The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco has been widely reported on in the past couple of weeks, and it is said that the company could lose over $3 billion in profits due to the device being pulled from the market. It has been widely speculated that the Galaxy Note 7’s battery packs are to blame for the whole fiasco, and the South Korean firm also came to the conclusion that the first batch of smartphones which caught on fire were malfunctioning because of their batteries. However, after the plug was pulled on the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung’s engineers have revealed that they were unsure what caused the fires in the first batch, as they were unable to replicate the fires. In a new twist to the whole fiasco, it has now been revealed that Samsung went against industry practices by self-testing the batteries in the Galaxy Note 7.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung self-tested the batteries in the Galaxy Note 7. Smartphone manufacturers are supposed to test the batteries in their smartphones at one of the 28 labs certified by the wireless industry trade group CTIA to ensure that they comply with the standards set by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This is a requirement for manufacturers who would like to sell their devices through major US carriers. CTIA certification also requires a smartphone battery to be tested while it is powering the device and also on its own. This is to pinpoint whether the batteries will function properly while being charged or used for phone calls as during these activities. On top of that, the batteries are put in high temperature situations to simulate summer conditions and to discover potential overheating and combustion hazards.
Samsung happens to be the only major smartphone manufacturer to use its in-house battery testing lab for CTIA certification. Before this, Microsoft and Lenovo operated their own facilities for CTIA certification, but both facilities have been closed down. A representative from Samsung revealed that the lab tested the battery in the Galaxy Note 7, and didn’t discover any issues with it. The company is currently investigating the cause of the Galaxy Note 7 fires, and it is yet to share an official explanation.