14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung's recall of the Galaxy Note 7 continues to have a major impact on the company, as well as the global smartphone market. A new report seems to shed some light on the main reason that caused Galaxy Note 7 batteries to overheat and catch fire.
As it turns out, Samsung recently explained to Korean authorities that the company is still investigating the main reason behind the faulty batteries and that it needs more time to determine the exact cause of the problem.
Samsung believes the problem occurred during the manufacturing process, according to Bloomberg. Apparently, an error in production placed pressure on plates located inside battery cells. This determined negative and positive poles to come in contact and thus trigger excessive heat.
Samsung upped battery production at ATL
At the time Samsung announced the massive recall on September 2, there have been 35 cases of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones catching fire while charging. 17 cases were reported in South Korea alone. All in all, about 70 cases of faulty batteries surfaced in the US since the Galaxy Note 7 was launched.
Samsung's SDI has been the primary provider of batteries for the Galaxy Note 7, since 70% of units had batteries from this division. The rest of 30% were manufactured by China's Amperex Technology Limited. Samsung has reportedly upped production at ATL, so that replacement units would be manufactured as soon as possible.
The phone maker will start shipping replacement units next week in multiple countries around the world and it intends to replace 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in total. Replacement units have already started arriving in Canada, with more countries to follow soon.
Many airlines have banned the Galaxy Note 7 from being used on airplanes and even buses or trains, for fear of the smartphone catching fire and thus causing even more incidents. Samsung urges all Galaxy Note 7 owners to power off their phones and return them to the place of purchase.