Gaming Mouse Fire: User's Apartment Nearly Burned Down

Imagine your gaming setup turning into a scene from a disaster movie. This nightmare became a reality for Reddit user lommelinn, who discovered their Gigabyte M6880X mouse engulfed in flames while their PC was in sleep mode. The incident, which occurred early in the morning, filled the room with black smoke and nearly caused a catastrophic fire in their apartment.

In a detailed post on reddit, lommelinn recounted the harrowing experience: "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 inhaled a lot of smoke in the process and my room is now in bad shape, 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, a seemingly ordinary wired gaming mouse that operates on a standard USB 2.0 connection with a 5V power supply at 0.5A, was at the center of this alarming incident. Photos shared by lommelinn show the mouse's top rear panel completely melted, while the underside remained relatively undamaged. The reason behind the selective damage to the mouse's casing remains a mystery, as does the extent of the damage to the user's desk and mousepad, which were also affected by the heat.

My Gigabyte mouse caught fire and almost burned down my apartment byu/lommelinn inpcmasterrace

In response to the incident, Gigabyte issued an official statement on the Reddit thread, indicating their commitment to safety and their ongoing investigation:

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 shared further details in another Reddit post, expressing their disbelief at the unexpected event. "My PC was in sleep mode," they stated. "Since then, I checked the USB port with a voltage meter and it's fine. No clue how this can happen."