The Redmi Note 7 series is on the rise in Asia. Just two weeks ago we reported on itthat the Redmi Note 7S of an Indian owner caught fire and was destroyed. The owner claims that he did not drop or disassemble the device before the fire. According to Xiaomi's expert opinion at the time, the battery was replaced improperly and may have caused the fire. Now a Redmi Note 7 Pro has caught fire.
In this case, it was China's Song Yujie who was the loser. He bought a Redmi Note 7 Pro for his father at a Xiaomi Mall in China on 24 July. Three months later, on 29 October, the phone "spontaneously combusted". The incident was reported on 27 November.
What happened?
Song claims that the phone was used to watch videos in bed. The father fell asleep and woke up to a smell of smoke. He then noticed that his smartphone was on fire. Fortunately, there were no significant personal injuries and the damage to property was "only" to the phone and the duvet. The phone was charred and Song's father suffered minor burns while putting it out. Post-fire photos taken by Song Yujie show the phone being torn apart in the fire.
Xiaomi's reaction to the Redmi Note 7 Pro
The expert opinion was very similar to the one after the Indian case.
Xiaomi customer service staff told reporters on 28 November that the case of Mr Song's mobile phone, which was destroyed in a fire, was "not identified as a quality problem". This means that the phone may have been subjected to external impact, which may have caused the fire. There was no problem with the quality of the handset.
Although the Redmi Note 7 Pro comes with an 18-month warranty in China, the burnt phone is not covered by the warranty.
Although these two cases are negligible compared to the volume sold, Xiaomi's reaction is a cause for serious concern and raises a number of key questions. Is Xiaomi compromising quality while keeping phone prices low? Are Xiaomi's customer service staff simply incompetent, or is the company simply shirking its responsibility by blaming external influences for the fires on its phones?
Let's hope there will be no more cases like this with any of the models.
