The Samsung Galaxy Note 7’s spontaneous explosion problems were caused by irregularly sized batteries and other manufacturing issues, a new investigation revealed.
The tech giant is set to publish a new report Monday blaming the dangerous blazes — which prompted Samsung to discontinue the line of smartphones and recall thousands of devices — on two separate engineering flaws, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The report seems to finally explain why so many users’ Note 7s unexpectedly caught fire last year. The company recalled the phones issued replacements after multiple complaints — and then they were forced to discontinue the phone altogether when the allegedly safer substitutes caught fire, too.
The report claims that irregularly sized batteries that didn’t fit quite right into the phones caused the devices to overheat and sometimes catch fire. It also says another manufacturing issue contributed to the explosions, although it did not elaborate on what that problem was.
About 96% of the U.S.’s Galaxy Note 7s have been returned under the recall. Last month, Samsung rolled out updates that prevent the phones from charging in a bid to annoy users into returningthe recalled devices.
“If you have not yet returned your device, you should immediately power it down and contact your carrier to obtain a refund or exchange,” the company urged last month.
Under the recall, Samsung will either provide a full refund at the original price or replace Note 7 units with any other model of Samsung phone.
