Samsung announced last week that they were going to replace all
Galaxy Note7s that have been sold, due to reports of batteries
bursting into flames while charging. This
is a recall that is estimated to cost Samsung US$1 billion.
Yesterday, Samsung
Singapore announced more details on how local users can exchange
their existing Note7s for a new one, starting from 16th
September. In the meantime, Samsung can provide Note7 owners with a
loan phone (subject to availability) from now until they get their
Note7 replacements.
Galaxy Note7 owners can call 1800-SAMSUNG for further
assistance, that’s 1800-7267864.
As to what caused the batteries to explode? According
to Samsung, the anode-to-cathode came into contact to cause the
overheating:
“Based on our investigation, we learned that
there was an issue with the battery cell. An overheating of the
battery cell occurred when the anode-to-cathode came into contact
which is a very rare manufacturing process error. We are working
with multiple suppliers to ensure that a rigorous inspection
process is conducted to ensure the quality of our replacement units
and we do not anticipate any further battery issues.”
The anode and cathode lie on opposite ends of a lithium
ion battery, with an electrolyte between them.
While Samsung’s latest explanation offers some more
insight into how the Note7 devices caught fire, there are still
some unanswered questions at this stage:
These are questions still up in the air for Samsung and
its Note7 customers. Stay tuned as HardwareZone brings you the
latest on this development.
Read next: Everything
you need to know about the Samsung Note7 battery saga.
