Re-Boxing My Exploding Galaxy Note 7 In Samsung's Fireproof Box

[synphul]

Personally I'm sad to see Samsung having these issues, I generally like their products. I'm not a big fan of Apple's stuff, to each their own. Apple had issues with getting their maps right and other things. It's one thing to have a phone act up, an app not work right, gps to be off. It's a totally different issue when they're burning things down, that goes for Apple, Samsung or whoever.

Something is going on, either they're pushing batteries too hard with the device, not enough failsafe's built in, using cheap overrated batteries that can't handle it or something. Li-ion tech has been around for awhile and didn't just get invented yesterday. Corner cutting is usually one of the biggest causes of proven tech suddenly failing catastrophically. Being that Samsung's issues extend not only to a fairly large number of failed products but across multiple product lines and product types means it's not simply a one off 'whoops' that can be ignored.

They've been pretty successful in numerous markets, from mobile phones to appliances to internals like ssd's to batteries. This sort of issue landing all at once turning it into a bigger deal may start to affect their overall reputation and make people lose faith even in products that aren't affected. It makes it even more of a headline when there's a personal safety issue involved. People will complain when model xyz turns out to have a defective button or control panel, that's a bummer. When it burns your car to the ground or looks like a bomb went off in your laundry room it generally gets peoples' attention.

Taking action right away is a good move on their part. An even better move would be more thorough testing and better QC before catastrophe strikes. There's no good excuse for shoving products out the door to get them out by a particular date if it means major safety problems. Whatever pressure they might get from customers and the press to get a product out sooner isn't near the type of pressure this type of thing has caused them.

Bad enough any device has potential dangers of this type, it adds insult to injury when the device costs between $700-900 usd. Yea, sorry, as a consumer paying nearly $1000 for a cell phone I do have certain criteria and expectations like not blowing up. It can't be brushed off like "well what do you expect from a $20 phone".

For those who said they weren't sure about the battery being blamed for the issue of the note7's, this is what Samsung had to say. "In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue."
https://news.samsung.com/global/statement-on-galaxy-note7

It doesn't explain why their washing machines are exploding though and while there's no recall I'm aware of from Samsung on that front, the warning comes from the US consumer product safety commission.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/28/samsung-washing-machine-warning-cspc/

Samsung has issued a formal recall in Canada.
http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2016/60482r-eng.php

 

[Vintagerose]

All I got was bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts. So many inconsistencies.

 

[InvalidError]

Something is going on, either they're pushing batteries too hard with the device, not enough failsafe's built in, using cheap overrated batteries that can't handle it or something.

It can't be brushed off like "well what do you expect from a $20 phone".

Or Samsung's root issue might not be the battery at all. Safely using lithium batteries requires strict adhesion to the battery's charging and discharging specifications. Any flaw in the battery management circuit can also cause batteries to fail catastrophically.

Self-igniting batteries are not any more acceptable in a $20 phone than a $1000 one. If a $20 phone was found to have an abnormal rate of spontaneous combustion, it would get a recall ordinance from consumer protection too. If you bought the phone through a foreign seller who has no physical presence or official distribution in your country though, you may have a hard time getting a refund or replacement.

 

[xFeaRDom]

The issue with gadgets these days, there are so many fakes and really unsafe things out there. When people buy a gadget, $10 or $500, they expect it to work perfectly, with little to no issues coming with them. Obviously when you purchase it, if you're safer, you'll check all the reviews and judge it off of them as well as your instinct. But agreeing with the above, no matter how much you pay for something you expect it to be safe in the hands of anybody, obviously some gadgets will stop working, maybe a fuse blows or maybe it just dies from being used so much, but you don't expect it to blow up in your pocket, car, house, hand etc.

I am a fan of Samsung's Phones and SSDs, not really had anything else from them, and I was planning on getting the S8 when it comes out, but I might hold off a bit or look at getting a different phone, obviously something like this will ruin their reputation a bit, but it gives them chance when they next release a phone to bring out something that will pull it back up, which is what I'm hoping with the S8. I know it isn't an issue with that phone lineup, but it is just this one phone, and it probably would heat up more due to it being a larger phone and cause issues in that way.

When its something like this, it wont be just one issue, it'll be many issues creating a larger one. But there have been iPhones that have caught fire recently, that even if it is just a couple it should be just as important as 100s.

Just got to wait and see what happens in the near future.

 

[rwinches]

This Just In Samsung Announces Halt of Production

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/cd989ff6-71c9-3af3-852e-03f23c9ecdbd/ss_samsung-stops-making-galaxy.html

 

[rwinches]

WSJ reports Samsung announcement

http://www.wsj.com/articles/samsung-to-permanently-discontinue-galaxy-note-7-smartphone-1476177331

Why the down votes for Links?

 

[synphul]

I agree it shouldn't happen on any device, whether a $20 phone or $800 phone. My only point was you sort of expect maybe some corners were cut when it's only $20. Go charging people the better part of $1000 and then basically it boils down to 'our bad'. No, 'my bad' stopped about $799 ago. If anything a high cost device should probably justify going the extra mile beyond just a production line dump to ensure quality standards are met.

It could be caused by other parts of the battery charging circuit, I was going by Samsung's official response posted on their website I linked to where they stated there was an issue with the battery cell. Whether it's true or not, no way of knowing. That's the word from Samsung though. Supposedly China's shipment hasn't had any issues and used a different battery supplier in the units sent there.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

It's pretty hard to wipe a phone that went up in smoke, or has bricked for some reason (updates, other hardware issues) so that leaves a problem where Flash cannot be wiped, but is fully intact on the original device.

That said, IIRC, the initial Samsung recall was due to battery issues that were believed to be battery manufacturer issues as that same manufacturer had other batteries in completely different products (i.e. the "hoverboard") have the same issues. With this latest issue, it seems that there may have been multiple issues. I hope Samsung's QA and warranty departments can figure it out so they can avoid the issues in the future,

AS to Apple, they have never really liked you messing with their hardware. Oh yeah, they had expansion buses on their computers (starting with the now lowly Apple II) but it was, to them, a necessary evil. Remember the original all-in-one Macs from the 80's had no such feature. Sony was just as guilty as with the original PS2 system, an added HDD had to have just the right firmware. Microsoft demanded only certain sized HDDs too. Then there is the issue of the DRM added to the PS3 and PS4 that legally keeps you from tinkering with the hardware and/or using an alternate OS.

 

[svan71]

Well I guess the "Bend Gate" comments will finally go away right?

 

[BFG-9000]

This must be costing Samsung a bundle. Both FedEx and UPS charge a $30 hazardous materials surcharge in addition to the shipping, and that ceramic wool box is likely more expensive than it looks. Oh well it could be worse--DHL charges $90.50!

It's just weird that they'll all happily ship gunpowder in a plain cardboard box for this price but won't let Samsung ship this phone without the special box.

 

[InvalidError]

I agree it shouldn't happen on any device, whether a $20 phone or $800 phone. My only point was you sort of expect maybe some corners were cut when it's only $20.

Try intentionally cutting corners on safety-critical components, see how long it takes before you/your company gets charged with criminal negligence and potentially billions of dollars in damages even if your product costs $0.01. In most civilized countries, you do not cut corners on safety-related stuff regardless of price. (Unless you are a manufacturer based in a country which has little regard for consumer protection and own no assets in any country with consumer protection, in which case you can export your junk with little fear of legal repercussions from foreign property damage, injuries and deaths.)

 

[jimmysmitty]

"It is notable that other competing phones with lithium-ion batteries have been reported to suffer from spontaneous combustion, but I can't remember any other company recalling their phones. In my opinion, Samsung is doing the right thing while others haven't, and the company is suffering a massive backlash when we should applaud it for doing the right thing. Of course, that likely isn't a popular opinion. "

Well said.

One thing that is annoying the hell out of me is that people only read the Galaxy 7 part and I have had plenty of people think it is the entire Galaxy 7 lineup when it is currently only the Note 7.

How many competing phones or other devices with lithium batteries have had nearly a hundred reported cases of extreme overheating, spontaneous combustion or explosion within the first month from launch?

How many companies sell as many phones as Samsung in the first month? They sold 2.5 million. Right now in the smart phone market it is only really Apple or Samsung in sales. Even HTC has failed to do as well and LG is not nearly close enough.

 

[InvalidError]

How many companies sell as many phones as Samsung in the first month? They sold 2.5 million.

2.5M units shipped is not the same thing as 2.5M sales. Samsung shipped ~1.5M Notes, then there was the first recall, then Samsung shipped the other million as replacements.

If you want to play the number game, fine: how many hundred million other Samsung phones and tablets are out there? How many of them spontaneously combust on a monthly basis? Next to none despite there being two orders of magnitude more of 'em in the wild. That makes the Note 7 about 100X more likely to spontaneously combust than Samsung's other devices, clearly indicating a design issue.

What makes the Note 7 specially worrisome is that Samsung has been unable to correctly identify the cause(s) and narrow down the recall to specific serial number ranges containing the suspected defective component batches, which forced it to recall all units worldwide.

 

[targetdrone]

It's bad month for Samsung. First Exploding Note 7s then Exploding Washing machines, now the replacement Note 7s are exploding.

 

[jimmysmitty]

How many companies sell as many phones as Samsung in the first month? They sold 2.5 million.

2.5M units shipped is not the same thing as 2.5M sales. Samsung shipped ~1.5M Notes, then there was the first recall, then Samsung shipped the other million as replacements.

If you want to play the number game, fine: how many hundred million other Samsung phones and tablets are out there? How many of them spontaneously combust on a monthly basis? Next to none despite there being two orders of magnitude more of 'em in the wild. That makes the Note 7 about 100X more likely to spontaneously combust than Samsung's other devices, clearly indicating a design issue.

What makes the Note 7 specially worrisome is that Samsung has been unable to correctly identify the cause(s) and narrow down the recall to specific serial number ranges containing the suspected defective component batches, which forced it to recall all units worldwide.

My only point is that there are vastly more Note 7s out there than there are of their current competitors so you will hear more problems than not. Same with Apple.

And it was, per most articles, 2.5 million sold world wide:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/02/technology/samsung-galaxy-note-7-recall/

That is a lot of phones.

And to be fair this is not the first case of Li-Ion batteries causing fires. Sony had a huge debacle years ago that caused Apple to recall 1.8 million laptops due to this and Dell recalled 4 million.

Tesla has had their cars catch fire as well as they use Li-Ion batteries.

I am not defending the issue but rather just making a point that not only is this a known issue with Li-Ion but that you will hear more when the brand sells more than you would of a brand that sells less.

 

[InvalidError]

My only point is that there are vastly more Note 7s out there than there are of their current competitors so you will hear more problems than not.

And my point from the product safety point of view is that what matters is the proportion of devices that go nuclear. If the reference for a category is 10 incidents per million and your device has 60 incidents per million and rising, you end up with a recall on your hands regardless of how many units you have shipped as soon as the sample size becomes statistically significant.

 

[jimmysmitty]

My only point is that there are vastly more Note 7s out there than there are of their current competitors so you will hear more problems than not.

And my point from the product safety point of view is that what matters is the proportion of devices that go nuclear. If the reference for a category is 10 incidents per million and your device has 60 incidents per million and rising, you end up with a recall on your hands regardless of how many units you have shipped as soon as the sample size becomes statistically significant.

Which they did so I don't see a problem. It is better than what Apple did in the past with issues, i.e. the infamous "You're holding it wrong" issue that everyone got a free bumper cover.

It sucks though because it is a very nice phone otherwise. The design is top notch, it has USB Type C, Wireless charging and a microSD slot. The camera is fantastic as well, same one is on the S7 and S& Edge.

 

[blackmagnum]

"The box has a prepaid label addressed to a Paul Walker..."; Trying not to be insensitive or to point out an obvious faux pas.

 

[mrmez]

It is better than what Apple did in the past with issues, i.e. the infamous "You're holding it wrong" issue that everyone got a free bumper cover.

Ehhhhh... how can you compare "My phone loses signal strength if I hold it a certain way" to "We've fkd up so bad we're recalling and permanently discontinuing the line"

 

[xFeaRDom]

It is better than what Apple did in the past with issues, i.e. the infamous "You're holding it wrong" issue that everyone got a free bumper cover.

Ehhhhh... how can you compare "My phone loses signal strength if I hold it a certain way" to "We've fkd up so bad we're recalling and permanently discontinuing the line"

Quite easily. Just don't be biased. Apple have exploding iPhone 7's, they bricked iPhones with a new IOS update, Bending phones - This could lead to battery damage, and more explosions. It's quite easy to make the other side sound worse than they are, so just be in the middle not try to be on one side. :lol:

 

[InvalidError]

Quite easily. Just don't be biased. Apple have exploding iPhone 7's, they bricked iPhones with a new IOS update, Bending phones - This could lead to battery damage, and more explosions. It's quite easy to make the other side sound worse than they are, so just be in the middle not try to be on one side. :lol:

I have only seen two reports of battery issues with the iPhone 7 and in one of them, the battery merely bloated enough to separate the screen from the body, no harm done. Bricked phones won't spontaneously combust and batteries failing after the phone has been structurally compromised will be a potential issue with any device, nothing specific to Apple or any product there.

The Note 7 on the other hand catches fire without apparent provocation, there have over a hundred reports of it doing so and we have yet to hear what the real cause of the issue was. While batteries may be the obvious suspect, the real ssue could still be a material or design flaw elsewhere. The simple fact that replacement phones have also caught on fire clearly indicates that whatever Samsung first identified as the original cause was either incorrect or only one part of a bigger problem.

 

[mrmez]

Yeah, I don't remember a product, phone or otherwise failing so badly and dangerously that the line has been recalled and permanently discontinued.

Apple sure has have their issues, but AFAIK, they've never had a phone recall for ANY reason, and that's not to say they ignore problems. I'm on my 2nd iphone 7. Spent 5 minutes on the phone, walked into an Apple store, and walked out with a new one 10min later.
Samsung is doing the right thing, but should we all shout hooray because they got it right 3rd time?

 

[xFeaRDom]

Quite easily. Just don't be biased. Apple have exploding iPhone 7's, they bricked iPhones with a new IOS update, Bending phones - This could lead to battery damage, and more explosions. It's quite easy to make the other side sound worse than they are, so just be in the middle not try to be on one side. :lol:

I have only seen two reports of battery issues with the iPhone 7 and in one of them, the battery merely bloated enough to separate the screen from the body, no harm done. Bricked phones won't spontaneously combust and batteries failing after the phone has been structurally compromised will be a potential issue with any device, nothing specific to Apple or any product there.

The Note 7 on the other hand catches fire without apparent provocation, there have over a hundred reports of it doing so and we have yet to hear what the real cause of the issue was. While batteries may be the obvious suspect, the real ssue could still be a material or design flaw elsewhere. The simple fact that replacement phones have also caught on fire clearly indicates that whatever Samsung first identified as the original cause was either incorrect or only one part of a bigger problem.

Well said, but as I said above in another post, the pressure from the community to bring out an increasingly better phone than the one beforehand is increasing. Although I am neither a bigger fan of Apple or Samsung, I do agree that it should've been tested a lot before the initial release, and if only limited testing happened, then it is understandable why such issues can occur. People here judging that Samsung are terrible and they should've done this and that is kinda a little silly, yes I'm being a hypocrite, it's not like you could build a phone to the standards of both, the iPhone 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7, and with the increasing 'Needed power' in a phone, and the increase of battery size, then it should be understandable why phones may have issues like that.

Every company comes through issues, but not many handle it like Samsung has, as they're respecting their Customers and providing the safety they need, hence the reason why the Note 7 was completely cancelled.

This whole thing is merely like hating a company (Bring it to computers) as their AIO water coolers leaked and caused a computer to catch fire. The risk is there and you take it, and if the it happens it happens, yes, there were injuries, and no doubt Samsung will be paying for them, but there have been instances where whole houses are burnt down by a computer power-issue. So this whole thing is just one of them times for Apple fanboys to hate on the opponent.

P.S. To anyone thinking I prefer Samsung, I do, as I prefer the build quality, design and speed, and Android, in my opinion is a better Phone OS. I've had phones from LG, HTC and Samsung, tried Apple products, such as Ipads and Apple Computers, and I don't really like IOS. In a phone I primarily go for good specifications, like processors and the camera quality. I do a lot of revision before purchasing a product.

 

[InvalidError]

the pressure from the community to bring out an increasingly better phone than the one beforehand is increasing.

Current phones are already more powerful than what most people need. The real pressure comes from putting together new flagship phones that are a sufficiently meaningful step up from the previous ones to enough people to generate on-going sales and maintain the high-end's hefty price tag premium over mid-range phones.

 

[alextheblue]

You know, there's really no such thing as a bad product. Only bad marketing. With that in mind, I've had a change of heart. I think the Note 7 is the best device ever for it's new intended market. They are recalling them all only to rebadge them as Note 7 "ISIS Edition*", and are selling them exclusively in the Middle East. They're sure to set the market on fire! Their sales will be booming, so buy one now before this explosive offer ends.

* No warranty. All sales are strictly final.