Reliance Jio is in the process of shipping the first batch of its JioPhone to those who pre-ordered it back in August. Now, it is reportedly coming in to light that a JioPhone unit exploded while charging in Kashmir. The company is said to be aware of the incident. A company spokesperson said that the company has found in its initial investigation that the damage has been caused intentionally.
As per a report by PhoneRadar which also shared the image of the damaged device, the back of the handset has completely burned and melted. As seen in the image above, we can see the melted back of the device. However, the front of the device is intact, and it seems that the display is slightly damaged.
The Reliance Lyf distributor, aware of the matter has said that the battery of the unit was still functional. Compared to the regular feature phones, the JioPhone features a slightly bigger battery of 2,000mAh capacity. So, if the explosion was caused by the battery, it should have been damaged while in the pictures it’s clear that the battery is intact.
As per Reliance Jio, the incident is a case of “intentional sabotage” and there seems to be nothing wrong with the unit. The company spokesperson says that the timing of the incident suggests that someone is trying to “malign the brand”.
Commenting on the incident, a Reliance Retail spokesperson said,
“Jio Phones are designed and manufactured with global standards, and each phone goes through stringent quality control process. The said incident has been reported to us. Our initial investigation suggests that this is a case of intentional sabotage. The damage to the device seems to have been intentionally caused. The incident, as well as its timing, has been designed by vested interests to malign the brand. We will take appropriate action based on further investigations.”
After more than 6 million pre-orders initially, Reliance Jio had stopped the pre-booking of the JioPhone. However, as per the recent reports, the company will resume the pre-booking after the Diwali festive season. So, we expect the company to resume pre-booking very soon.
