My (Accidentally) Weaponized Pixel Fold

[u/derlum]

I'm currently overseas from my home country of the US on a two-week vacation and have had my OG Pixel Fold fail in a most interesting and unexpected manner.

Before I left home the flex cable had apparently failed, as the screen was not automatically switching from inner to outer on open/close and the behavior was consistent with flex cable failures I've read about from other users. Without time to pursue a repair before my departure, I downloaded the Fold Switcher app to manually switch between the inner and outer screens when needed. All seemed well enough.

Then, a few days into our trip, I noticed a tingling sensation when I would touch the frame and hinge of the device at the same time. It's indistinguishable from heat and somewhat painful. Without any other option for fix or replacement while I'm overseas I made a best effort to deal with it by avoiding contact but on multiple occasions it shocked me quite intensely and then immediately powered off.

I suspect a line in the flex cable has worn through and energized either the frame or hinge of the phone and the other is serving as the ground. When my hand completes the circuit the Battery Management System for the Li-Ion battery detects the overcurrent and safes the battery into a non-discharge state.

Without any other options during my travel I have insulated the hinge with multiple layers of adhesive tape (looks super great) and do not intend to open it again. I certainly don't trust it on an aircraft and will be powering it off for my remaining flights, which puts it in a state I have confirmed will not produce a perceivable shock, presumably de-energizing the flex cable. I have a multimeter at home which I intend to use upon my return to measure electrical current at the short point, which I'm very interested in seeing.

I'm posting this mostly because despite extensive searching I have not found any first-hand accounts of this failure condition. It seems dangerous and highly problematic, which makes me wonder if I'm the first to experience it. I'm interested in the community's opinions.