Clarification: Samsung Galaxy Note7 Short Circuited Under Stress Test

If you have seen a Reuters report showing images of a mechanical stress test on the Samsung Galaxy Note7 conducted by Applied Energy Hub in Singapore on an Instron machine, you might thought that it can only happens on Note7. It is not, and according to Samsung (and based on technical facts), any lithium battery under that condition can suffer the same fate.

battery-stress-test

Although Samsung did not send me any link to the article (since it has been retracted by Reuters), some blogs (LINK) actually carry the story and images. So, do not believe any stories on the Internet immediately without clarification.

Why is this clarification so important for Samsung?

If you are a Note7 owner, you might already gotten the recall instruction on the original or even the replaced model of the Galaxy Note7. So far, based on my understanding, the root cause on why the phone heating up is not known yet. And US has started banning Note7 from their flights. If you are still holding on to one, read this.

According to Samsung, the stress test is done not only on the Note7. It is mentioned that any lithium batteries under that condition will yield the same results.

Here is the official statement from Samsung.

Clarification

Samsung clarifies on Reuters report

We refer to the Reuters report showing images of a mechanical stress test on the Galaxy Note7 conducted by Applied Energy Hub (operating under TUM CREATE) in Singapore on an Instron machine.
The demonstration to a Reuters reporter was performed not only on the Note7 and the sole purpose of the demonstration was to show that phones powered by lithium batteries are susceptible to internal short circuit under heavy mechanical stress.

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“Any pouch cell lithium-ion battery on any phone subjected to a heavy load will puncture over time, causing an internal short circuit. We are certain that the same test applied on any lithium-ion battery in any phone will yield very similar results given the sufficient mechanical pressure applied; not just the Note7. During the test, a blunt nail was pressed directly on the battery while the rear part of housing was removed before. We emphasize that it is highly unlikely that the conditions of this test can be achieved under regular phone use,” said Jan Geder, Head of Laboratory, Applied Energy Hub (operating under TUM CREATE) in Singapore.

Reuters has since retracted its reports relating to the Applied Energy Hub demonstration.

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