Why does the RELX 4th/5th generation flash red? Breathing light guide

What does it mean when the RELX 4th or 5th generation flashes red three times on the breathing light, vibrates once, and does not produce vapor?

Recently, some users have reported running into this issue with the 4th and 5th generation devices from time to time. So how can it be fixed?

First, we need to understand what the breathing light is used for.

On the RELX 4th generation, the breathing light is a circular LED light. On the 5th generation, it consists of four bar-shaped LEDs. The breathing light usually shows how much battery power is left in the device, and abnormal light behavior can also help determine why it is flashing red and not producing vapor.

RELX 4th/5th generation breathing light guide

1. During use

RELX 5th Generation Phantom

1. Normal use: the 4 LEDs pulse in a wave-like pattern while vaping.

2. Battery depleted: all 4 LEDs flash red at the same time. After removing and reinserting the pod, only one breathing light bar will flash.

RELX 4th Generation Infinity

1. Normal use: the circular LED stays on during use and turns off after a puff. When the battery is low, the breathing light flashes red but the device does not vibrate.

2. Battery depleted: the circular breathing light flashes red and the device vibrates.

2. Charging status

RELX 5th Generation Phantom: the four LEDs flash from bottom to top. The four breathing lights represent 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% respectively. During charging, the highest flashing light indicates the approximate current battery level. Once fully charged, the lights stay on steadily and you can unplug it.

RELX 4th Generation Infinity: the circular breathing light flashes while charging, and stays solid white when fully charged.

After looking into it repeatedly, the truth is that in most cases this issue is caused by the pod. The two contact electrodes at the bottom of the pod may sometimes fail to touch the device contacts properly due to their length, causing the device to think you are puffing on “air” and triggering its self-protection mechanism, so it will not produce vapor. If you do not believe it, try pulling the pod out just a tiny bit and then take a puff.

As for the solution, after inserting the pod into the device, pinch the top of the pod and gently twist it left and right. If the device vibrates and flashes red, that means it has made contact. If it still flashes red and does not produce vapor while puffing, keep trying the twisting method mentioned above. Based on hands-on testing, the success rate is about 70%.

If you have tried the above method several times and it still does not work, you can also go directly through the official after-sales process for a replacement. This is considered a product quality issue, and the official service can replace it free of charge. To be fair, RELX does a pretty good job on this point.