Too Hot to Handle: Gaming Mouse Allegedly Burst Into Flame and Almost “Burned Down” User's Apartment

A redditor's gaming mouse spontaneously combusted, nearly causing a house fire. The user, u/lommelinn, reported waking to the smell of smoke and discovering their Gigabyte M6880X wired optical mouse engulfed in flames. The incident occurred while their PC was in sleep mode.

The resulting damage was significant. Images show the mouse's top rear panel completely melted, while the underside remained relatively intact. The desk and mousepad also sustained damage from the heat. The cause of the fire, considering the mouse's simple design (wired, no battery, powered by a low-voltage USB 2.0 connection), remains a mystery.

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 are currently working to determine the cause of the malfunction.

u/lommelinn expressed their astonishment, noting that their PC was in sleep mode and that subsequent voltage checks on the USB port revealed no issues. The unexpected fire highlights a potential, albeit rare, safety concern with even seemingly simple computer peripherals.