Incident: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Battery Overheating and Explosion Recall

Published Date: 2016-09-15

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident involving the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 occurred in August 2016 [47630].
System The software failure incident in the reported article did not involve a failure of a specific software system. Instead, the incident was related to a manufacturing error in the lithium-ion batteries used in the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, leading to overheating and explosions. Therefore, the software failure incident did not involve a failure of a software system.
Responsible Organization 1. Samsung - The software failure incident in this case was caused by a subtle manufacturing error in the lithium ion batteries used in the Galaxy Note 7 phones, leading to overheating and explosions [47630].
Impacted Organization 1. Users of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone [47630] 2. Samsung as a company [47630]
Software Causes 1. The software causes of the failure incident were not explicitly mentioned in the provided article. Therefore, the specific software causes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery overheating and explosion issue remain unknown. [47630]
Non-software Causes 1. A subtle manufacturing error in the lithium ion batteries was identified as a cause of the failure incident [47630]. 2. The design compromise for the separator between positive and negative anodes due to the ambitious design of the Note 7 may have compromised safety [47630]. 3. Weak controls in manufacturing and a manufacturing defect were also highlighted as potential causes of the battery problem in the Note 7 [47630].
Impacts 1. Samsung was forced to recall 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 devices worldwide just two weeks after the launch due to the battery issue [47630]. 2. Aviation authorities in the US, Australia, and Europe urged passengers not to use or charge Note 7s while flying and not to put them in checked baggage [47630]. 3. Samsung planned a software update for South Korean users to cap battery recharging at 60% capacity to minimize risks of overheating [47630]. 4. Users reported incidents of the Note 7 phones catching fire or exploding, leading to safety concerns and potential property damage [47630]. 5. The incident caused a significant blow to Samsung's reputation and financial losses due to the massive recall and negative publicity surrounding the Galaxy Note 7 [47630].
Preventions 1. Implementing more stringent quality control measures during the manufacturing process to detect and prevent subtle errors in lithium ion battery production [47630]. 2. Conducting thorough testing and quality assurance checks on the batteries before launching the product to identify any potential flaws or defects [47630]. 3. Enhancing the design of the battery separators to improve safety and prevent negative and positive electrodes from coming together, leading to overheating and explosions [47630]. 4. Considering safety over ambitious design choices, such as using thicker separators between positive and negative anodes, even if it impacts the battery capacity [47630].
Fixes 1. Implementing a software update that caps battery recharging at 60% capacity to minimize risks of overheating [47630]. 2. Conducting a thorough investigation to identify and rectify the manufacturing error in the lithium ion batteries used in the Galaxy Note 7 phones [47630]. 3. Enhancing quality control measures in the manufacturing process to prevent flaws that could lead to battery explosions [47630]. 4. Potentially adjusting the design of the battery separators to improve safety without compromising the battery capacity [47630]. 5. Strengthening controls in the manufacturing process to address any defects that may lead to battery issues [47630].
References 1. Samsung's mobile president, Koh Dong-jin [47630] 2. South Korean experts [47630] 3. Industry analyst at IHS Markit Technology, Wayne Lam [47630] 4. Spokeswoman at iFixit, Kay-Kay Clapp [47630] 5. Head of LG's mobile business, Cho Joon-ho [47630]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: The incident of the Galaxy Note 7 battery issue was a significant software failure incident that happened with Samsung. The fault in the lithium-ion batteries causing overheating and explosions led to the recall of 2.5 million devices worldwide [47630]. Samsung acknowledged a manufacturing error in the batteries, which resulted in the negative electrodes and positive electrodes coming together, leading to the explosions [47630]. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: There is no specific information in the provided article about a similar incident happening at other organizations or with their products and services.
Phase (Design/Operation) design, operation (a) The software failure incident related to the design phase in the Galaxy Note 7 incident was primarily due to a manufacturing error in the lithium-ion batteries used in the phones. Samsung's mobile president, Koh Dong-jin, mentioned that a 'tiny error' in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries led to negative electrodes and positive electrodes coming together, causing stress or overheating issues [47630]. (b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase in the Galaxy Note 7 incident was exacerbated by users charging the phones, which led to the batteries catching fire or exploding. Samsung planned a software update for South Korean users to cap battery recharging at 60% capacity to minimize the risks of overheating during charging [47630].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery issue can be categorized as a failure within the system. The incident was attributed to a "tiny error" in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries in the Note 7s, specifically related to the end of the pouch-shaped battery cell having flaws that increased the chance of stress or overheating [47630]. This indicates that the root cause of the failure originated from within the system, specifically in the manufacturing process of the lithium ion batteries used in the phones.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions (a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions: The software failure incident with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was primarily attributed to a manufacturing error in the lithium-ion batteries used in the phones. Samsung identified a "tiny error" in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries, specifically in the end of the pouch-shaped battery cell, which increased the risk of stress or overheating [47630]. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions: In the case of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the failure was linked to a manufacturing error in the batteries rather than human actions. The flaw in the manufacturing process resulted in the negative electrodes and the positive electrodes coming together, leading to the batteries catching fire or exploding [47630].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware, software (a) The software failure incident occurring due to hardware: - The incident with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was primarily attributed to a hardware issue related to the lithium ion batteries. Samsung identified a manufacturing error in the batteries as the root cause of the problem, leading to overheating and explosions [47630]. - The flaw in the manufacturing process of the batteries resulted in the negative electrodes and positive electrodes coming together, causing the batteries to overheat and catch fire [47630]. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to software: - While the primary cause of the failure was hardware-related, Samsung also planned a software update for South Korean users to cap battery recharging at 60% capacity to minimize risks of overheating [47630]. - The software update was intended to address the hardware issue by limiting the charging capacity of the battery, indicating a software intervention to mitigate the hardware-related problem [47630].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery issue was non-malicious in nature. The failure was attributed to a manufacturing error in the lithium-ion batteries used in the devices, specifically a flaw in the manufacturing process that resulted in the negative electrodes and positive electrodes coming together [47630]. This indicates that the incident was not caused by any malicious intent but rather by a mistake or defect in the manufacturing process.
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) unknown The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to poor or accidental decisions.
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) accidental (a) The software failure incident in the Galaxy Note 7 phones was not directly related to development incompetence but rather to a manufacturing error in the lithium-ion batteries. Samsung's mobile president mentioned that a 'tiny error' in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries led to the negative electrodes and positive electrodes coming together, causing overheating issues [47630]. (b) The software failure incident in the Galaxy Note 7 phones was accidental in nature. The overheating and exploding batteries were a result of a subtle manufacturing error in the lithium-ion batteries, where flaws in the battery cells increased the chance of stress or overheating, leading to the batteries catching fire or exploding [47630].
Duration temporary The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery issue can be categorized as a temporary failure. The incident was caused by a manufacturing error in the lithium-ion batteries used in the phones, specifically a flaw in the manufacturing process that resulted in the negative electrodes and positive electrodes coming together [47630]. This temporary failure led to severe overheating and explosions in some devices, prompting Samsung to recall 2.5 million units worldwide. Additionally, Samsung implemented a temporary solution through a software update for South Korean users that capped battery recharging at 60% capacity to minimize the risk of overheating [47630].
Behaviour omission, value, other (a) crash: The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was not specifically mentioned as a crash in the articles. The main issue reported was the battery overheating and exploding, leading to a recall of the devices [47630]. (b) omission: The failure of the lithium ion batteries in the Galaxy Note 7 can be considered an omission as the batteries omitted to perform their intended function of providing power without overheating or exploding. This omission led to the recall of 2.5 million devices worldwide [47630]. (c) timing: There is no indication in the articles that the software failure incident was related to timing issues where the system performed its intended functions but at the wrong time. (d) value: The failure of the lithium ion batteries in the Galaxy Note 7 can be categorized as a value failure as the batteries did not perform their intended function of providing power correctly. Instead, they overheated and exploded, posing a safety risk to users [47630]. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident was not described as exhibiting byzantine behavior with inconsistent responses and interactions in the articles. (f) other: The other behavior observed in the software failure incident was a manufacturing error in the lithium ion batteries used in the Galaxy Note 7. This manufacturing error led to the batteries overheating and exploding, causing the recall of the devices [47630].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence property, delay, non-human, theoretical_consequence (a) death: People lost their lives due to the software failure - There is no mention of any deaths resulting from the software failure incident reported in the articles. [47630] (b) harm: People were physically harmed due to the software failure - The articles do not mention any physical harm to individuals due to the software failure incident. [47630] (c) basic: People's access to food or shelter was impacted because of the software failure - The incident did not impact people's access to food or shelter. [47630] (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure - Users reported cases where Note 7 batteries caught fire or exploded, causing property damage such as incinerating a car. [47630] (e) delay: People had to postpone an activity due to the software failure - Users were urged to keep the phones turned off until they could get them replaced, beginning September 19, which could have caused delays in their phone usage. [47630] (f) non-human: Non-human entities were impacted due to the software failure - The software failure incident primarily affected the lithium ion batteries in the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, leading to overheating and explosions. [47630] (g) no_consequence: There were no real observed consequences of the software failure - The software failure incident resulted in tangible consequences such as property damage and safety concerns. [47630] (h) theoretical_consequence: There were potential consequences discussed of the software failure that did not occur - Theoretical consequences discussed include the potential risks of overheating and explosions due to the battery issue, as well as the challenges faced by electronics makers in packing more battery power into thinner phones. [47630] (i) other: Was there consequence(s) of the software failure not described in the (a to h) options? What is the other consequence(s)? - The articles do not mention any other specific consequences of the software failure incident beyond those related to property damage, safety concerns, and delays in phone usage. [47630]
Domain manufacturing (a) The failed system in the incident was related to the manufacturing industry. The software failure incident involved the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone, which had a manufacturing error in the lithium-ion batteries, leading to overheating and explosions [47630]. The incident highlighted the challenges faced by electronics makers in packing more battery power into thinner phones while rushing for faster release dates. (f) The software failure incident was also related to the manufacturing industry. Samsung, the manufacturer of the Galaxy Note 7, had to recall 2.5 million devices worldwide due to the battery issue caused by a manufacturing error in the lithium-ion batteries [47630]. The incident emphasized the importance of quality control and safety measures in the manufacturing process of electronic devices.

Sources

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