Samsung Finally Shares What Caused Galaxy Note 7 Fiasco

On Sunday night (Jan. 22), tech giant Samsung revealed that a combination of rushed manufacturing and smartphone bad batteries resulted in ongoing problems with its Galaxy Note 7 devices late last year.

Back in September, after it was discovered that the phone’s battery unit had the nasty tendency to overheat and catch fire, Samsung recalled 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones.

Then, in October, it was found that at least four of the replacement Note phones had also caught on fire. One phone ignited moments before the airplane it was on left the ground, leading to a U.S. Transportation Department ban of the smartphone model on all flights or in checked baggage.

The company quickly put a permanent pull the Galaxy Note 7 phone from the market, and now its U.S. unit is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of three former Galaxy Note 7 owners representing the Samsung customers who experienced phone troubles.

After investigating what went wrong with the Galaxy Note 7 for months, Samsung finally shared that it came down to two major flaws with the device’s batteries.

According to The Verge, the first battery had a design flaw that caused a short circuit and the second battery — used for replacement units — contained a welding defect that also could lead to fire issues.

Samsung’s investigation utilized 700 dedicated employees who tested more than 200,000 phones and 30,000 extra batteries to discover the results. The company also hired three outside firms, UL, Exponent and TUV Rheinland, which also came to the same conclusion.

In its press conference, Samsung mobile chief DJ Koh apologized to customers and business partners, adding that the company will take responsibility for its failings, while “implementing a broad range of internal processes to ensure that product safety and quality is our number one priority.”

Samsung is expected to release the Galaxy S8 device later this year and promises it, along with all forthcoming phones, will go through a new eight-step battery testing procedure before hitting the market.