Woman buys a Samsung phone, nearly sets her living room on fire!

Smartphone giant, Samsung’s hottest new phones have been living up to their reputation. On a very literal level. It turns out their latest release has been exploding and, in some cases, setting on fire. Dozens of reports from around the world have been pouring in as users find that their phones are exploding and catching fire when plugged into outlets.

Which Phones Are Affected?

The phone at the center of all the reports of explosions and fires is the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung’s latest flagship phone. Although Samsung claims it has been alerted to only 35 claims of faulty phones worldwide, they have made the decision to recall all of the 2.5 million handsets that have already been sold.
Authorities have advised all Galaxy Note 7 users to avoid charging their phones on planes, trains, or buses, for fear of the repercussions of a fire in these locations. Authorities also recommend that owners of the phone don’t plug them in at all if they can avoid it.

Samsung has commented that the problem lies in the batteries of the phones. The batteries are produced by two different manufacturers and all of the exploding batteries come from one. Samsung will not say with which manufacturer the problem lies.

Software Update

Samsung has been working hard on an update to their software which they hope will help the issue. The update, to be rolled out across South Korea (it is not yet clear if or when this update will be rolled out across the rest of the world) will stop the phones charging when they reach 60 percent.
Samsung hopes that this will put an end to any further explosions or fires taking place. However, as the issue with the phones lies in the batteries – the hardware – the only way to make sure you aren’t going to have any trouble, will be to return or exchange your phone.

If you own one of these phones, and you’re worried about these issues, take it to your nearest Samsung service center where someone can take care of you.

Sources:

1. Mullen J. Samsung to limit battery charging on Galaxy Note 7 phones to prevent fires. CNNMoney. 2016. Available at: http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/14/technology/samsung-galaxy-note-7-software-update-battery-fires/index.html. Accessed September 20, 2016.
2. Kwon J. Samsung is recalling the Galaxy Note 7 worldwide over battery problem. CNNMoney. 2016. Available at: http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/02/technology/samsung-galaxy-note-7-recall/?iid=EL. Accessed September 20, 2016.

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