Some Samsung Galaxy Note 4 devices are dangerous. That is what the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) assures, which has issued an order for some of the batteries in these terminals to be removed immediately because they present a tendency to overheat and a subsequent risk of burnss and fire.
Obviously this leads us to remember the Galaxy Note 7 disaster experienced by the South Korean company, and by its users, last year. Nevertheless, this time Samsung is not the culprit of danger. How could this happen just now, on a phone that's already three years old? Who is to blame for this second Samsung "batterygate"? We will tell you everything below.
History repeats itself, or almost
Well, yes, history repeats itself although, this time, with certain differences, especially with regard to affected people, responsibilities and causes. For the second time in the mobile phone race, a smartphone is ordered to have its batteries removed before the danger of overheating, fire and burns that may cause users. And for the second time, it is a device manufactured by Samsung, in this case, the Galaxy Note 4. This present event inevitably reminds us of what happened a year ago, when the Galaxy Note 7, after numerous cases of explosions and fire, was finally withdrawn from the market. But the truth is that, as we said, there are differences between those events and today.
Last Wednesday, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a statement urging the recall of certain Galaxy Note 4 batteries. According to this body, the affected batteries have an undue tendency to overheat, which could lead to possible burns to users, explosions and fires.
The parallels between the current situation and last year's Galaxy Note 7 experience are obvious. Samsung was forced to double withdraw these devices from the market, and even stop their production permanently. The reason? Defective batteries. The company then undertook a thorough investigation and, after making the results public, promised to make batteries safer and even developed a safety control plan in eight points to prevent history from repeating itself. These "promises" are especially important now because on August 23, the company will unveil the successor to the Galaxy Note 7, the Galaxy Note 8.
The guilt and the guilty
The first question we inevitably ask ourselves is how can this happen now, when the Galaxy Note 4 is a three-year-old phone? This is where it follows that Samsung is not the culprit. The affected batteries were found in refurbished Galaxy Note 4s that were distributed by FedEx Supply Chain as replacement phones for an AT&T program..
According to statements from a Samsung spokesperson to CNET, the AT&T program was managed outside of Samsung, and the batteries used are not original Samsung batteriesbut false, which could explain the anomalies that lead to dangerous terminal overheating.
The Galaxy Note 4 dates from the year 2014 however, the affected batteries were distributed between December 2016 and April 2017, so not all terminals are affected.
The FedEx Supply Chain company has stated through a statement that "it has recovered a batch of lithium batteries that were installed in mobile devices" and, given that some of these batteries could be fake, "we are closely committed to our client to ensure that all these lithium batteries are returned quickly and safely and will replace lithium batteries for free for the consumers". Faced with statements from Samsung and FedEx Supply Chain, AT & T continues to be silent regarding what happened.
On the bright side, the number of batteries to be removed is relatively small; Compared to the three million Note 7 recovered, this time the CPSC estimates that around 10.200 batteries are affected. In addition, the Note 4 has an extra-pole battery, so its replacement is much faster and easier than in the case of last year.
If you read to us from the United States and you have a Note 4 from the AT & T program, the CPSC recommends that you turn off the phone immediately. FedEx Supply Chain will provide you with a safe replacement battery and a box to ship the affected battery at no cost. For more information visit the website of the new replacement program.