SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20260719-CA29B-2147313709. Severity: No Incident, No Injury. Product: Apple Amazon Renewed iPhone 13 Mini (Apple iPhone 13 Mini, 128GB storage, Product Red color. This device was sold as an "Amazon Renewed Premium" refurbished smartphone directly by Amazon.com, which means it was modified/refurbished by Amazon or their authorized vendors prior to sale.). Incident: Incident Description for CPSC: I purchased an "Amazon Renewed Premium" Apple iPhone 13 Mini (Order #[REDACTED]) directly from Amazon.com. During normal use, the internal lithium-ion battery catastrophically expanded and swelled, generating excessive heat and physically prying the screen completely off the device chassis. The device is now in a state of severe thermal instability and poses an imminent fire and explosion hazard. Because it was sold as a refurbished device by Amazon, it likely contains a non-genuine, unauthorized, or counterfeit battery that lacks proper thermal safety mechanisms. I have contacted Amazon to report this critical physical safety hazard. However, their automated systems and customer service representatives are demanding that I physically ship the severely swollen battery back to their warehouses to receive a refund. I am legally prohibited from mailing or transporting this hazardous device under DOT and FAA hazmat regulations due to the explosive risk. Amazon is effectively demanding that a customer violate federal shipping laws, while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge the physical safety hazard of the product they sold. I am requesting the CPSC to investigate Amazon's practice of selling potentially counterfeit/unsafe lithium-ion batteries and their dangerous return policies regarding defective Hazmat items.