, the user's desk, and nearby equipment, including a modular synthesizer. The room was filled with black smoke, requiring immediate action to extinguish the blaze.
The Gigabyte M6880X, a seemingly ordinary wired gaming mouse with no internal battery and powered by a low-voltage USB 2.0 connection, unexpectedly malfunctioned catastrophically. Photos shared by the user show the mouse's top rear panel completely melted, while the underside remained relatively undamaged. The cause of this localized damage remains unexplained. Images also depict damage to the desk and mousepad.
My Gigabyte mouse caught fire and almost burned down my apartment
by u/lommelinn in pcmasterrace
Gigabyte officially acknowledged the incident and launched an investigation, stating their commitment to customer safety and offering support to the affected user. They promised a full investigation.
In a later post, u/lommelinn expressed their astonishment, emphasizing that their PC was in sleep mode and that subsequent voltage checks on the USB port revealed no anomalies. The cause of the fire remains a mystery.
