Smartphones are something that millions of people use every day. We store them in our purses, in our pockets, on our car’s dashboard, and on our front seats. Most people use it for work, for rest, to play games. Samsung has some of the most popular new smartphones, but controversy has been no stranger to the trendy electronics manufacturer. Conscientious citizens install antiviruses and VPN to unblock websites, and protect their phones from hackers and data leakage. Others regularly clean the phone of unnecessary apps. But danger crept from the other side. The batteries in these phones used to have a habit of overheating and exploding.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has lithium-ion batteries manufactured in China and South Korea, and these Samsung phone batteries explode when overcharged. Some people have had their homes and vehicles catch on fire due to these defective batteries. Phones have also blown up while in users’ hands and faces or even in their pockets.

In September of 2016, Samsung issued recalls on its Galaxy Note 7, which was its highest-end phone at the time. The recall was expanded to include other phones with the same bad batteries the next month. By December, the company sent out an update stating that the phones that were affected by the exploding batteries were inoperable.

It took until January of 2017 for Samsung to finally figure out why its phones were exploding and what went wrong with their premier phone. Some people were even having a hard time getting their cellular plans to work, hence why knowing how to track a phone number is also important. According to Samsung, the Galaxy Note 7 explosions resulted from a battery that did not fit right, causing the batteries to overheat, which in turn triggered the explosions.

In July of the same year, the company released its Galaxy Note Fan Edition, which was essentially the Galaxy Note 7 with a new battery. The phone released at a significant price reduction was roughly two-thirds of the original asking price of the Galaxy Note 7.

Unfortunately, this did little to salvage the model’s reputation as these phones also overheated. This lack of spark prompted the company to disable the Galaxy Note 7 and to disable any phones that were returned without a software update.

By 2018, Samsung thought that their fire-prone cell phone troubles were over, but they may have been wrong. In June 2018, a woman reported that she was driving with both a Samsung S4 and Galaxy S8 in her vehicles when one of the devices suddenly caught fire and destroyed the woman’s car. It took only a few moments for her car to catch fire.

While neither the S4 or the Galaxy S8 has growing trends of catching fire or exploding since then, a New York woman has since claimed that the company’s Galaxy Note S9 caught fire the same year. The lawsuit, which claimed damages from the owner being unable to contact her clients, also sought a restraining order for Samsung to discontinue selling the Galaxy S9.

How to Stay Safe

If your Samsung smartphone appears on any of the recall lists, experts suggest that you immediately discontinue use of the phone. Contact the carrier or shop to request a refund. And as a general rule, don’t overcharge your phone. That can lead to dangerous overheating and a potential fire.

No matter what kind of cell phone you use, the following tips will help you to stay safer:

  • Turn off any apps you aren’t using: when your phone has multiple apps running all at once, it’s forced to work harder, which can lead to overheating.
  • Keep your phone away from your body: Sleeping with your phone close to your body can increase the chance of a fire in your bed, especially if you roll on top of the phone in your sleep, which can cause overheating.
  • Avoid keeping your phone in direct sunlight: the longer your phone is in the sun, the more opportunity it will have to retain light and heat.
  • Take your phone’s case off: if you’re having problems with your phone overheating, the case may be part of the problem because it could be blocking your phone’s heat vents.

You can also make your phone safer by making sure you’re current on your updates, deleting any apps you don’t use, reading Samsung user manuals, and keeping your phone separate from your other electronic devices. When buying a new smartphone, be sure to research about the pros and cons of the most popular new smartphones.

If you need any more information regarding safety of your phone you should know that the company has been publishing its user manuals in English since 1979. In 2012, Samsung started to publish them online as well and you can find them at manualsnet.com.

The Samsung mobile phones that had these issues were recalled in 2016. Years after the recall, there are still worries about exploding Samsung Galaxy phones. People have suffered fatal injuries from exploding phones, so you can never be too careful when it comes to these devices. If you’ve been injured, visit this page to find how fault is determined in a personal injury case.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here