There's a new hoax going around on the Internet that has some Apple iPhone users believing they can actually charge their handset via a home microwave. Apparently, the fake advertisement claims that users should first update their device to iOS 8 before the feature is able to work.
The new hoax is clearly achieving its goal because at least one person so far has attempted to charge their iPhone wirelessly via a microwave. Obviously, the handset came out looking like a burnt hot dog, and the victim has taken to Twitter to complain to Apple.
The advertisement in question appears to have been photoshopped to look exactly like a traditional Apple ad on the Internet, which is probably why folks are getting fooled.
From the ad itself, the charging-by-microwave feature is called "Wave" (clever), and it requires iOS 8 users to drop their iPhones in a microwave for up to a minute and a half. It also forbids iPhone users to microwave-charge their device for over 300 seconds, which is around 5 minutes.
With one person already confirmed to have fallen for the hoax, the Los Angeles Police Department has come out to educate folks on the Internet about the fake advertisement.
The department came out on Twitter with the following message:
"This #Wave capability is a #hoax. Don't be fooled into microwaving your #iPhone6."
It is crazy how an advertisement like this, which is clearly a hoax, is capable of tricking folks who use the Internet on a regular basis. A mere search on Bing or Google should bring up relevant information about the issue, but folks chose to go ahead and microwave their iPhone instead.
We're happy the LAPD has chosen to say something before this hoax causes someone to lose their home in a fire, or even worse.
We hope that iPhone users on the Internet are more vigilant whenever another hoax like this one pops up in the future. Bear in mind that the Internet is overrun with relevant information to almost every problem, so take advantage of it before doing something extremely stupid like microwaving an iPhone to get it charged.
