Samsung Recalls New Galaxy Note7 Due to Exploding Batteries [Updated]

[KPandian1]

At least the problem was discovered quickly and being addressed immediately. Can't ask for a better response.

No choice when the IED goes off in your face!

Discovered? By Samsung? That would've happened in the "Alpha" Samsung product quality testing phase, not after sales to the public in apparently record numbers and great reviews!

 

[thewitt]

Samsung is notorious for rushing products to market in an attempt to beat Apple. This is no different. No one will remember the exploding phones in a year, but they will remember any feature that Samsung released before Apple.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Did Samsung make the batteries, or are they from an outside supplier? Is the problem the batteries themselves or is it caused by something else on the Samsung side. Has it happened enough that it should have showed up in testing? How many phones have had the issue so far, hundreds? Thousands?

 

[Dimer]

Seems like a relatively short list compared to some of Apple's faults over the year including, but not limited to "holding the phone wrong," this new "touch disease", MBP screen repair, etc. Samsung reacted quickly, possibly influenced by the iPhone announcement next week, I'm sure. Apple acts like a stubborn child until they're forced to fix an issue.

None of these are even near the level of a device exploding or catching fire...the latter two are BAD!

 

[thewitt]

Did Samsung make the batteries, or are they from an outside supplier? Is the problem the batteries themselves or is it caused by something else on the Samsung side. Has it happened enough that it should have showed up in testing? How many phones have had the issue so far, hundreds? Thousands?

Samsung makes the battery cell. They are assembled into an actual battery by another company.

 

[Technarchy]

Samsung is notorious for rushing products to market in an attempt to beat Apple. This is no different. No one will remember the exploding phones in a year, but they will remember any feature that Samsung released before Apple.

After the recall Samsung will still have the most advanced and well featured smartphone on the planet.

This fact is why I'm still considering the Note 7 when I upgrade later this month. Samsung will have phones recalled and replaced a hell of a lot faster than Apple creating a Note 7 competitor in terms of hardware and features.

 

[pkginstall]

I guess that's the harvest you reap when you sow the seeds of mocking and blatant theft of IP. No one will lose any sleep over Samsung getting bad press - their "ethics" seem to be AWOL.
[doublepost=1472916884][/doublepost]

Yes, a recall is essential.
This phone is literally defective on arrival.
Keep these batteries out of iPhone.

Apple design and contract their own batteries, and I doubt that process is anywhere NEAR Samsung's clumsy hands.

 

[JayIsAwesome]

I'll betcha a dollar there will be an "exploding phone" joke in next week's Apple event.

I could totally see Phil Schiller saying that

 

[pkginstall]

Are we certain it is contained to the batteries though? Chipsets control these kinds of batteries.

"Chipsets"? 😕

You may not realise that rechargeable batteries are protected (or meant to be) by polyswitches, thermal fuses, constant current charging solutions etc, but aside from that, INTERNAL shorts can develop by way of there being a breakdown in the integrity of the electrolyte or the foil used in the anode/cathode terminals of the cells. I am NO battery expert, but I am a fully qualified electronic engineer of 25 years; not everything in the world can be summarised - or is dependent upon - digital things and software - PHYSICAL THINGS EXIST WHICH RELY ON LAWS OF PHYSICS - you can't halt violent deflagration with "chipsets".

 

[kdarling]

Right, and there is obviously no difference between a home button going bad or antenna-gate and an exploding battery.🙄

Yes, but there's far less difference when compared with the fire hazard power adapters that Apple stonewalled on and had to be hit with class actions over in the past.

One example is the more recent settlement over frayed MagSafe connectors that took two years with Apple resisting in court.

Before that, there was the 2008 multi-hundred million dollar settlement over up to 2.3 million iBook and PowerBook adapters that had sparked and melted wires since 2001. Apple finally settled while still refusing to admit fault.

Discovered? By Samsung? That would've happened in the "Alpha" Samsung product quality testing phase, not after sales to the public in apparently record numbers and great reviews!

Since the actual failure rate so far has only been 24 per million, then the chances of seeing a problem during a multi-week test would've been less than one in 40,000.

So even if they had used a thousand test units in the field for a much longer time, the chances were very good that none would've exhibited the problem.

Samsung is notorious for rushing products to market in an attempt to beat Apple. This is no different.

Likewise, Apple is known for last minute changes, and has pushed units out even if there's a problem.

Remember back when Foxconn quality control workers rebelled over the standards they were supposed to meet with the iPhone 5, without training and without equipment to prevent damage to the finish?

Millions of iPhones with defects were sent out and sold anyway, and later had to be returned (because of being swapped by owners for better units) to Foxconn to be fixed.

 

[pkginstall]

its the right thing to do for sure. I can so imagine Steve Jobs saying "your charging it wrong"

Not very likely, considering he's been dead for 5 years.
[doublepost=1472918189][/doublepost]Samsung seem to have unwittingly developed a marketing tool for Apple, here, and for that I congratulate them whilst simultaneously being unable to comprehend such magnificent levels of ineptitude, all round, as a company.

 

[Abazigal]

Apple is the master at making fun of a rivals customers and products. They've hammered away at Microsoft off and on for decades.

Zero class indeed... Especially poor coming from an elitist narcissistic company like Apple.

Now based on a defective battery from a supplier, Samsung gets hit with a manufacturers nightmare. Despite their immediate response to do the right thing, some low class Apple Devotees pounce, acting like idiots. That's very revealing of their character ... 😱
[doublepost=1472871008][/doublepost]
The embellishments and blatant attempt on your part to attack Samsung is quite obvious. You've done an impressive job of avoiding any truth... 😱

This is an Apple forum. What happens to Samsung is frankly none of our concern. You want to crow about what Samsung has done? Go talk about it somewhere else like Androidauthority or Androdpolice and leave us alone. Please.

 

[AppleScruff1]

This is an Apple forum. What happens to Samsung is frankly none of our concern. You want to crow about what Samsung has done? Go talk about it somewhere else like Androidauthority or Androdpolice and leave us alone. Please.

Was that in the fine print of the TOS? I missed it.

 

[smacrumon]

"Chipsets"? 😕

You may not realise that rechargeable batteries are protected (or meant to be) by polyswitches, thermal fuses, constant current charging solutions etc, but aside from that, INTERNAL shorts can develop by way of there being a breakdown in the integrity of the electrolyte or the foil used in the anode/cathode terminals of the cells. I am NO battery expert, but I am a fully qualified electronic engineer of 25 years; not everything in the world can be summarised - or is dependent upon - digital things and software - PHYSICAL THINGS EXIST WHICH RELY ON LAWS OF PHYSICS - you can't halt violent deflagration with "chipsets".

I was referring to a fault in chips that manage the Li-ion battery-charging process.

 

[kdarling]

This is an Apple forum. What happens to Samsung is frankly none of our concern.

Quite the contrary...

Threads about what happens with Samsung (and other Apple competitors) are some of the most popular here, judging from number of posts. For a forum that depends on views to survive, such popular threads are critical.

Heck, even the most rabid Samsung-hating pro-Apple fan forums (think AI), pay for people to write long articles about Samsung -- just to get clicks and to get their site mentioned on major news sites.

More to the point for us members, many people here own devices from multiple manufacturers. It's nice to be able to get at least some news (even if slanted) about the competition without having to visit every other fan forum around.

 

[I7guy]

Yes, but there's far less difference when compared with the fire hazard power adapters that Apple stonewalled on and had to be hit with class actions over in the past.

One example is the more recent settlement over frayed MagSafe connectors that took two years with Apple resisting in court.

Before that, there was the 2008 multi-hundred million dollar settlement over up to 2.3 million iBook and PowerBook adapters that had sparked and melted wires since 2001. Apple finally settled while still refusing to admit fault.



Since the actual failure rate so far has only been 24 per million, then the chances of seeing a problem during a multi-week test would've been less than one in 40,000.

So even if they had used a thousand test units in the field for a much longer time, the chances were very good that none would've exhibited the problem.



Likewise, Apple is known for last minute changes, and has pushed units out even if there's a problem.

Remember back when Foxconn quality control workers rebelled over the standards they were supposed to meet with the iPhone 5, without training and without equipment to prevent damage to the finish?

Millions of iPhones with defects were sent out and sold anyway, and later had to be returned (because of being swapped by owners for better units) to Foxconn to be fixed.

The power adapters though are not next to your head.

 

[pkginstall]

Samsung, you reap what you sow, and now you're reaping. Ah well, that's life - suck it up buttercup.

 

[bobob]

Samsung is notorious for rushing products to market in an attempt to beat Apple. This is no different. No one will remember the exploding phones in a year, but they will remember any feature that Samsung released before Apple.

Uh... hooray?

 

[kdarling]

The power adapters though are not next to your head.

Neither are phones while they're charging, normally.

That's why people were citing this as a dwelling fire hazard, not as a personal hazard.

Even if you were holding it to your head while charging, the phone heating and swelling up before bursting, would be a giant clue to remove it from your head. That part is no different than when people used third party chargers with iPhones and their batteries "exploded".

 

[I7guy]

Neither are phones while they're charging, normally.

That's why people were citing this as a dwelling fire hazard, not as a personal hazard.

Even if you were holding it to your head while charging, the phone heating and swelling up before bursting, would be a giant clue to remove it from your head. That part is no different than when people used third party chargers with iPhones and their batteries "exploded".

I typically will make a call or browse while charging. The phone is in my hand, the adapter many feet away. The difference you cute though is in the use of third party chargers, this is oem equipment.

 

[brinary001]

Apple recalled the Beats speakers as soon as they acquired the brand so....

When they acquired it. That's the keyword there. It's far less risky recalling an accessory than your flagship device, dontcha think?
[doublepost=1472931194][/doublepost]

No. Any company in this situation would respond pretty much the same way with an immediate recall. There is no other option.

I have no idea why so many are praising them for this when a recall is inevitable.

It's like praising someone for taking a piss. Got to be done.

(sorry for the piss poor analogy!)

You saved it with that witty play on words at the bottom 😉

 

[bobob]

Even if you were holding it to your head while charging, the phone heating and swelling up before bursting, would be a giant clue to remove it from your head.

This reminds me of last year's Galaxy Note 5 pen-gate. Many Samsung supporters refused to admit it was a design flaw, but rather the fault of the user. Sounds like the same argument is being readied to assign blame for any burns received by Galaxy Not 7 users.

 

[kdarling]

I typically will make a call or browse while charging. The phone is in my hand, the adapter many feet away. The difference you cute though is in the use of third party chargers, this is oem equipment.

Right, I didn't mean the equipment was the same situation. I meant that holding a ready-to-burn phone to your head was the same. Heating, swelling, popping sounds, usually precede an event.

The reason I gave the iPhone example, was because it had a LOT of cases of it happening, yet I don't recall hearing about a spate of burned people as a result. Lots of scorched desks and tables, though.

Doesn't mean there isn't a chance of personal injury. But history indicates it's fortunately rare.

This reminds me of last year's Galaxy Note 5 pen-gate. Many Samsung supporters refused to admit it was a design flaw, but rather the fault of the user. Sounds like the same argument is being readied to assign blame for any burns received by Galaxy Not 7 users.

Nope, not at all.

Although frankly, that pen thing _was_ overblown. I've had a Note for years and never put the pen in backwards. For one thing, that means the pointy end would be sticking out.

Pen-gate was about as real and as bogus as Bend-gate. Meaning yes, there was a design flaw. But to cause it, you generally had to do something you shouldn't do 😱

 

[tdale]

its the right thing to do for sure. I can so imagine Steve Jobs saying "your charging it wrong"

Exactly. No response. Then a recall is posted quietly, word gets around.

 

[Tech198]

Pen-gate was about as real and as bogus as Bend-gate. Meaning yes, there was a design flaw. But to cause it, you generally had to do something you shouldn't do.

... bogus ? i wouldn't call pen-gate a design flaw.... Samsung fixed this only because many people shoved their pens in the wrong way and broke the sensor detection...

What about the possibility, of people taking "care of their gadgets and not use force"

This "design flaw" could of been avoided.... But we all like to play rough with rough with our phones. You can control is some what, but u can't eliminate the problem. If people wanna use force, they'll use force regardless what manufactures do to try and strength it. I guess the lesson here, is how much force exactly..

Seems everyone just decided to miss-treat their phones in mass for this to be considered a design flaw.. But if u treat your gadgets properly.. and there is only some resistance. that's enough proof to say "ok,,, it should not go further"

These are not cheap phones,, but we seem to treat them like one..

Of course if a battery explodes,,, well that IS a design flaw.