Published Date: 2014-07-25
| Postmortem Analysis | |
|---|---|
| Timeline | 1. The software failure incident involving the Samsung Galaxy smartphone smoldering under the pillow happened in July 2014. [28230] |
| System | unknown |
| Responsible Organization | unknown |
| Impacted Organization | 1. Ariel Tolfree 2. Ariel Tolfree's father 3. Samsung (impacted by reputation and potential liability) 4. Consumers using third-party batteries (as warned by Samsung) [Cited from Article 28230] |
| Software Causes | unknown |
| Non-software Causes | 1. The battery of the Samsung Galaxy smartphone overheated, igniting a small fire [28230]. 2. The use of a third-party battery, which Samsung warns against in its warranty, was identified as a cause of the incident [28230]. |
| Impacts | unknown |
| Preventions | 1. Ensuring the use of original manufacturer batteries: The incident involving the Samsung Galaxy smartphone smoldering under the pillow could have been prevented if the user had used an original Samsung battery instead of a third-party battery, as warned by Samsung in its warranty [28230]. 2. Following manufacturer guidelines: Users should adhere to the manufacturer's guidelines provided in the phone's manual, such as not covering the device with bedding or clothes, to prevent risks of fire or explosion [28230]. |
| Fixes | 1. Ensuring the use of original manufacturer batteries and accessories as recommended by Samsung to prevent overheating and potential fire incidents [28230]. | References | 1. Ariel Tolfree, the teenage girl who experienced the smartphone smoldering incident [28230] 2. Thomas Tolfree, Ariel's father who commented on the incident [28230] 3. Samsung, the phone manufacturer, which provided statements and explanations regarding the incident [28230] |
| Category | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring | unknown | unknown |
| Phase (Design/Operation) | design | Unknown |
| Boundary (Internal/External) | outside_system | The software failure incident reported in the article does not involve any software-related issues. Instead, it describes a hardware-related incident where a Samsung Galaxy smartphone's battery overheated and caused a small fire under a teenage girl's pillow [28230]. Therefore, the boundary of the incident is outside the system, as it was caused by a third-party battery used in the smartphone, which is an external factor to the software system itself. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) | unknown | <Article 28230> does not mention any software failure incident related to non-human actions or human actions. Therefore, the information about the software failure incident related to non-human actions or human actions is unknown. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) | unknown | Unknown |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) | unknown | <Article 28230> does not mention any software failure incident related to either a malicious or non-malicious objective. Therefore, the information to determine the nature of the software failure incident is unknown. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) | unknown | Unknown |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) | unknown | Unknown |
| Duration | unknown | Unknown |
| Behaviour | other | (a) crash: The incident reported in the article does not involve a software crash. The failure was due to the battery of the Samsung Galaxy smartphone overheating and igniting, causing a small fire that charred the pillow and sheets [28230]. (b) omission: The incident does not involve a software omission. The failure was not due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance [28230]. (c) timing: The incident does not involve a timing failure. The system did not perform its intended functions too late or too early [28230]. (d) value: The incident does not involve a value failure. The system did not perform its intended functions incorrectly [28230]. (e) byzantine: The incident does not involve a byzantine failure. The system did not behave erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions [28230]. (f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident in this case is related to a hardware issue, specifically the battery of the Samsung Galaxy smartphone overheating and igniting, leading to a small fire. This is not directly related to software behavior but rather a hardware malfunction [28230]. |
| Layer | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Perception | None | None |
| Communication | None | None |
| Application | None | None |
| Category | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Consequence | property, theoretical_consequence | The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to death, harm, basic needs impact, property damage, delays, or non-human entities being impacted. The incident described in the articles primarily focuses on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone overheating and causing a small fire due to the use of a third-party battery, resulting in damage to the pillow, sheets, and mattress. Samsung offered to replace the affected items as a result of the incident. There were discussions about potential consequences of using third-party batteries and warnings provided by Samsung to avoid such incidents in the future. Therefore, the consequence of the software failure incident falls under the category of "theoretical_consequence" as there were potential risks discussed but no actual harm or significant consequences reported [28230]. |
| Domain | unknown | Unknown |
Article ID: 28230