14 DAY TRIAL // Months after the Galaxy Note 7 recall and discontinuation, Samsung announced the results of its investigation last month. The Korean company blamed two types of battery issues that caused original and recalled Note 7 smartphones to catch fire.
The Korean government conducted its own independent investigation into Galaxy Note 7 incidents and its findings confirm the results made public by Samsung. Galaxy Note 7 explosions were caused by faulty batteries and the Korean government intends to strengthen battery safety and recall measures for phones, according to Korea Herald.
“We found batteries (made by Samsung SDI and ATL) had some factors that cause explosions and did not find any problems in the device itself,” the Ministry of Industry said in the report.
A total of 60 phones and 169 batteries were tested
The state-run Korean Agency for Technology Standards conducted a three-month investigation with 14 overheated smartphones, 46 unaffected phones, and 169 batteries received from Samsung Electronics.
“The Galaxy Note 7 battery, unlike other models, has anode materials across both poles. The high bump of the both poles and the adherence faults in insulating tapes highly likely caused the explosions,” the ministry said.
The investigation also regarded the power control circuit, battery protection circuit, external pressure and the space between the battery and other components inside the phone.
The Korean Ministry has also announced that it intends to revise laws to strengthen battery safety and smartphone recall measures. On the same topic, Samsung did reveal a number of 8 tests that would be conducted on smartphones during the whole production process, before they even ship out.
In April, the Korean government intends to revise the safety standard for smartphones and regulate that smartphone battery makers must renew safety certificates every two years. Currently, batteries only undergo one safety standard test before mass production.
Moreover, the government intends to add new safety standard tests including overcharge, mechanical shock and vibration, tests that are currently conducted in the US, Japan and China.