Samsung investigation concludes batteries caused Galaxy Note 7 issues

Posted on Monday, January 23 2017 @ 14:06 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
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A months-long investigation of the issue that resulted in exploding Galaxy Note 7 devices concludes the batteries were indeed the culprit. The Note 7 launch turned out to be a huge fiasco for Samsung as shortly after the phone's availability, dozens of reports started to roll in about severe safety issues with the Note 7.

After a massive recall, Samsung instructed 700 researchers to test over 200,000 smartphones and 30,000 batteries to find the root of the problem. The company established without a doubt that the issues were caused by two different manufacturing defects.

The incidents with the original phones were caused by a design issue: insufficient space in the battery resulted in bent negative electrodes in the upper-right corner of the battery. Furthermore, the tip of the negative electrode was incorrectly located in the curve, not the planar area. These issues resulted in a short-circuit that set Note 7 batteries on fire.

The second problem reads like Murphy's Law. Basically, in the rush to get as many Note 7 replacement devices on the market, a lot of batteries made by a third party ended up with major manufacturing defects that resulted in a similar short-circuit issue. Samsung discovered the second battery type had high welding burrs on the positive electrode, which resulted in penetration of the insulation tape and separator layers. Furthermore, a number of batteries were found to be missing insulation tape. Both factors enabled a short-circuit which also set batteries on fire.

To make sure this will never happen again, Samsung implemented a new 8-point battery safety check and made several other enhancements to its quality assurance process. Full details can be read at Samsung.



About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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