Redditor ‘Virtually’ Began A Fireplace With A Steam Controller
One Reddit person says they ‘virtually’ began a hearth after their smartwatch strap touched the uncovered contacts of their Steam Controller’s charging puck. In accordance with the Redditor, they have been charging the smartwatch subsequent to the charging puck and defined that the strap hit the uncovered pins on the “precise unsuitable angle”. This seemingly induced a brief circuit, which, because the Reddit person notes, produced a scorching sound.
The harm to each the charging puck and Pixel Watch 4 was minimal, because the Redditor rapidly found out that one thing was awry. In addition they contemplate the accident their fault, claiming they hadn’t initially opened a help ticket, though they later contacted Steam’s {hardware} workforce. The unfortunate person suggested others to maintain the Steam Controller charging puck separate from metallic objects. Whereas the official guide warns a few attainable Steam Controller hearth situation, fellow Redditors expressed issues in regards to the puck, calling its uncovered pins a obvious design flaw and a hearth hazard.
Is the Steam Controller a hearth threat?
The Steam Controller stays a scorching merchandise. But, the incident raises vital issues in regards to the security of each the controller and the charging puck. Within the Security Data part of the guide, Steam warns in regards to the hearth threat, advising customers to ensure that the controller and charging elements are “freed from metallic objects earlier than connecting”.
Redditors have been fast to help the unique poster. Although some acknowledged the warning, additionally they introduced a number of situations wherein comparable issues may occur by chance. For example, having your hand close to the charging puck whereas sporting a watch. Others famous that even in case you’re conscious of the fireplace threat, repeatedly monitoring the charging station is inconceivable. The guide is obvious in regards to the dangers, however as customers identified, not everybody within the family might know the way harmful it’s to put metallic objects on the puck.
As a result of folks not often research person manuals, the dearth of fundamental protections may very well be a crimson flag. Some customers urged that the gadget ought to implement a “handshake” earlier than powering up the puck’s pins, whereas others questioned the dearth of fundamental overcurrent safety. It stays to be seen how Valve will reply to this incident, however many Redditors consider that the supposed design flaw may very well be grounds for a recall.
