Earlier this week, reports started pouring in that Samsung Galaxy Note 7 replacement units are also catching fire, which eventually led Samsung to stop manufacturing and selling the device of what could have been its best Galaxy Note phablet.
New reports now claim that recent events of Galaxy Note 7 replacements units catching fire might be due to another battery flaw, completely different from the one that caused the phablet’s initial recall. After a preliminary examination of the evidence, it was found that there were issues with replacement batteries supplied by China’s Amperex Technology that was supposed to replace Samsung’s SDI faulty batteries.
According to people familiar with the matter, the issue might have crept into the supply line once Samsung started replacing Galaxy Note 7 batteries, which were considered safe alternatives to batteries made by Samsung SDI. These SDI batteries were apparently too large for the device, hence, installing them led to cases of short circuits and overheating.
Eventually, this new flaw led to the unfortunate demise of the Galaxy Note 7 as Samsung officially confirmed yesterday that it would no longer manufacture or sell the Galaxy Note 7. The Korean manufacturer is yet to give an official explanation as to why replacement Galaxy Note 7 units started facing similar issues like the faulty units that were recalled.
“We remain committed to working diligently with appropriate regulatory authorities to take all necessary steps to resolve the situation,” said Samsung in a statement yesterday.
Industry experts believed that the Galaxy Note 7 was Samsung’s best offering in recent years, designed to give the likes of Apple’s iPhone 7 a run for the money. The device was announced back in August and mostly garnered a positive feedback. Though, shortly after it went on sale, the fiasco began as reports of the handset exploding and melting surfaced on the web. Samsung announced an official recall of the device after 35 cases were reported, which lead airport authorities asking for an official ban on the device in several countries including India.
Samsung tried hard to get the situation under control, replacing faulty Galaxy Note 7 with brand new ones along with an updated battery pack. But after reports of replacement units also catching fire, Samsung finally decided to pull the plug on the Galaxy Note 7. Notably, after a replacement Galaxy Note 7 unit caught fire on a Southwest Airlines flight 994 from Louisville to Baltimore which had to be evacuated.
