Gaming Mouse Erupts in Flames, User's Apartment Narrowly Averted Disaster

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 mouse engulfed in flames while their PC was in sleep mode. The incident resulted in significant damage to the mouse, their desk, and nearby equipment, including a modular synthesizer.

The Gigabyte M6880X is an older wired optical mouse, powered by a standard USB 2.0 connection (5V at 0.5A), making the fire particularly puzzling given the lack of internal battery. Images shared by lommelinn show the mouse's top rear panel completely melted, while the underside remained relatively unscathed. The cause of the localized damage remains unknown.

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Gigabyte officially responded to the incident on Reddit, stating that they are investigating the matter and have contacted lommelinn to offer support. They emphasized their commitment to customer safety.

lommelinn expressed their astonishment, noting 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, highlighting the unexpected potential for even seemingly innocuous devices to malfunction catastrophically.