Incident: Samsung Galaxy S7 Active Fails Water-Resistance Test, Causing Drowning Impact

Published Date: 2016-08-10

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident with the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failing the pool test happened in July 2016. [Article 46892]
System 1. Samsung Galaxy S7 Active 2. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge 3. Samsung Galaxy S7 4. IP68 rating system The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active, along with the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and Samsung Galaxy S7 models, failed in the software failure incident reported in the article [46892]. Additionally, the IP68 rating system, which is supposed to ensure water resistance up to a certain depth and time, also failed in this incident.
Responsible Organization 1. Samsung - The software failure incident, in this case, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failing the pool test, was caused by a flaw in the phone's waterproofing design, leading to water damage and ultimately the phones dying during the test [46892].
Impacted Organization 1. Consumers who purchased the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active were impacted by the software failure incident as the phone failed the water-resistant tests, leading to concerns about its reliability and performance [46892].
Software Causes Unknown
Non-software Causes 1. Water-resistant design flaw in the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active that caused the phone to fail water-resistant tests [46892].
Impacts 1. Two units of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failed during waterproofing tests, leading to concerns about the phone's water resistance capabilities [46892]. 2. The failure of the S7 Active in the pool test resulted in total water damage to the phone, rendering it inoperable [46892]. 3. The incident led to a decrease in the rating of the S7 Active from 4.5 stars to 4 due to not meeting Samsung's advertised endurance specs [46892]. 4. Samsung acknowledged a manufacturing issue that caused the waterproofing failures and stated that affected customers would receive replacements under the limited warranty [46892].
Preventions 1. Improved manufacturing processes to ensure consistent quality control and adherence to waterproofing standards could have prevented the software failure incident [46892]. 2. More rigorous testing procedures during the development phase to identify and address any potential flaws or weaknesses in the waterproofing design could have prevented the incident [46892].
Fixes 1. Fixing the manufacturing issue that caused the waterproofing failures [46892]
References 1. Consumer Reports 2. Samsung document describing the S7 and S7 Edge 3. CNET 4. Samsung's statement mentioned in the article [46892]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failing the pool test happened again within the same organization, Samsung. After the initial failure of the S7 Active in the pool test, Samsung fixed a flaw that caused some of the water-resistant phones to drown in water. Following the fix, all three phones tested, including the S7 Active, survived the pool test, indicating that the issue was addressed within the organization [46892]. (b) The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failing the pool test did not mention similar incidents happening at other organizations or with their products and services.
Phase (Design/Operation) design, operation (a) The software failure incident in the article is related to the design phase. The failure of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active in the pool test was due to a flaw in the design that caused some of the water-resistant phones to fail and drown in water. Consumer Reports found that two units failed during waterproofing tests, indicating a design flaw in the water-resistant feature of the phone [46892]. (b) The software failure incident in the article is also related to the operation phase. The failure of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active in the pool test was exacerbated by the operation of the phone in water beyond its specified limits. The article mentions that the last test ran right up to the phone's water-resistant limits, indicating that the failure was due to the operation of the phone in a scenario that exceeded its intended usage conditions [46892].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failing the pool test was primarily within the system. The failure was attributed to a flaw in the phone's design that caused it to be hydrophobic in some tests, leading to water damage and ultimately causing the phones to die [46892]. The issue was identified as a manufacturing problem specific to the Galaxy S7 Active production line, which was subsequently resolved by Samsung [46892]. This indicates that the root cause of the failure originated from within the system itself.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident in this case was not due to non-human actions but rather due to the phone's inability to withstand water as advertised. The failure occurred during water-resistance tests conducted on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active, where the phone failed to survive the pool test and suffered total water damage [46892]. (b) The software failure incident was not directly caused by human actions but rather by the phone's design flaw or manufacturing issue that led to its inability to withstand water as promised. However, human actions were involved in conducting the water-resistance tests to assess the phone's durability, which ultimately led to the discovery of the failure [46892].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware (a) The software failure incident occurring due to hardware: - The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failed a pool test due to a flaw in the hardware that caused some of the water-resistant phones to drown in water [46892]. - Consumer Reports found that two units failed during waterproofing tests, indicating a hardware issue with the water-resistant feature [46892]. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to software: - The failure of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active in the pool test was primarily attributed to the hardware flaw causing the phone to drown in water, rather than a software issue [46892]. - The incident did not point to any software-related contributing factors that led to the failure during the pool test [46892].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failing the pool test was non-malicious. The failure was attributed to a flaw in the phone's design that caused it to be less water-resistant than advertised. Consumer Reports found that two units failed during waterproofing tests, indicating a non-malicious failure due to a design flaw [46892]. Additionally, Samsung acknowledged a manufacturing issue that exclusively affected the Galaxy S7 Active, leading to waterproofing failures. Samsung stated that the issue has been resolved, and they will replace any phones with water damage under the standard limited warranty, further confirming a non-malicious failure [46892].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) unknown The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failing the pool test was not directly related to software issues but rather to the phone's hardware failure in water. The incident was due to a flaw in the phone's design that caused it to fail in water-resistant tests, leading to the phones getting damaged and ultimately bricked [46892]. Therefore, the failure was not due to poor or accidental decisions related to software.
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) accidental (a) The software failure incident in the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active's waterproofing capabilities was not due to development incompetence but rather due to a flaw in the manufacturing process. Samsung acknowledged that there was an isolated issue in the production line that exclusively manufactured the Galaxy S7 Active, which led to the waterproofing failures. Samsung stated that the issue has been resolved, and any owner with water damage would receive a replacement under the standard limited warranty [46892]. (b) The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active's waterproofing capabilities was accidental in nature. The failure was not intentional but occurred due to a flaw in the manufacturing process that led to the phones not being able to withstand water as per their IP68 rating. Samsung mentioned that they had received very few customer inquiries regarding the issue and that they had fixed the manufacturing problem that caused the waterproofing failures [46892].
Duration temporary The software failure incident related to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failing the pool test was temporary. The failure was due to a flaw in the phone's waterproofing that caused some units to drown in water during the test. Samsung acknowledged the issue and fixed the manufacturing problem that led to the waterproofing failures. Customers with water damage were offered replacements under the standard limited warranty [46892].
Behaviour crash, other (a) crash: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a crash. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failed the pool test, leading to the phone becoming unresponsive and ultimately bricked after being submerged in water for a prolonged period [46892]. (b) omission: There is no specific instance of omission mentioned in the article. (c) timing: The software failure incident does not relate to timing issues. (d) value: The software failure incident does not involve the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit inconsistent responses or interactions. (f) other: The other behavior observed in the software failure incident is the failure of the phone to meet its water-resistant claims despite being advertised as capable of withstanding certain water depths and durations. This discrepancy between the advertised specifications and the actual performance of the device can be considered as the "other" behavior [46892].

IoT System Layer

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

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence no_consequence (a) death: People lost their lives due to the software failure - There were no reports of people losing their lives due to the software failure incident described in the article [46892].
Domain manufacturing The software failure incident reported in Article 46892 is related to the industry of manufacturing. The incident specifically involves the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failing a water-resistance test, which is a key feature of the phone intended for consumers who may expose their devices to water in daily use scenarios [46892].

Sources

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