Samsung Galaxy Note Debacle

A Global Recall
This might be the first Samsung Galaxy Note7 explosion in Australia. "My brand new Note7
exploded this morning while I was still asleep, it was plugged in and charging," writes
Melbourne Redditor, in what appears to be Australia's first case of a Samsung Galaxy Note7
being destroyed due to a recently discovered battery defect, "[Samsung] told me this is the
first case in Australia". While Samsung isn't elaborating on the incident, which allegedly
occurred in a Perth hotel room, a replacement phone has been supplied via a Samsung store
and the company is covering the $1800 hotel damages bill per Redditor.
"Phone completely fried, I can't eject the sim tray to retrieved my sim or the SD card. I was
using original charger and cable if you are wondering. Charred the hotel room bed sheet and
the carpet when I whacked it down to the floor, burnt one of my finger while doing that too,"
Redditor explains in the post.
Samsung recently announced a full recall of the devices, advising owners to switch off their
phones and return them to where they were purchased in return for a temporary replacement
phone. Redditor echoed this in the Reddit post. "Please do not use the phone anymore, it is
dangerous and not worth the risk. I knew of the recall and lodged my application with
Samsung as soon as they announced officially on Friday, and now 3 days later it has
happened to me".
Samsung has stated it is aware of the incident, and an investigation into a very small number
of reported incidents with the Galaxy Note7 has commenced.

Introduction
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (marketed as Samsung Galaxy Note7) is a
discontinued Android phablet smartphone that was produced and marketed
by Samsung Electronics. Unveiled on 2nd August 2016, it was officially released
on 19 August 2016 as a successor to the Galaxy Note 5. Although it is the sixth
main device in the Galaxy Note series, Samsung branded its series number as
"7" instead, so that consumers would not perceive it as being inferior to the
flagship Samsung Galaxy S7.
The Galaxy Note 7 is an evolution of the Galaxy Note 5 that inherited hardware
components and improvements from the Galaxy S7, including the restoration of
expandable storage and IP68 water resistance, and new features such as a dualsided curved display, improvements to the bundled stylus and new software
features which utilize it, an iris recognition system, and a USB Type-C port.
Demand for the Galaxy Note 7 on-launch was high, breaking pre-order records in
South Korea and causing international releases to be delayed in some markets
due to supply shortages.

Timeline of the Events

When looking at recalls, its important first to get all the facts
and understand the timeline of events. Its a lot of information,
but its worth going through it to get the full picture. Heres how
it played out, sequentially
On 31st August 2016, it was reported that Samsung was
delaying shipments of the Galaxy Note 7 in some regions to
perform "additional tests being conducted for product quality";
this came alongside user reports of batteries exploding while
charging, On 1 September 2016, South Korea's Yonhap News
Agency reported that Samsung was preparing to recall the
device worldwide due to these battery issues. On 2 nd
September 2016, Samsung suspended sales of the Galaxy Note
7 and announced a worldwide "product exchange program"
(which, however, was not a formal government recall), by which
customers would be able to exchange their device for a
replacement of the same model, or a Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge (the
price difference would be refunded), and also receive a $25 gift
card from a participating carrier. It was estimated that it would

cost Samsung US$1 billion to replace over two million devices it

had sold before the recall.
The exact cause of the battery faults are not publicly known.
Samsung initially cited "a battery cell issue".The company later
stated that a manufacturing defect in the batteries, produced
by a Samsung subsidiary, had caused them to generate
excessive heat output. A company spokesperson stated that it
had received 35 reports of battery failure, which "account for
less than 0.1 percent of the entire volume sold". Samsung
stated that the hazard was limited to a small fraction of phones
manufactured, and released a tool on its website on 19
September
to
identify
affected
units
by
their
unique IMEI numbers.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an
advisory on 8 September 2016, that passengers should not turn
on or charge these devices on board aircraft. The European
Aviation Safety Agency made a similar statement on 9
September, stating that "passengers are reminded of the need
to inform the cabin crew when a device is damaged, hot,
produces smoke, is lost, or falls into the seat structure."
First recall
On 12 September 2016, the Galaxy Note 7 was officially
recalled in the U.S. by the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, who advised all owners to shut down and cease all
usage of the device, and return them in exchange for a
replacement. On 13 September 2016, Samsung announced in
newspaper advertisements that it would release a software
patch to the affected Galaxy Note 7 devices in South Korea,
which prevent the device from being charged beyond 60%
capacity to reduce the risk of combustion.
The Galaxy Note 7 was subsequently re-issued with batteries
supplied by the Chinese company Amperex Technology Limited
(which also serves as the main battery supplier for
the iPhone line). These replacement models, which Samsung
purportedly classified as being safe, had a prominent marking
on their packaging to distinguish them from the first wave of
recalled units, and render all software battery indicators with

green icons. Samsung was granted special permission

by Google to allow this change, as it would normally violate the
requirements of the Android Compatibility Definition Document
(which must be met to license Google Mobile Services software
and Android trademarks) for all status bar icons to only be
rendered in white. Following the announcement of the
recall, Verizon Wireless released a software update to Galaxy
Note 7 units purchased from the carrier, which displays the
aforementioned green icons on safe devices, and an embedded
recall notice on affected devices when the device is plugged in.
Unlike the South Korean update, it does not include a charging
cut-off.
Samsung reported that 80% of devices had been replaced in
South Korea, and roughly 50% in Europe and North America.
Only 10% of devices in the U.S. were returned, and about
50,000 devices were traded for a different model. However,
Samsung stated that 95% of users chose to maintain
their loyalty to the company.
Issues with replacement phones
In October 2016, several incidents occurred in which
replacement Galaxy Note 7 phones still suffered from battery
failure and combustion. A Galaxy Note 7 owner in Kentuckywas
hospitalized with acute bronchitis due to smoke inhalation, after
his replacement device caught fire in the early morning of 4
October. The owner told a local television station that he had
received a text message not meant for him from a Samsung
customer service representative, which read "Just now got this.
I can try and slow him down if we think it will matter, or we just
let him do what he keeps threatening to do and see if he does
it".
On 5 October 2016, a flight preparing to depart
from Louisville was evacuated prior to takeoff when a
passenger's replacement Galaxy Note 7, obtained from
an AT&T retail outlet, began smoking and popping as they were
turning it off. Samsung stated that they were working
with Southwest Airlines to investigate the incident, but stated

that they would be unable to confirm whether the device was a

replacement model until it was recovered.
On
7
October
2016,
a
third
replacement
phone
in Minnesota had reportedly caught fire in a similar manner.
Second recall, discontinuation
In response to these incidents involving replacement phones,
the United States' five major wireless carriers (AT&T
Mobility and T-Mobile US on 9 October, along with Sprint
Corporation, Verizon Wireless, and U.S. Cellular on 10 October)
subsequently announced that they would suspend sales of the
Galaxy Note 7 until further notice, pending an investigation.
On 10 October 2016, Samsung officially announced that it had
"[asked] all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and
exchanges" of the Galaxy Note 7, and urged all owners to
power them off and "take advantage of the remedies available,
including a refund at their place of purchase". On 11 October
2016, Samsung announced that it would permanently end
production of the Galaxy Note 7 in the interest of customer
safety. Samsung began issuing special kits to package the
devices for returns; they consist of an antistatic bag that the
phone is to be inserted into, and three layers of boxesthe last
of which is lined with ceramic fibre paper for fire protection. The
shipping box also contains instructions explicitly stating that
they are not to be shipped by air. Samsung stated
to Vice's Motherboard that it would not repair or refurbish any
of the returned phones, and that the company would "safely
dispose" of them.
Following
Samsung's
actions,
the Rwanda Utilities
and
Regulatory Authority and the United States' Consumer Product
Safety Commission issued official recalls of all units of the
Galaxy Note 7. These recalls ban the sale and distribution of
any Galaxy Note 7 phone within these countries. The
British Royal
Mail and
British
courier
company Parcelforce announced that they would not accept or
deliver
any
parcels
containing
a
Galaxy
Note
7.
marketplaces eBay and Gumtree also began to pull listings
selling Galaxy Note 7 devices. After the suspension of

sales, Oculus VR issued an update to its software for

the Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headset, which blocks its
use with the Galaxy Note 7 for safety reasons. The headset had
been included with some units of the phone as a promotional
offer.
On
14
October
2016,
the
U.S. Federal
Aviation
Administration and the Department of Transportation's Pipeline
and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration banned the
Note 7 from being taken aboard any airline flight, even if
powered
off.
Qantas, Virgin
Australia and Singapore
Airlines issued similar bans, while Transport Canada issued a
notice stating that the Galaxy Note 7 was banned from flights
under Special Provision 137 prohibitions, banning the carriage
of damaged or defective lithium-ion batteries onto flights. In
response to these air travel bans, Samsung announced that it
would set up dedicated kiosks at selected airports, to allow
travelers to exchange or receive a refund for their Galaxy Note
7 on-site before they depart, rather than having their phone
confiscated by security or airport staff.
On 4 November 2016,
Forum announced that
banned from use on
November, enforced via

the New Zealand Telecommunications

all Galaxy Note 7 phones would be
local mobile networks beginning 18
IMEI blacklist.