Recharging its batteries: Samsung

Four months months after Samsung first recalled its acclaimed Galaxy Note 7 phone, the electronics giant finally announced what caused Note 7 phones from two separate batches to catch fire in the first place: a design failure in the first battery and a manufacturing defect in the second.

The bungled launch led to a recall of 2.5 million devices and losses totaling more than $2 billion. Some replacements exhibited similar issues, and the phone was discontinued on 11 October.

“Multi-layer safety measures” are the second solution, which will see “strict safety standards” on all aspects of Samsung devices, the company claims. “Although none of these tests demonstrated an abnormality or correlation to incidents, we have nonetheless, taken additional steps to enhance safety”, he said.

After many months of speculation by insiders and the tech community (and even a recent report leak), Samsung has lifted the veil of secrecy after months of testing to find out what went wrong with the Galaxy Note 7. Overall, Samsung insists there was nothing inherently wrong with the device itself and that the defects were relegated strictly to the battery.

The German company TUV Rheinland analyzed the Note 7 supply chain as part of the investigation, Samsung said. The Electrodes within the batteries came in touch with each other, causing a short circuit which in turn caused fires.

The Note 7 fiasco has caused Samsung embarrassment, depleted consumer trust and, importantly, led to dwindling profits in late 2016.

In batteries by one manufacturer – likely Samsung SDI – used in the phones in the initial Note 7 recall, inspectors found damage to upper corners. It found “no detection of relevant weakness, concern or any serious danger” but did recommend some improvements. The Wall Street Journal of the US reported on the 20th (local time) that the defects of batteries produced by Samsung SDI and Hong Kong-based Amperex Technology Ltd. (ATL) were the reasons why the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones overheated and caught fire.

These include more stringent testing safeguards known as the “8-Point Battery Safety Check” as well as the formation of an advisory group of outside experts. Hardware-wise, new brackets will be added around the battery, and on the software side of things, Samsung promises to improve the algorithms that regulate the temperature and current while a battery is being charged, and how long it should spend on the charger.

The South Korean conglomerate promised to reform its production and quality controls to prevent a repeat of the incident: “We look forward to moving ahead with a renewed commitment to safety”.