Replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Phone Catches Fire on Southwest Plane (theverge.com)

After learning about faulty battery issues in its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, Samsung said it will offer its existing customers a safe, replacement unit. It appears the replacement unit also suffers from the same issue. Jordan Golson, reporting for The Verge: Southwest Airlines flight 944 from Louisville to Baltimore was evacuated this morning while still at the gate because of a smoking Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. All passengers and crew exited the plane via the main cabin door and no injuries were reported, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson told The Verge. More worryingly, the phone in question was a replacement Galaxy Note 7, one that was deemed to be safe by Samsung. The Verge spoke to Brian Green, owner of the Note 7, on the phone earlier today and he confirmed that he had picked up the new phone at an AT&T store on September 21st. A photograph of the box shows the black square symbol that indicates a replacement Note 7 and Green said it had a green battery icon.A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines said, "prior to the Southwest Airlines Flight 994 departing from Louisville for Baltimore, a customer reported smoke emitting from an electronic device. All customers and crew deplaned safely via the main cabin door. Customers will be accommodated on other Southwest flights to their final destinations. Safety is always our top priority at Southwest and we encourage our customers to comply with the FAA Pack Safe Guidelines."

Comments

Re:The problem is the battery itself

[gweihir]

As most smartphone batteries can handle that, I suspect problem with the design itself (like battery-unfriendly power regulators or the battery being heated-up by some other device close to it or a general departure from best-practices observed so far) and, and that is what makes this pretty bad, faulty issue identification. It may just be that the batteries are, in principle, fine. Or that the replacement-batteries have the same issue. Or, as you suspect, a mismatch between the battery and its use, and inadequate testing to compound the error.

It may, of course, be also be a decision by "managers" to ignore concerns of engineers and to push this thing, and then the replacements, out the door fast.