US carriers detail Note 7 discharge update and why Verizon didn’t announce a date

Posted on by Jules Wang

While 93 percent of all recalled Galaxy Note 7 units in the United States have been put away from public consumption, Samsung wants push that number to 100.

It has officially announced that devices not deactivated through a product refund or exchange will receive a software update that will cut off the charging and connectivity functions starting December 19. But delivery of that update has been left to cellular carriers — and one of them has refused to carry the update out.

An SMS text from US Cellular indicated that it will be the first to push forward with the deactivating update, sending first seeds out on December 15. In the case of T-Mobile, it stated that the update will roll out starting December 27. AT&T will follow on January 5 while Sprint will push out the same package from January 8.

Verizon has refused to push the update because it believes that the update may pose an “added risk” to Note 7 owners who still happen to be using the phone and have not been able to, for one reason or another, switch away from it.

“We will not push a software upgrade that will eliminate the ability for the Note7 to work as a mobile device in the heart of the holiday travel season,” said Vice President of Global Corporate Communications Jeffrey Nelson, “We do not want to make it impossible to contact family, first responders or medical professionals in an emergency situation.”

As already noted, AT&T and Sprint have pointedly set their update dates to well after when the new year begins.

Samsung and the carriers continue to offer incentives for customers to exchange their Note 7 units for another phone or get a refund.

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US Galaxy Note 7 won’t charge starting December 15

Posted on by Jules Wang

Shortly after Samsung Canada’s announcement detailing the relief of the Galaxy Note 7’s wireless capabilities, there are signs that US units may see Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular connectivity go — along with everything else.

In an SMS missive from US Cellular obtained by The Verge, Samsung has decided to initiate its firmest measure yet in getting Note 7 users to exchange their phones — by sending out an update that will prevent the device from charging.

“THE PHONE WILL NO LONGER WORK,” the message concludes.

Since US Cellular is placing the responsibility of this software modification squarely on Samsung, it is likely that the outstanding recalled phones on all other US carriers will get the same update. This goes beyond the pale of limiting the battery’s charge to 60 percent and is closer to what was thought to happen to French Note 7 units — a kill switch.

Samsung declined comment on the issue. US Cellular did not respond to a request for comment.

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Canadian Note 7 service stoppages take effect December 15

Posted on by Jules Wang

New Zealand networks have tossed them aside and so have their neighbors just to the west. Samsung has now decided to take the complete shutdown of the Galaxy Note 7 to the Great White North.

While Samsung Canada reports that it has received about 90 percent of all recalled units, it has decided to take the extra step of making sure that those remaining 10 percent or so have no incentive to use the recalled, fire-prone phone.

An update that will be issued as early as December 12 will block the Note 7’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality in addition to limiting its maximum battery charge. On December 15, the Note 7 will also lose cellular access as well, with the exception of 911 calls.

A continuous push notification campaign is notifying customers of the impending, mandatory update.

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Samsung lawyers up for Korean class action over Note 7

Posted on by Jules Wang

Samsung has hired a law firm to fend off a class action lawsuit in Korea over physical damages and suffering from exploding Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

The suit, backed by some 2,400 individuals, stems from a group of five persons who claim burns and respiratory problems due to the Note 7’s battery exploding. The phone has been recalled and is not being produced.

“My replacement Note 7 had caught fire while it was placed on my bed,” wrote one plaintiff on a legal forum created by Harvest Law Office, the firm representing the class in this case. “Fortunately I did not suffer any physical damage as it was covered in a phone case with a credit card inserted, both of which melted.”

Attorneys are seeking an award of ₩42 million — that’s ₩500,000 or $424 per person in the class it represents.

Local news outlets are reporting that the chaebol has hired a law firm to respond to the suit and has issued a letter to the court. It is said to read in part:

We gave enough compensations and benefits to Note 7 consumers. The damages consumers are claiming are within the range that is endurable […] We recalled all the products resulting in a loss of nearly 10 trillion won in order to minimize risk that consumers may face.

Compensation so far has come in the form of ₩100,000 ($86) in vouchers and a promised half-off discount for Note 7 customers who upgrade to the Galaxy S8, estimated to range between ₩400,000 and ₩500,000 ($341-424).

Samsung has declined comment on the matter.

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Design engineering firm: Galaxy Note 7 tolerances not enough for battery

Posted on by Jules Wang

The Galaxy Note 7’s battery smothered Samsung’s 2016. Burst after fiery burst led to a drawn-out, multi-step recall and financial repercussions that will echo for sometime. But did Samsung do its due diligence in determining the problem and communicating it to the public?

Its official line, via its UK arm, was that some of the batteries’ intake and output points were put too near to each other. That allowed charge and discharge streams to merge, causing the thermal runaway. Other sources from within the company have pointed across the board from cell fabric tension to shoddy work with insulation tape.

Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, founder and CEO of design engineering firm Instrumental, decided to look into why an assembly process couldn’t have been tweaked instead of what had actually happened.

In a teardown and analysis of a single unit, her team had found that normal operation of the Galaxy Note 7 allowed the phone to expand and encroach upon the battery. This put inward pressure against the positive cell layer and the negative cell layer, along with the insulating layers in between. When these layers are squeezed too closely, the insulation essentially becomes useless as the charged layers begin to feed energy into each other and ramp up the temperature, thus risking fumes and explosion.

The fact that Samsung decided to fit a 3,500mAh battery into a fairly small space amplifies the potential impact — whether it was safely able to is not up for debate.

“Battery testing takes a notoriously long time (as long as a year for certain tests), and thousands of batteries need to be tested to get significant results” Shedletsky said. “It’s possible that Samsung’s innovative battery manufacturing process was changing throughout development, and that the newest versions of the batteries weren’t tested with the same rigor as the first samples.”

The designed tolerance for the battery slot beside the pulsing PCB, at some points down below 0.1mm, also doesn’t help. Hell, there wasn’t even any breathing space on the Z-axis where there should’ve been at least a 10 percent allowance.

Instrumental determined that even if Samsung kept the Note 7 on the market, many customers would see their phones warp over time. On the other hand, we infer that Shedletsky believes that the chaebol would’ve needed to install a battery below the capacity of the Galaxy Note 5 and the iPhone 7 Plus in order to keep the smartphone’s design, as it was, safe.

“Either way, it’s now clear to us that there was no competitive salvageable design,” Shedletsky concluded.

Samsung made it a clear point to load all the useful technology it could that it didn’t for the Note 5 into its 2016 powerhouse release: expandable memory, some form of waterproofing, a super-capable stylus, curb-appeal looks and a gas tank to let it chug. The company tried to innovate where it could to make as little compromise as possible.

What resulted was the largest compromise in the consumer mobile market in recent history.

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Study finds 99 percent of counterfeit Apple chargers bought online fail ‘basic’ safety tests

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Did you finally get rid of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 ticking time bomb? Perhaps switched sides, assuming the iPhone 7 is safer to use… until proven otherwise? That may be so, but don’t even think about skimping on a backup or replacement charger.

Dirt-cheap, possibly counterfeit Apple adapters and charging accessories in general pose a far greater risk than a faulty, twice recalled and ultimately discontinued phone of randomly catching fire and costing you your home, life, or the life of a loved one.

We understand the temptation of going an alternative route is strong when Cupertino asks as much as $100 for an “authorized” Belkin iPhone “charge kit”, or $19 on a first-party USB power adapter, but you’ll just have to resist the bargain-hunting lure.

The findings of a recent “operation” conducted by British safety investigators are troublesome, to say the least, with no less than 397 of 400 Apple chargers suspected to be forged failing a “basic” test.

Mind you, these adapters were bought online from “multiple sources” in eight different countries around the world, including the US, Canada, Colombia, China, Thailand and Australia. 99 percent of all sketchy-looking accessories were rapidly determined to have “insufficient isolation with potential for electric shock.”

A separate examination of local “charity shops, antique dealers and second-hand shops” concluded 15 percent of over 3,000 used electrical goods were “non-compliant”, which is a slightly less shocking number, but still thought-provoking. At the end of the day, a few bucks saved here and there are simply not worth the risks.

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Samsung now also partners with Australian carriers for Note 7 network discontinuation

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Samsung will not rest until every single faulty and hazardous Galaxy Note 7 finds its way back to the original place of purchase, and eventually, the chaebol’s warehouses for safe destruction.

After cutting the explosive phablet off from nationwide New Zealand carrier support a little while ago, the unchallenged leader of global smartphone sales has earlier today announced a similar network discontinuation move in neighboring Australia.

Although Note 7 users down under are said to “have responded well to the recent recall, with only a small number of affected devices still in customers’ hands”, December 15 will apparently see the latest (and last) “safety measure” employed to ensure the recovery of all “affected devices.”

Of course, one could wonder what’s taking Samsung so long to enact the most drastic measures of eradicating these ticking time bombs. More importantly, why mobile operators in other countries, including the US, aren’t following Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Australia’s example. Has Samsung managed to expand the “nearly” 85 percent American return rate to 100 percent in the past few weeks?

Probably not, but at the same time, Note 7 fire reports have long stopped, so something must be working. Maybe the battery charge-limiting software update that rolled out in Australia earlier this month.

In any event, you have two more weeks to give back the dangerous phone around those parts before you’re denied cellular service, and get a refund for the difference between Note 7 and S7 or S7 Edge’s prices, plus a $250 freebie. If you’re willing to stick with Samsung, that is.

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Samsung France giving away 128GB microSD cards, VR park tickets to make up for Note 7

Posted on by Jules Wang

Are you ready to forgive Samsung for its poor handling of the Galaxy Note 7 recall? Maybe you’ll take the company’s offer up on getting a Galaxy S8 at a discount? Perhaps you’ll take a few apologies?

Well, Samsung France has decided to make sure its customers know that they are very much appreciated. Former Note 7 owners are now receiving 128GB microSD cards in the mail along with an invitation to an SMS contest where the customer can get one of 1,000 free trip packages to the Samsung Life Changer Park, the virtual reality theme park Samsung has established in Paris. Transport is provided and winners can bring a guest along for a date on Tuesday, December 20. or 27.

SamMobile, which received a letter from a Note 7 customer, points out that these measures are piled on top of a €100 rebate when those users transferred over to a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge.

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Samsung responds to recent Galaxy S7 explosions

Posted on by Jules Wang

Several Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge smartphones have made their way into the news recently. In fact, they did so the same way the Galaxy Note 7 did: by exploding.

The Note 7 went through a prolonged recall sequence after dozens of reports of batteries exploding before Samsung decided to end production of the fall flagship. But a few burnouts have cropped up in the past couple of months between the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge with cases in the US states of California, Missouri and the province of Manitoba in Canada. Add to that the odd case of a Galaxy S7 Active taking an internal flash bang and the scrutiny has risen to renewed heights.

And so, with the Note 7 fresh out of circulation and further concerns of explosions with other Samsung phones, the company has released an official response:

Samsung stands behind the quality and safety of the Galaxy S7 family. There have been no confirmed cases of internal battery failures with these devices among the more than 10 million devices being used by consumers in the United States; however, we have confirmed a number of instances caused by severe external damage. Until Samsung is able to obtain and examine any device, it is impossible to determine the true cause of any incident.

There’s some reason to be worried about Samsung’s investigations process. A Galaxy Note 7 owner in China was skeptical on whether the company would truthfully report the reason of why his phone’s battery blew up. A Kentucky customer received a text message that unintentionally revealed the company’s hopes to keep him from speaking up to the press about his phone.

The two older phones are Samsung’s current go-to Galaxy Note 7 replacements right now, so if by the off-chance that the company must recall these phones as well, that leaves nothing from its 2016 portfolio on the market.

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Dropped iPhone 7 Plus goes boom in China

Posted on by Jules Wang

Great. Another phone with a “7” in its name has gone combustion overlord on us and that’s the sign that will worry everyone about Apple’s Galaxy Note 7 problem.

In Yunnan, one person dropped their iPhone 7 Plus by accident and was treated to more than dings and a cracked screen, but an out-of-proportion explosion that paginated the innards out of the casing.

The drop was supposedly just under two feet.

So, do you have to be worried about impact shock blowing up your new iPhone? Do you have to worry about an iPhone 7 consuming your car with flames? One such explosion struck up in Gerroa, New South Wales, in Australia late last month. Apple’s investigating that event. Another explosion occurred while someone in Henan Province shot video with their iPhone 7.

Do you have to be worried about charging your iPhone 6 Plus or iPhone 6s? Several of those have burnt up in recent weeks.

Should phones ever have a battery again? Maybe. But after Samsung let itself down in its response to the Galaxy Note 7 explosions, to see Infinite Loop not issue a preliminary statement at the very least is somewhat worrisome.

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Galaxy Note 7 class action in Canada goes after Samsung for negligence

Posted on by Jules Wang

One class action lawsuit in the US against Samsung about the Galaxy Note 7 recall concentrated on economic impact — the fact that customers had to “keep paying” for an unsafe phone they couldn’t use. But it’s not just about removing safe access to your information on your phone.

And so we come to a suit filed in Ontario Superior Court by McKenzie Lake Lawyers, LLP targeting Samsung Electronics.

According to the firm’s Matthew Baer, the initial plaintiffs of this case are a couple that each had a Galaxy Note 7 and traveled to the Turks and Caicos for their honeymoon. Prior to their return flight, they were forced to dispose of their phones (and photos taken during the vacation) because of a flight ban on the Note 7, prone to having their batteries explode.

The Globe and Mail out of Toronto reports that Samsung has not offered the couple any remedial measures.

“The claim alleges that the Defendants were negligent as they knew or ought to have known that the way they produced, marketed, and sold their Note7 devices could result in harm to consumers,” McKenzie Lake Lawyers said in a statement.

If the claim is certified, all customers who own the 39,000 or so devices that were sold or distributed in Canada are automatically opted into the class and may wish to opt out as they desire.

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Samsung isn’t done apologizing for Galaxy Note 7 snafu, taking out full-page US newspaper ads

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

We all know you have to spend money to make money. But apparently, you also have to spend money to stop losing money. Yes, if there’s one thing Samsung deserves praise for in the wake of the Galaxy Note 7 double recall and unprecedented discontinuation, it’s how the chaebol genuinely seems to regret its quality control errors, looking to make amends and not just sweep them under the rug.

Granted, it could all be for show, and although we’ve been hearing time and time again that Galaxy S8 development comes after ongoing probes of Note 7 fires and explosions, work on the “next big thing” may have well started behind closed doors.

But even after Samsung Mobile’s President publicly atoned for all of the company’s recent failings in front of Korean press a while back, several customer-retaining moves costing the tech giant a small fortune, plus ever-growing efforts to take every single hazardous phone out of circulation, another hefty sum was presumably “invested” in a nationwide US apology marketing campaign.

Galaxy Note 7 apology ad

That’s commitment right there to sending a legitimately remorseful message to the masses, especially as Gregory Lee, President and CEO of the outfit’s North American division, didn’t try to plug any other product into full-page ads printed by the Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal on Monday.

Lee merely reminded readers of those three very reputable publications that a “careful Note 7 investigation is underway”, with its findings to be shared “when the analysis is complete”, and “we take our responsibility seriously to address concerns about safety and quality” at Samsung, “falling short” on the promise to “offer best-in-class safety and quality.” Ready to forgive and forget?

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Your Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will soon lose all carrier support… in New Zealand

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

For whatever reason, while Samsung insists each and every hazardous Galaxy Note 7 unit in circulation be turned off and returned to its original place of purchase for a full refund or lucrative S7 replacement, the Korean tech giant is still not ready to simply deactivate the phablets in use over-the-air.

Remotely disabling the explosive S Pen-wielding phones some owners refuse to give back could be the only way such inexplicable stubbornness will subside, especially if the latest persuasion tactic in New Zealand fails to get all recalled devices off the streets.

Starting November 18, your already battery-plagued Galaxy Note 7 will no longer connect to any NZ mobile network for voice calling, text messaging or data consumption purposes. So, yeah, you’ll basically be left with a fancy brick, merely capable of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, snapping some of the world’s best photos, and running apps and games downloaded outside of 3G or 4G coverage.

That may not sound so very horrible, but please keep in mind you paid a small fortune for so many compromises, fortune you can have back or apply towards an S7 Edge exchange, in which case you’re also eligible for gifts and freebies. Now, if only Samsung would at least expand this carrier-banning move to other countries. Preferably, all of them.

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Off-beat: Southwest Airlines employee dresses as Galaxy Note 7 for Halloween

Posted on by Jules Wang

It’s the day after the night where dressing as a hot mess is acceptable on a Monday, also known as Halloween. In some parts of the world, people may have dressed as cold messes.

But you know what’s been a literal hot mess? The Galaxy Note 7 and its exploding battery. You know, the recalled, non-existent phone in November 2016. And while the legal sagas reigning over injuries caused by fires may stretch through next year, it seems that Samsung is able to put the issue away and move onto other business.

What better time to poke at the company.

A Southwest Airlines employee was spotted at Salt Lake City International Airport yesterday wearing her Halloween spirit in the form of a burning Galaxy Note 7. She was captured by @heathwblack on Twitter.

Let us remind you that one of the more prominent Note 7 burn-outs came aboard one of Southwest’s planes in Louisville, Kentucky, before its flight out to Baltimore. That unit’s owner had exchanged a Note 7 under the initial recall. Worse yet, the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s investigation into this incident eventually informed its decision to expand the recall to replacement Note 7 units and resulted in the Federal Aviation Administration’s ban of the phone on all aircraft in US airspace and on the ground past airport security.

And here we see this girl. Shots. Fired. From a hot glue gun. On fire.

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Samsung needs crisis management plan, “push for innovation” says co-CEO

Posted on by Jules Wang

Samsung is 47 years old today. And it will need a crisis management plan to move forward, innovate and make it through year 48. That is what co-CEO Kwon Oh-hyun stated to 400 employees for the company’s anniversary meeting.

You may remember that near the end of the year, the company struggled to manage the crisis that resulted from the dozens of Galaxy Note 7 explosions related to the batteries inside of them. Poorly handled recalls and customer service not only damaged faith in the Samsung brand, but cost Samsung billions of dollars on its bottom line. Specifically, the chaebol expects a $6 billion negative impact on earnings reports for the next three fiscal quarters.

However, there is change called for.

“The latest crisis made us look back at ourselves and think maybe we have grown complacent, and it served as momentum for a new start,” Kwon said.

In addition to the crisis plan, Lee Jae-yong has joined the Samsung Electronics board of nine. Lee is from the founding family that controls the entire Samsung conglomerate. His presence indicates that all hands are on deck to make sure a global brand gets back into public acceptance.

That starts with a highly anticipated Galaxy S8 and a steady hand to guide to launch.

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