Samsung and its serious issues.

Hulluck

While this is not exactly pc hardware topic. It sort of is.  Phones are mobile pc's anymore.  Just explaining why i placed this here.

How about the Note 7 crisis they are facing.  Two replacement phones caught fire. One on a plane!  I am a huge Android fan and have had a few Samsung phones and tablets.   At this point they couldn't pay me to buy a Note 7 regardless of anything.  It's always going to be in the back of my mind.  "Will any of their future products burn my house down?"   After botching up the recall.

Serious as can be.  Having your house, car possibly burn down is scary stuff. Really curious what in the heck is going on over at their HQ.  


Added: excuse me I guess they are up to more than 2 replacements catching fire, glancing at reddit.

FlyByKnight

HTC, Google Pixel.

Be careful with the charging cables and plugs as USB Type-C and Quick Charge 3.0 don't play nice with each other unless explicitly told to do so by manufacturer. 

Samsung got caught up in the phone hype and rushed out something and are paying for it. Can't wait to find out what the actual cause is.

Hulluck

FlyByKnight said:

HTC, Google Pixel.

Be careful with the charging cables and plugs as USB Type-C and Quick Charge 3.0 don't play nice with each other unless explicitly told to do so by manufacturer. 

Samsung got caught up in the phone hype and rushed out something and are paying for it. Can't wait to find out what the actual cause is.

I can't wIt to find out either. So glad I did not get one of these.  I was seriously thinking about getting one for my birthday.  This is crazy. 

klash2def

i have a Galaxy S7 Edge, no problems for 6 months but maybe i'm lucky. Sucks people are having issues, Im sure a major company like Samsung is working hard to fix their product.

Ridelynn

Any Lithium Ion device runs this risk - Li Ion undergoes a chain reaction when it gets to hot - it starts to break down, creating more heat, breaking down faster - ultimately it catches on fire. It's one of the drawbacks to that particular technology.

But it has amazing power density - which is why nearly every mobile device uses it, it cuts down on the weight and allows the long run times we have. That just wasn't possible with NiCad or NiMH. 

There have been a lot of mobile devices, and other devices that use Li Ion, that (mostly rarely) catch on fire. The Note 7 seems to be particularly prone. The FAA has regulated spare/bulk Li Ion batteries on flights since earlier this year, but hasn't went so far as to regulate those installed in devices (yet).

As to what in particular is causing it in the Note 7 - could be improper cooling/thermal throttling (there isn't a lot of ways to cool a phone, you pretty much have whatever passive cooling it gets via the case), could be improper charging/discharging allowances, could be the battery touches something that gets hot internally and sparks it off. Maybe it's a weird EMI thing particular to the design. I will be interested to hear what it is as well.

Until we get the next energy storage technology, or economic micro-generation (like solar cells or fuel cells), the risks of Li Ion won't be going away, they can only be mitigated. 

SavageHorizon

klash2def said:

i have a Galaxy S7 Edge, no problems for 6 months but maybe i'm lucky. Sucks people are having issues, Im sure a major company like Samsung is working hard to fix their product.

Same and I also have the 7 note with no problems. Samsung will be OK, it's just a blip. I'd take Samsung over over apple all day long. 

Why would I want apple telling me how to use my phone when I've laid out top dollar for that device. 

laxie

It has to be a big deal in terms of sales.

I personally would not buy a Note 7 now. There are plenty of other phones to choose from, so why pick the one more likely to catch on fire.

The competition with high-end Android phones is pretty tight. It will surely affect sales.

FlyByKnight

The great thing about Google and Android is that on a hardware front you don't have to be a flock member. You're free to bounce around where the quality is. Right now there is Samsung, HTC, Sony, LG, and Motorola. 

I'd say it IS a problem for them as it's easier for them to lose market share on the Android spectrum. LG and HTC better be very careful about their charger issues because it can happen to them too.

rojoArcueid

SavageHorizon said:

klash2def said:

i have a Galaxy S7 Edge, no problems for 6 months but maybe i'm lucky. Sucks people are having issues, Im sure a major company like Samsung is working hard to fix their product.

Same and I also have the 7 note with no problems. Samsung will be OK, it's just a blip. I'd take Samsung over over apple all day long. 

Why would I want apple telling me how to use my phone when I've laid out top dollar for that device. 

Apple is not the main alternative to Samsung users, other Android phones are. I made up my mind against Samsung after buying my GS5 in January 2015 which i still use today, and after the Note 7 failure trying to beat Apple i know i will go back to HTC with my next phone upgrade. Too many issues plaguing Samsung phones and now they explode...

EDIT: don't get me wrong, Samsung phones are usually great phones, terribly handled by Samsung.

Hulluck

Torval said:

My wife has a Note 7 and loves it. It really is a nice phone. We just use the wireless charger. Hopefully we wont' see any problems with it.

I have an iPhone now and don't intend on looking back at Android ever again. If Microsoft ever put a real effort into mobile I might consider that again. I love my Lumia 928, but I need a more reliable platform. So Apple is that for now.

Oh i have little doubt it is a nice phone.  I wanted one from a s6 edge. But them burning up is scary stuff.  I'm not bashing Samsung. Shit happens but I also don't take such risks either.   There's enough of them burning up before the recall.Then replacement note 7 devices doing it now as well.

I wont touch it with a 10ft pole at this point.   Even if it were free. Family, pets... Supposedly a carrier stopped giving out replacements as well. I don't know read reddit earlier while fishing.

Iphone is not a replacement for people who like Android.  Not on the market for a phone anymore anyway.

Hulluck

rojoArcueid said:

SavageHorizon said:

klash2def said:

i have a Galaxy S7 Edge, no problems for 6 months but maybe i'm lucky. Sucks people are having issues, Im sure a major company like Samsung is working hard to fix their product.

Same and I also have the 7 note with no problems. Samsung will be OK, it's just a blip. I'd take Samsung over over apple all day long. 

Why would I want apple telling me how to use my phone when I've laid out top dollar for that device. 

Apple is not the main alternative to Samsung users, other Android phones are. I made up my mind against Samsung after buying my GS5 in January 2015 which i still use today, and after the Note 7 failure trying to beat Apple i know i will go back to HTC with my next phone upgrade. Too many issues plaguing Samsung phones and now they explode...

EDIT: don't get me wrong, Samsung phones are usually great phones, terribly handled by Samsung.

Yes exactly. Terribly handled.    Crazy.

filmoret

Heh thats only the tip of the ice.  Their shipping company went bankrupt and a ton of their products are sitting on cargo ships waiting for the stuff to be sorted out.  And their stock is only 1.6 million dollars a share.  No exaggeration at all.

Loke666

klash2def said:

i have a Galaxy S7 Edge, no problems for 6 months but maybe i'm lucky. Sucks people are having issues, Im sure a major company like Samsung is working hard to fix their product.

The chance of you getting the problem is minimal, millions of people including me have a Samsung phone without any problem, 2 phones that caught fire is serious for the people it happened to but the odds of it happening to you is slim.

Ridelynn

Well, supposedly there were about 1M phones sold.

And so far, I've seen 112 confirmed cases of the original, and 5 of the "fixed" version, which have caught fire.

No idea how many have went unreported, but i'll assume it's pretty low as well.

Yes, it's a pretty small number statistically speaking. But that doesn't make it insignificant, because the consequences could be pretty drastic if it does happen to you.

Renoaku

They should just offer full refunds to the people at purchase price, Honestly I don't trust Samsung phones, the Axon 7 IMO is better.

Hulluck

Ridelynn said:

Well, supposedly there were about 1M phones sold.

And so far, I've seen 112 confirmed cases of the original, and 5 of the "fixed" version, which have caught fire.

No idea how many have went unreported, but i'll assume it's pretty low as well.

Yes, it's a pretty small number statistically speaking. But that doesn't make it insignificant, because the consequences could be pretty drastic if it does happen to you.

I totally get that. I also admit that I go above and beyond to mitigate risk in every aspect of my life. More so than is normal I think?  I've lost all once in my life.   No good...    I  have no issue buying Samsung.  I wouldn't ever own a note 7 at this point.  Just scary stuff that even replavements are doing it to.

donger56

Lithium ion batteries are garbage. This is why those stupid hoverboards kept burning up and why they kept setting electric cars on fire for years before they got the cooling system right. The technology is outdated and not able to keep putting out the power required for these new devices. They can't put a cooling system in a phone because it would make it heavy and bulky. We keep using this crap because it is cheap, but eventually battery technology will have to change drastically. Other options do exist so maybe all these fires will push forward new investment in better safer batteries sooner. 

Moirae

*shrug* So don't buy the Note 7, buy the Galaxy instead. Heck, there's been reports of the iphone 7's exploding in the last two weeks too. Just google it. Personally, the Note is too big for me, I have a Galaxy s5, and will probably just get a Galaxy s7 when my contract is up in November. Not a chance I'll get an iphone, it's far too limited and the android phones are just better all around and more customizable. Might get an M10. Haven't decided yet. Every time I seem to buy a new phone, they come out with another new one in 3 months anyway, the thieves. 

Battery tech hasn't changed much in 20 or 30 years. It's time to stop using the junk and start improving it. 

cheyane

I use android too but I bought the Chinese Oneplus 2. It's like a third of the price of a Samsung and works like a charm.

Malabooga

Hulluck said:

While this is not exactly pc hardware topic. It sort of is.  Phones are mobile pc's anymore.  Just explaining why i placed this here.

How about the Note 7 crisis they are facing.  Two replacement phones caught fire. One on a plane!  I am a huge Android fan and have had a few Samsung phones and tablets.   At this point they couldn't pay me to buy a Note 7 regardless of anything.  It's always going to be in the back of my mind.  "Will any of their future products burn my house down?"   After botching up the recall.

Serious as can be.  Having your house, car possibly burn down is scary stuff. Really curious what in the heck is going on over at their HQ.  


Added: excuse me I guess they are up to more than 2 replacements catching fire, glancing at reddit.

Too convenient, just like people were bending iPhones to get on the news.

And FYI, running any battery, gas, electricity... ... ... has a chance of fire. "Having your house, car possibly burn down is scary stuff." I guess youre freaking out now that youre educated on the matter lol

filmoret

donger56 said:

Lithium ion batteries are garbage. 

I don't know what is worse.  The fact that you just said that or the fact that 2 people agreed with you.

Grunty

Lithium Ion battery fires are metal fires.  They are very high heat and very difficult to put out.   Most fire departments would just move the item out to a safer place and let it burn itself out.  This is why airlines don't want them on planes.  

JeroKane

FlyByKnight said:

HTC, Google Pixel.

Be careful with the charging cables and plugs as USB Type-C and Quick Charge 3.0 don't play nice with each other unless explicitly told to do so by manufacturer. 

Samsung got caught up in the phone hype and rushed out something and are paying for it. Can't wait to find out what the actual cause is.

The problem is that Samsung indeed uses USB type C on the Note 7, but doesn't follow the USB type C standard!

Unlike HTC, Sony and others that have released Phones With USB type C Connectors.

The Nexus 5X and 6P both have USB type C as well and didn't suffer from any exploding batteries.


It's pretty much clear that Samsung rushed out the Note 7 to beat the iPhone 7 release date, skipped on critical testing and QA, not following the USB Type C standard and now has to pay the price for their stupidity!!

Seriously, some heads need to roll now at Samsung's Mobile division. The damage to their brand is significant and the only way to repair this damage is to radically change course and direction.
As this Whole trying to beat Apple thing has gotten out of hand!  Just make a good phone and release the damn thing when it's actually ready!


In the end, it's Apple that is laughing their butts off. They completely ignore the competition and just stick to their yearly scripted september release window and could care less about what and when the competition is releasing a new phone.

cheyane

I still think people are too hung up on Iphone and Samsungs. They need to realise there are so many brands that are cheaper and of very good quality and a good alternative. We need to stop the brand loyalty and buy smarter.

Quizzical

Lithium Ion batteries are indeed prone to catch fire.  That has been a problem for everything from Tesla cars to the Boeing 787.  But virtually all smartphones have such batteries, so problems inherent to lithium ion batteries can't explain why some phones are more likely to catch fire than others.

Vorthanion

SavageHorizon said:

klash2def said:

i have a Galaxy S7 Edge, no problems for 6 months but maybe i'm lucky. Sucks people are having issues, Im sure a major company like Samsung is working hard to fix their product.

Same and I also have the 7 note with no problems. Samsung will be OK, it's just a blip. I'd take Samsung over over apple all day long. 

Why would I want apple telling me how to use my phone when I've laid out top dollar for that device. 

I have the Galaxy 7 Edge and I used the car charger for the first time after owning the phone for almost a year.  I noticed immediately that the phone was getting really hot, not only during charging, but once disconnected and not in use.  It remained that way for a couple of days then it suddenly stopped.  The phone seems normal now, but I'm reluctant to ever use the car charger again.