South Korea Considering Investigation of iPhone 6s Battery Shutdown Issue

[MacRumors]

South Korea's Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) said it is considering an investigation into whether some iPhone 6s devices experiencing unexpected battery shutdowns is a safety issue, according to The Korea Herald.

"The agency is well aware of recent iPhone issues and is taking a close look at it," an unnamed KATS official told The Herald. While KATS hasn't officially launched an investigation, it wants to make sure the problem isn't like the Galaxy Note 7 battery issue, which caused devices to randomly catch fire and start smoking. The agency is currently in talks with Apple Korea about the issue.

In November, Apple launched a repair program for iPhone 6s devices experiencing the unexpected shutdowns, saying that "a very small number of iPhone 6s devices" that were manufactured between September and October 2015 were affected. Apple said the problem was "not a safety issue."

On its Chinese website, Apple said the shutdowns were caused by a manufacturing error where some batteries were overexposed to "controlled ambient air," causing them to degrade faster than normal. In addition to its repair program, Apple now lets you check your iPhone 6s serial number to see if you're eligible for a new battery.

Article Link: South Korea Considering Investigation of iPhone 6s Battery Shutdown Issue

 

[skwood]

Do I sense Samsung's hand in this?

 

[farewelwilliams]

more like "we need to protect Samsung in such a fragile state"

 

[Admiral]

"The agency is well aware of recent iPhone issues and is taking a close look at it," an unnamed KATS official told The Herald. While KATS hasn't officially launched an investigation, it wants to make sure the problem isn't like the Galaxy Note 7 battery issue, which caused devices to randomly catch fire and start smoking. The agency is currently in talks with Apple Korea about the issue.

There is nothing that pleases a Korean public official more than the opportunity to be seen to have vanquished a large foreign company.

 

[pajamma]

South Korea? Yeah, probably just a coincidence.

 

[techpr]

Investigating something already investigated.

 

[B4U]

It can be a safety issue depending on how far are the lawyers willing to bend the definition...
On the other hand, the shut down issue is real as my phone shut down at 91%!!

 

[abe_lincoln]

While I'm totally miffed my phone sometimes shuts down at frickin 40%, at least it hasn't burst into flames, even after 14 months of service!

 

[henryaaron]

I'm a victim.
I just love how the site says "come on in, we'll replace it" and then I get there after an hour and a half of train connections because my damn phone is dead at 40% and I don't how to G-train and they tell me "no batteries here, we'll order you one. Come back next week"

Investigate away, make them suffer.

 

[macTW]

Looks like a little salt in Samsung - I mean South Korea.
[doublepost=1481684969][/doublepost]

I'm a victim.
I just love how the site says "come on in, we'll replace it" and then I get there after an hour and a half of train connections because my damn phone is dead at 40% and I don't how to G-train and they tell me "no batteries here, we'll order you one. Come back next week"

Investigate away, make them suffer.

So apple having a supply issue is somehow this site's fault and South Korea, under Samsung, is allowed to investigate a nothing event?

 

[henryaaron]

Looks like a little salt in Samsung - I mean South Korea.
[doublepost=1481684969][/doublepost]
So apple having a supply issue is somehow this site's fault and South Korea, under Samsung, is allowed to investigate a nothing event?

Apple's support site, where you enter your serial number

 

[TBN27]

It can be a safety issue depending on how far are the lawyers willing to bend the definition...
On the other hand, the shut down issue is real as my phone shut down at 91%!!

I am really starting to believe it has to do with the phones supposedly self protection against extreme temperatures. There must be a glitch that makes the phone falsely sense extreme temperatures and shuts itself off. I had my battery replaced last week and while the battery life has dramatically improved, my phone is still shutting down. It happened at 52%

 

[44267547]

more like "we need to protect Samsung in such a fragile state"

Perhaps. It does lead one to believe they potentially could be behind the scenes. Almost as a safety net for Samsung.

 

[magicschoolbus]

Just got mine fixed. Noticing a huge change in battery life.

Thanks apple! Finally I have something to applaud you for

 

[ksnell]

Looks like a little salt in Samsung - I mean South Korea.
[doublepost=1481684969][/doublepost]
So apple having a supply issue is somehow this site's fault and South Korea, under Samsung, is allowed to investigate a nothing event?

I think is what they mean is, why on Earth do they not order the battery first when I schedule a Genius appointment for the following week specifically to have the battery replaced. The same thing almost happened to me.

They know where, when and why you are coming but they don't necessarily plan to have the parts available. I thought logistics was Tim's jam but I guess he is failing at that too now.

 

[Jeaz]

Have this exact problem except with a 6, not S. Shame we aren't covered by this even though we have the same fault.

 

[kingpushup]

I bought mine in the affected period, however my Serial Number shows that my battery had already been replaced - meaning that Apple knew early of the possible shutdown.

Difference: Samsung still does not know why its phones explode, burning homes and people.

This reminds me of Antenna-gate and bend-gate, where Apple knew where it squeezed margins with little relative impact (unless you wanted to get famous on YouTube). Samsung just seems to copy, cut corners and guess at whether it's ready for launch.

They may price similar to Apple, but focus is not quality. Margins reveal what we know: price is buy one get one free, and business model is cost (and court allowed copying), not quality.

However, competition is essential, and I just do not know who would step up if Samsung followed HTC's fall from fame.

 

[linguist]

i wonder where the battery itself is made , japan, china ,korea ?

 

[C DM]

Have this exact problem except with a 6, not S. Shame we aren't covered by this even though we have the same fault.

Same symptom but does that mean the same cause?

 

[realeric]

KATS is owned and operated by Korean government which is owned and operated by Samsung. World most corrupted company, Samsung.

 

[macTW]

Apple's support site, where you enter your serial number

Thought you said this site, my bad. But again, with people going in, did you expect Apple to both have supply and to drop everything to fix it?

 

[gnasher729]

Thought you said this site, my bad. But again, with people going in, did you expect Apple to both have supply and to drop everything to fix it?

To be honest, if you make an appointment at the genius bar to have a specific problem fixed, Apple shouldn't give you the appointment if they know that they don't have the items in the store that are needed to fix the problem. Like if your MacBook hard drive were broken, they shouldn't give you an appointment if they don't have a replacement hard drive in store.

 

[apolloa]

KATS is owned and operated by Korean government which is owned and operated by Samsung. World most corrupted company, Samsung.

Proof? I want real hard proof from a nine conspiracy theory website that Samsung 'owns' and 'operates' the Korean government.

It's funny Americans say things like that when the US political system is based almost entirely on corporations funding and lobbying.. yeah just because that's how it works in America doesn't mean it's how it works elsewhere.

 

[fulles2000]

Have this exact problem except with a 6, not S. Shame we aren't covered by this even though we have the same fault.

Same here. My battery is all over the place on my 6. It will drop from 40% to 1% or shut off completely. When you put it on charge it immediately jumps straight back to 40%. Not always 40% either. Sometimes higher sometimes lower. I've got a call with Apple Care but I've not heard back from them in months. I just can't rely on it because it's died within a couple of hours of light use before so if I'm away from power for any length of time it's going to shut off. I've thought about upgrading to the 7 (probably 7 plus for the bigger battery even though I don't really want a larger phone) but apart from the battery my 6 is still great.

I've never understood why people complain about iPhone battery life because all my previous iPhones have had very good battery life but my 6 has been really poor and my usage hasn't really changed.

 

[c0ppo]

I have a 6s, and my serial number isn't covered according to Apple. Shame that my iPhone doesn't agree with them, and shuts down randomly when on 40% or less.

The problem here is that S.Korea is investigating? I believe the real problem other countries are not investigating.
I want my battery replaced, since it is faulty for no good reason. But Apple says no. Investigate away.