7 ms·

It would have saved Samsung billions of dollars if they could have just replaced the batteries and not had to buy back 2.5M phones.

CamperBob2 10y ago
No, it would ultimately have caused more fires with no way to blame them on anyone in particular. If we're going to treat batteries as safety-critical components, then it's counterproductive to encourage end users to replace them with the cheapest ones they can find. Mobile phones with replaceable batteries aren't coming back, and good riddance.
- Vendan 10y ago
  So your solution is to say "no, only large companies are allowed to pick batteries". Well, the Note 7 seems to show how good an idea that is. Plenty of devices have replaceable batteries without them exploding, and if anything, a replaceable battery would let you say "hey, this battery is getting old, let's replace it" rather then continuing to use a device with an old, possibly failing battery.
  - CamperBob2 10y ago
    Well, the Note 7 seems to show how good an idea that is. Yes, as a matter of fact, that's exactly what the Note 7 debacle demonstrated. There was a quality problem that could cause fires. There was a single party who could be expected to take responsibility. Finally, there was a coordinated worldwide recall. Problem solved, system working as intended. Sucks to be Samsung, of course, but the end result will be safer batteries for everyone. Plenty of devices have replaceable batteries without them exploding, and if anything, a replaceable battery would let you say "hey, this battery is getting old, let's replace it" rather then continuing to use a device with an old, possibly failing battery. Sorry, that's not going to happen. Get used to disappointment.
    - Vendan 10y ago
      Or, the manufacturer of the batteries could recall them. Also, plenty of phones have replaceable batteries, including new models, so I'll just keep buying them. Means I won't be buying Samsung, but that's just an extra bonus.
      - ScottBurson 10y ago
        Yeah, it's sad. I'm fond of my Galaxy Note 4, and plan to keep it running as long as possible -- yes, the battery is replaceable, so I should be able to get a few years out of it -- but once it dies I won't want to buy another Samsung, and nobody else is making a phablet with a stylus. Maybe some other manufacturer will see the opportunity Samsung has given them to break into this niche.
- throwbsidbdk 10y ago
  Wouldn't a better solution be to just make sure dangerous batteries don't get sold? Just regulate them for safety like tons of other dangerous goods already are
  - sp332 10y ago
    After the first recall, when a few of the replacement phones caught fire again, Samsung couldn't even reproduce the issue in a lab. Regulation isn't going to prevent bad things from ever happening. You need a fallback plan.
megablast 10y ago
Don't be ridiculous. They would still have to recall every device, how else could they do it? You can't send plain faulty batteries back. And they still don't know why it happened, They tried 2 different batteries from different manufacturers and it was still exploding.
- ajkjk 10y ago
  Er... isn't it obvious? They could mail you the replacement battery?
  - greglindahl 10y ago
    How did you figure out that the battery is the problem? Samsung has yet to figure out a root cause, so it may be mechanical design, or ...
    - ajkjk 10y ago
      No, I mean, instead of recalling 2.5m phones, you replace 2.5m batteries. Which you can do. Because they're replaceable.
      - andromeduck 10y ago
        Samsung tried shipping different batteries in the replacements but those still acted up. It's pretty unlikely replaceable battery which have done much.
        ajkjk 10y ago
        Sure, but that doesn't change how much easier, cheaper, and less invasive to customers the replacement can be when you can take the batteries out.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]

CamperBob2 10y ago

No, it would ultimately have caused more fires with no way to blame them on anyone in particular. If we're going to treat batteries as safety-critical components, then it's counterproductive to encourage end users to replace them with the cheapest ones they can find. Mobile phones with replaceable batteries aren't coming back, and good riddance.

Vendan 10y ago
So your solution is to say "no, only large companies are allowed to pick batteries". Well, the Note 7 seems to show how good an idea that is. Plenty of devices have replaceable batteries without them exploding, and if anything, a replaceable battery would let you say "hey, this battery is getting old, let's replace it" rather then continuing to use a device with an old, possibly failing battery.
- CamperBob2 10y ago
  Well, the Note 7 seems to show how good an idea that is. Yes, as a matter of fact, that's exactly what the Note 7 debacle demonstrated. There was a quality problem that could cause fires. There was a single party who could be expected to take responsibility. Finally, there was a coordinated worldwide recall. Problem solved, system working as intended. Sucks to be Samsung, of course, but the end result will be safer batteries for everyone. Plenty of devices have replaceable batteries without them exploding, and if anything, a replaceable battery would let you say "hey, this battery is getting old, let's replace it" rather then continuing to use a device with an old, possibly failing battery. Sorry, that's not going to happen. Get used to disappointment.
  - Vendan 10y ago
    Or, the manufacturer of the batteries could recall them. Also, plenty of phones have replaceable batteries, including new models, so I'll just keep buying them. Means I won't be buying Samsung, but that's just an extra bonus.
    - ScottBurson 10y ago
      Yeah, it's sad. I'm fond of my Galaxy Note 4, and plan to keep it running as long as possible -- yes, the battery is replaceable, so I should be able to get a few years out of it -- but once it dies I won't want to buy another Samsung, and nobody else is making a phablet with a stylus. Maybe some other manufacturer will see the opportunity Samsung has given them to break into this niche.
throwbsidbdk 10y ago
Wouldn't a better solution be to just make sure dangerous batteries don't get sold? Just regulate them for safety like tons of other dangerous goods already are
- sp332 10y ago
  After the first recall, when a few of the replacement phones caught fire again, Samsung couldn't even reproduce the issue in a lab. Regulation isn't going to prevent bad things from ever happening. You need a fallback plan.

megablast 10y ago

Don't be ridiculous. They would still have to recall every device, how else could they do it? You can't send plain faulty batteries back. And they still don't know why it happened, They tried 2 different batteries from different manufacturers and it was still exploding.

ajkjk 10y ago
Er... isn't it obvious? They could mail you the replacement battery?
- greglindahl 10y ago
  How did you figure out that the battery is the problem? Samsung has yet to figure out a root cause, so it may be mechanical design, or ...
  - ajkjk 10y ago
    No, I mean, instead of recalling 2.5m phones, you replace 2.5m batteries. Which you can do. Because they're replaceable.
    - andromeduck 10y ago
      Samsung tried shipping different batteries in the replacements but those still acted up. It's pretty unlikely replaceable battery which have done much.
      - ajkjk 10y ago
        Sure, but that doesn't change how much easier, cheaper, and less invasive to customers the replacement can be when you can take the batteries out.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]