Galaxy S4 burns out, Samsung says it will replace unit after user pulls video: Report

We have seen many incidents in the recent past about smartphones that catch fire, or even explode. This time around, it's a said to be a Samsung Galaxy S4 involved again, in an incident that has been reported widely. In early December, a YouTube user, Ghostlyrich, posted a video that showed his Samsung Galaxy S4 catching fire, but what makes the incident truly noteworthy is Samsung's reported reaction to it.

The posted video on YouTube showed a Samsung Galaxy S4 catching fire while charging with what the user claimed to be an original Samsung charger. While the phone did not explode, its charging port was supposedly burnt, rendering it inoperable. Considering the user's phone was under warranty, Samsung had reportedly sent a letter with an offer to replace the handset. However, the document reportedly said Samsung will replace the defective unit only after the user pulled the video from YouTube.

The user Ghostlyrich reportedly responded by uploading another video, which has generated over 600,000 views (compared to the original with the 300,000 views) till now. Samsung's purported letter to the user has also been published on the Internet.

Of course, this isn't the first time in the recent past that a smartphone caught fire, or exploded. A notable incident involving the S4 was in July where the phone reportedly exploded and burnt down a house in Hong Kong. Chinese website Xianguo.com reported that a man named Du was playing a game on his Galaxy S4 while it was charging, when it exploded into flames, causing him to throw his phone, which landed on his couch, after which the device exploded and eventually the fire spread to the entire house.

A similar incident in July happened with an Apple user, where a 23-year-old woman in South China was electrocuted, and died while using a charging iPhone. Later investigation claimed that the tragedy happened because of the use of a third-party charger. Apple in August announced a trade-in program for third-party chargers to counter such incidents involving unauthorised after-market accessories.