Redmi Note 6 Pro explodes at Gujarat service centre. Watch video

A Redmi Note 6 Pro unit in India caught fire while it was being repaired at a shop in Gujarat. The incident occurred when the technician was trying to remove the back panel of the phone. As reported by regional publication Khabar Gujarat, Kishan – a technician at Dhriti Mobiles – was repairing the Redmi Note 6 Pro when smoke started coming out of the handset’s back panel. The unit then caught fire, and the technician had to throw it off the counter to avoid further damage. Luckily no one was hurt, but the Redmi Note 6 Pro unit was completely destroyed. The handset’s user later questioned the safety of Xiaomi devices.

There was no comment from Xiaomi on the Facebook post by Khabar Gujarat at the time of filing this story. Notably, this isn’t the first smartphone from Xiaomi that has caught fire. Mi A1, Redmi Note 4, Redmi Note 7S, and Redmi 6A, among others, have all been in the news in the past due to explosions. The Redmi Note 6 Pro is the latest addition to that list. The handset was launched back in 2018 as a successor of Xiaomi’s extremely popular Redmi Note 5 Pro smartphone.

Update: A Xiaomi spokesperson has issued a statement regarding this blast: “As a follow up to the Gujarat Redmi Note 6 Pro case, our teams immediately reached out to the customer and he has informed us that the device was already physically damaged when it was brought to the unauthorised local repair store. On investigation, it was determined that the further physical tampering of the device by the local shop owner led to additional damage. We have resolved the issue with the customer and the case has been closed. We urge and request our customers to reach out to authorised service centres for concerns on their devices where qualified personnel are available to address their issues.”

Redmi Note 6 Pro specifications

For those unaware, the Redmi Note 6 Pro ships with a 6.26-inch full-HD+ IPS panel, which offers a resolution of 1,080 x 2,280 pixels and a 19:9 aspect ratio. The phone houses a 4,000mAh battery, which supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 and a quadruple-camera setup. The Redmi Note 6 Pro features dual 20MP + 2MP sensors on the front, while at the back it sports a 12MP primary shooter (with f/1.9 aperture) and a secondary 5MP telephoto sensor. It combines all the basic features such as dual pixel autofocus, EIS, AI scene detection, and AI portrait 2.0.

The phone is powered by Snapdragon 636 SoC paired with up to 6GB RAM and 64GB storage onboard. The handset runs Android 8 Oreo-based MIUI 9 out of the box. Connectivity options on the Redmi Note 6 Pro include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS, a Micro-USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It also features a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.

The Redmi Note 6 Pro was launched in India at a starting price of Rs 13,999, but is currently selling at around Rs 9,000 on major e-commerce platforms.