Does your vape continue hissing and cracking after you stop puffing on it? If it does, you’ve got an auto-firing vape. It’s a little frightening to hear any electronic device making noises when you aren’t actually using it, but it’s even more worrisome when the device in question happens to be a vape because a vaping device has a heating element placed in close proximity to a lithium-ion battery. If the battery gets too hot, that’s a potential recipe for disaster.
Even the best vapes on the market can experience auto-firing issues if they’re damaged or misused. It’s important to handle the issue promptly before your device’s battery has a chance to overheat. In most cases, it’s possible to stop a vape from auto-firing. We’ll explain how to do that in this guide, and we’ll also tell you what you can do to prevent it from happening again in the future. We’ll also give you some advice that you can use in the worst-case scenario, if you’re unable to stop your vape from hitting on its own.
How to Stop Your Vape from Auto-Firing
The best way to stop a vape from auto-firing depends on what type of vape you’re using. For this type of issue, vapes fall into three categories. There are:
- Disposable vapes, which generally don’t have fire buttons or removable pods
- Pod-based vapes that are puff-activated and don’t have fire buttons
- Vapes that do have fire buttons
We’ll explain how to stop each of these types of vapes from auto-firing.
How to Stop a Disposable Vape from Auto-Firing
In a few cases, disposable vapes have on-off switches. If your disposable vape has a power switch, you can stop it from auto-firing simply by moving the switch to the “off” position. In most cases, though, a disposable vape never really turns off. Instead, it uses an automatic puff sensor to detect when air is drawn through the device. If your disposable vape’s puff sensor is permanently on, it’s likely that the sensor has gotten stuck due to a leak. In many cases, it’s possible to unstick the sensor by blowing firmly through your disposable vape’s mouthpiece.
How to Stop a Pod Vape Without a Fire Button from Auto-Firing
If you have a pod vape without a manual fire button, the situation is similar to what it would be with a disposable vape in that your device doesn’t have a true on-off function. As we described in the previous section of this article, you may be able to fix the puff sensor by blowing firmly through the device. If that doesn’t work, remove the pod until you’re able to resolve the issue. With no pod installed, auto-firing won’t be possible; your device’s light will simply blink until the battery dies.
How to Stop a Vape with a Fire Button from Auto-Firing
A vaping device with a manual fire button always has an on-off function, so in this case, it’s easy to stop your vape from auto-firing. In most cases, a vape with a fire button will turn off if you press the button five times.
What to Do if You Can’t Stop Your Vape from Auto-Firing
It’s particularly frightening to have a vape that’s auto-firing if you have no way to turn the device off, and that’s the case if the device you’re using is a disposable vape. As we mentioned above, most disposables have no on-off function. If you can’t get your device to stop auto-firing by blowing through the mouthpiece, you’ll need to wait for the battery to die. While that’s happening, though, your device will generate heat, and that means there’s a risk of overheating.
If You Can’t Stop a Disposable Vape from Auto-Firing
The best way to handle a disposable vape that’s auto-firing if you can’t get it to stop is by moving it to a fireproof location and waiting for the battery to die. We suggest taking the device outside and covering it with dirt. If that’s not possible, you can also place the device in a cooking pot. Make sure that there’s nothing flammable over the pot. Within a few minutes, the battery will die. At that point, you can take the device to a local recycling operation that accepts devices with lithium-ion batteries.
If You Can’t Stop Another Type of Vape from Auto-Firing
If you have a vaping device with a removable pod or a fire button, it’s easy to stop your device from auto-firing by removing the pod or turning the device off. In the next section of this article, we’ll explain what you can do to stop your device from auto-firing in the future. In some cases, though, it’s possible that you won’t be able to fix your vape. If the device was damaged because you dropped it in water or on a hard surface, for instance, it may simply resume auto-firing as soon as you turn it back on or reinstall the pod. In this case, you’ll need to recycle your device.
How to Prevent Your Vape from Auto-Firing in the Future
At this point, you’ve hopefully resolved the immediate issue and stopped your vape from auto-firing. The next step is to fix the cause of the problem if you can, and we’re going to discuss some options for that next.
Make Sure Your Vape Is Authentic
Product authenticity is a real concern with all types of vaping devices, but it’s an especially major problem with disposable vapes. There are potentially millions of fake vapes in the wild today, which is why Innokin and other top manufacturers put verification codes on their products. Every time you buy a disposable vape, you should go to the manufacturer’s website and enter the code to confirm that the device is legitimate.
The proliferation of fake vapes is a serious safety concern because a device that isn’t produced by a legitimate factory could have a number of major quality issues such as leaks, substandard internal components and rejected or repurposed battery cells. In other words, a fake vape might be more likely to develop an auto-firing issue, and if that does happen, the chance of the battery overheating may be greater.
If you want to have the best chance to avoid buying an auto-firing disposable vape in the future, you should buy your vapes from a reliable vape shop and always check the verification code before using a device.
Clean Your Vape
The most common reason why a puff-activated vape begins leaking is because the device has leaked. The puff sensor is usually a moving membrane. It’s in the device’s airflow path, so it’s naturally going to get e-liquid on it if the device leaks. If that happens, the puff sensor may get stuck in place. That’s why the device begins auto-firing, and it’s also why blowing through the device often makes the device stop firing – because it dislodges the sensor.
With a disposable vape, there isn’t much that you can do to prevent the device from auto-firing in the future apart from continuing to blow through the device when it begins auto-firing. We’ll discuss how you can prevent future devices from auto-firing in the final section of this guide.
If you’re using a pod system or a 510-thread battery with a puff sensor, though, you can clean the device to prevent it from continuing to auto-fire.
- If you’re using a pod vape, pull the pod out of the device. Dry it and the chamber at the top of the device with a paper towel. Make sure that you’ve removed all of the e-liquid and try using your device again. If the issue continues happening, replace the pod.
- If you’re using a 510-thread battery and an oil cartridge, you can clean the device’s threading and the bottom of the cartridge with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. The alcohol will dissolve the oil.
Note that some vapes with manual fire buttons actually allow both button-based and puff-based firing – so even if your device has a fire button, it still may be necessary to clean under the pod, tank or cartridge to stop your device from auto-firing. It may be possible in some cases to disable the puff sensor through your device’s menu system while retaining the functionality of the fire button. If your vape stops auto-firing, you know that the puff sensor is the problem. If the puff sensor isn’t the cause of the issue – or if you have an auto-firing vape that operates only with a manual fire button – try removing dust and lint from around the edge of the button with a toothpick.
Using a Puff-Activated Vape? Don’t Puff So Hard
The top reason why a puff-activated vape leaks is because you’re puffing as firmly on the device as you would have puffed on a tobacco cigarette. In fact, a vaping device requires much less air pressure than that. If you use too much air pressure with a puff-activated device, you could force e-liquid out of the wick or reservoir. In this case, the device’s coil will flood, and the e-liquid will eventually trickle down to the puff sensor. Use only the level of air pressure that’s necessary to get the device to produce vapor.
Hemok Wang
Hey! Hemok here, a vaping enthusiast with a passion for helping people quit smoking. My uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer a few years ago after smoking for more than 40 years. I do understand that quitting smoking isn't only a physical issue but also a mental one. It's just hard to go "cold turkey". I believe that vaping is one of the best solutions to make the switch only if you do it in the right way, and that's why I am here to share :)
