Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's Mobile Communication Division, speaks about the cause of Galaxy Note 7s' explosion at a media conference. [Photo by Yoo Dae-gil = dbeorlf123@ajunews.com]
Samsung Electronics blamed faulty batteries for causing its flagship Galaxy Note 7 to catch fire Monday, ruling out any defection in its software and design, as it released the outcome of an investigation that followed a critical blow to its reputation as the world's largest smartphone maker.
Note 7s went up in flames globally in September last year, just a few weeks after its global launching. Stunned by the unexpected fiasco, Samsung immediately stopped sales and ordered a global recall.
An investigation involving independent third-party experts found that Note7's main fault was at its batteries coming from two different factories at Samsung SDI and China's ATL, Samsung said in a statement.
Engineers have conducted tests over 20,000 Note 7s to reenact a combusting situation, Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's Mobile Communication Division, said at a news conference. "We have carried out other tests to find out if other components of the smartphone or software caused the problem but no connection was found."
After Samsung's Note 7 fiasco became an online hot-potato in September last year, experts at home and abroad have pointed their finger at defective batteries. They suggested it was inevitable for an overly squeezed-in battery to have its negative and positive plates touch each other causing short circuits.
Koh admitted their prediction was right as batteries produced by Samsung SDI commonly experienced a short-circuit induced by excessive pressure being applied to the upper right corner. The pressure caused the negative and positive plates inside the batteries to rip through separation films which surround it in a shape of a roll, causing a short circuit, he said.
ATL batteries also showed another common problem as damages in separation films and insulation tape made during the manufacturing process caused combustion, Koh said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
