Samsung to Reveal Results of Galaxy Note7 Fire Investigation Later This Month - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Samsung to Reveal Results of Galaxy Note7 Fire Investigation Later This Month

Samsung will announce later this month the results of an investigation into what caused some of its Galaxy Note7 smartphones to catch fire, according to South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Note7 in late August and, shortly after, user reports began circulating about devices that exploded or caught on fire while charging. At the time, the company said the underlying issue was "problematic" batteries installed in a very limited number of the smartphones sold.


Rumors suggest Samsung pushed suppliers to meet tighter deadlines for an earlier launch, in order to beat the iPhone 7, leading to critical oversights that led to some batteries catching fire. In October, Samsung said it was examining all aspects of the smartphone, but noted it was not yet able to reproduce the problem.

Samsung issued a Galaxy Note7 recall in September, and permanently discontinued the smartphone in October after some replacement devices caught fire. Samsung has urged customers to return their Galaxy Note7s immediately, and in December began seeding a software update to prevent unreturned devices from charging.

Samsung faces the challenging task of regaining consumer trust after the Galaxy Note7 safety risks, which led to the smartphone being banned on all U.S. flights. Airlines are required to disclose the Galaxy Note7 ban prior to takeoff on every U.S. flight, inevitably damaging the reputation of Samsung's brand.

galaxy-a-2017
Looking forward, the company today announced a trio of new mid-tier Galaxy A smartphones, including the 5.7-inch A7, 5.2-inch A5, and 4.7-inch A3 models. The latest A models feature metal frames and 3D glass backs, improved 16-megapixel cameras, IP68 water and dust resistance, and longer battery life.

Samsung said the refreshed Galaxy A series will be available in Russia in early January, followed by other global markets. Pricing has yet to be announced.

Popular Stories

xiaomi quad curved waterfall display concept phone angled press image

Apple Reportedly Waiting on Samsung for Ultimate Bezel-Free iPhone Display

Wednesday October 7, 2026 5:20 am PDT by
Apple is waiting on Samsung to perfect a next-generation OLED display technology that wraps almost vertically around a phone and essentially makes the sides themselves part of the screen, claims a Chinese leaker. Xiaomi's 2021 concept phone – bearing a striking resemblance to Samsung's rumored technology According to the Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital, the technology is internally...
M5 MacBook Pro

RIP, MacBook Ultra

Monday October 19, 2026 9:37 am PDT by
Apple today sent out invites for an experience in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 28, and the "Pro and tell" tagline on the invitation likely means that the rumored MacBook models with touch-enabled OLED displays will stick with MacBook Pro branding instead of the once-rumored "MacBook Ultra" name. The long-rumored "iPhone Ultra" ended up being named iPhone Duo, so speculation that Apple...
iPhone Duo Trio

Here's What Apple's Apps Look Like on the iPhone Duo

Tuesday October 20, 2026 11:12 am PDT by
With just three days to go until the iPhone Duo is released, Apple is getting ready for the launch. Behind the scenes, the App Store now has screenshots of Apple's built-in apps running on the Duo. We've seen some apps in marketing materials, but images of the ones we haven't seen give us an idea of what it will be like using the iPhone Duo day to day. Many apps are shown in landscape...

Top Rated Comments

kdarling Avatar
128 months ago
Only took them four months.
If it was an obvious mistake, then it'd be easy to figure out after reports came in.

Like making an external antenna which can be detuned with the smallest touch of a pinky finger. Or designing a case opening brace which was too short and thus acted like a fulcrum for bends instead. Or putting out a Maps app that was missing tons of basic info. Those all were instantly clear to almost anyone.

But since it took so long in this case, perhaps it was something subtle and/or requiring a certain sequence of events.

Heck, it only happened to about one in forty thousand units. So unless you had a good idea what the cause was, imagine how many units you'd have to test to make the result repeatable.

Wait...let me get this straight....Do people still BUY Samsung smartphones? Their flagship model caught fire and EXPLODED...SPONTANEOUSLY!
iPhones have done the same. They've caught fire on airplanes in flight, something that never happened with the Samsung model in question. (Because it was banned. Should iPhones also be banned then?)

People have been badly burned by iPhones. Someone has even died from an iPhone fire in his bed, which again never happened with a Samsung Note.

Does that make you never want to buy an iPhone again? Of course not. If it didn't happen to them, people don't care that much. Especially when the device hits all their desire points, like the Note does and the iPhone does.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DrMotownMac Avatar
128 months ago
Wait...let me get this straight....Do people still BUY Samsung smartphones? Their flagship model caught fire and EXPLODED...SPONTANEOUSLY! Then, after the explanation and recall, the replacement phones had the same problem!! They could have the coolest phones on the market, but you couldn't pay me enough money to bring one of their products into my house and actually plug it into an outlet. Well, I suppose if I were planning to burn my house down and collect the insurance money...yeah, then maybe I'd consider it. Otherwise, I think I'd have to have my head examined before trusting a Samsung smartphone. My 2-year-old Samsung washer and dryer give me all kinds of problems as it is. I think I'm done with that company going forward.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
128 months ago
If it was an obvious mistake, then it'd be easy to figure out after reports came in.

Like making an external antenna which can be detuned with the smallest touch of a pinky finger. Or designing a case opening brace which was too short and thus acted like a fulcrum for bends instead. Or putting out a Maps app that was missing tons of basic info. Those all were instantly clear to almost anyone.

But since it took so long in this case, perhaps it was something subtle and/or requiring a certain sequence of events.

Heck, it only happened to about one in forty thousand units. So unless you had a good idea what the cause was, imagine how many units you'd have to test to make the result repeatable.



iPhones have done the same. They've caught fire on airplanes in flight, something that never happened with the Samsung model in question. (Because it was banned. Should iPhones also be banned then?)

People have been badly burned by iPhones. Someone has even died from an iPhone fire in his bed, which again never happened with a Samsung Note.

Does that make you never want to buy an iPhone again? Of course not. If it didn't happen to them, people don't care that much. Especially when the device hits all their desire points, like the Note does and the iPhone does.
Only on MacRumors can an article about Samsung phones exploding due to a manufacturing defect be spun into an anti-Apple comment. It boggles the mind, it really does.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
128 months ago
If it was an obvious mistake, then it'd be easy to figure out after reports came in.

Like making an external antenna which can be detuned with the smallest touch of a pinky finger. Or designing a case opening brace which was too short and thus acted like a fulcrum for bends instead. Or putting out a Maps app that was missing tons of basic info. Those all were instantly clear to almost anyone.

But since it took so long in this case, perhaps it was something subtle and/or requiring a certain sequence of events.

Heck, it only happened to about one in forty thousand units. So unless you had a good idea what the cause was, imagine how many units you'd have to test to make the result repeatable.



iPhones have done the same. They've caught fire on airplanes in flight, something that never happened with the Samsung model in question. (Because it was banned. Should iPhones also be banned then?)

People have been badly burned by iPhones. Someone has even died from an iPhone fire in his bed, which again never happened with a Samsung Note.

Does that make you never want to buy an iPhone again? Of course not. If it didn't happen to them, people don't care that much. Especially when the device hits all their desire points, like the Note does and the iPhone does.
I recommend using google... multiple Samsung replacement devices caught fire on planes. iPhones have NEVER caught fire on planes accidentally - the only times were intentional punctures of the battery. Almost every iPhone fire, in any capacity, came from non OEM third party accessories. Not the iPhone.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DrMotownMac Avatar
128 months ago

iPhones have done the same. They've even caught fire on airplanes in flight, something that never happened with the Samsung in question. Someone has even died from an iPhone fire in his bed, which again never happened with a Samsung.

Does that make you never want to buy an iPhone again? Of course not. If it didn't happen to them, people don't care that much.
Did iPhones get recalled? Did Apple issue a replacement product that had the same problem? Were all US airlines required, by law, to ban all iPhones from every flight? No?? Why not? Because Steve Jobs, and now Tim Cook, have so much more political influence and power that they were able to prevent all of that bad stuff from happening to Apple?

Come on. This was a MAJOR problem, affecting a lot more than one customer with one faulty product. And then when the company claimed they fixed the problem, people were still having the same problem. Do you REALLY believe the single iPhone catching fire was the same thing as this problem with the Galaxy 7? If so, will you please explain why Apple did not recall the iPhone and why the government did not step in and force airlines to ban them?

Of course ANY electronic device has the potential to catch fire. But there's a big difference between a systemic problem with a product's design and an isolated incident. So, yes, I'll continue to buy iPhones and NOT Samsung Galaxy phones. Why? Because one is generally considered to be SAFE and one is considered to be DANGEROUS. And when I say "generally considered", I mean not only by Apple and Samsung, but by the US government, the airline industry, the news media, and the general public.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A MacBook lover Avatar
128 months ago
iPhones have done the same. They've caught fire on airplanes in flight, something that never happened with the Samsung in question. Someone has even died from an iPhone fire in his bed, which again never happened with a Samsung.

Does that make you never want to buy an iPhone again? Of course not. If it didn't happen to them, people don't care that much.
When was the last time iPhones were banned on US flights?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
Tesla App Gains iPad and iPhone Duo Support
Tesla App Gains iPad and iPhone Duo Support
12 minutes ago
Apple Reportedly Boosts iPhone Duo Orders by 44%
Apple Reportedly Boosts iPhone Duo Orders by 44%
37 minutes ago
Fortnite Returning to Australian App Store After Court Ruling
Fortnite Returning to Australian App Store After Court Ruling
1 hour ago
Apple Ordered to Open iPhone to Rival App Stores in Australia
Apple Ordered to Open iPhone to Rival App Stores in Australia
1 hour ago
Apple Suppliers Face Hurdles Cutting Circuit Board Emissions
Apple Suppliers Face Hurdles Cutting Circuit Board Emissions
2 hours ago
Things Updated for iPhone Duo With Adaptive Layout
Things Updated for iPhone Duo With Adaptive Layout
2 hours ago
Simplicity and Siri AI Are HomeView's Killer Features, Apple Says
Simplicity and Siri AI Are HomeView's Killer Features, Apple Says
3 hours ago
iPhone Duo Reviewers Really Miss Face ID
iPhone Duo Reviewers Really Miss Face ID
8 hours ago
Does the iPhone Duo Run Hot? Here's What Reviews Found
Does the iPhone Duo Run Hot? Here's What Reviews Found
9 hours ago
Apple Music's New Look is Now Live on Apple's Website
Apple Music's New Look is Now Live on Apple's Website
10 hours ago
Anthropic Launches Claude Duet, a Proactive AI Agent
Anthropic Launches Claude Duet, a Proactive AI Agent
10 hours ago
What 32,000 Folds Did to the iPhone Duo's Hinge
What 32,000 Folds Did to the iPhone Duo's Hinge
11 hours ago
iPhone Duo's Hidden FaceTime Camera Takes 'Trash' Photos
iPhone Duo's Hidden FaceTime Camera Takes 'Trash' Photos
12 hours ago
iPhone Duo Has 'Edge Light' Feature That Debuted on Macs Last Year
iPhone Duo Has 'Edge Light' Feature That Debuted on Macs Last Year
13 hours ago
Apple Support App Updated for iPhone Duo's Larger Display
Apple Support App Updated for iPhone Duo's Larger Display
13 hours ago
Amazon Sweetens the Deal on Entry-Level 16-Inch MacBook Pro With $570 Off
Amazon Sweetens the Deal on Entry-Level 16-Inch MacBook Pro With $570 Off
13 hours ago
iPhone Duo Tips Over on MagSafe Stands When Unfolded
iPhone Duo Tips Over on MagSafe Stands When Unfolded
14 hours ago
Apple Music's New Look Officially Announced
Apple Music's New Look Officially Announced
15 hours ago
iPhone Duo Supports Apple Pencil Starting With iOS 27.2
iPhone Duo Supports Apple Pencil Starting With iOS 27.2
16 hours ago
iPhone Duo Accessories Roundup: Cases and Screen Protectors From OtterBox, ZAGG, and More
iPhone Duo Accessories Roundup: Cases and Screen Protectors From OtterBox, ZAGG, and More
17 hours ago
Apple Stores Will Have 'Limited' Availability of iPhone Duo for Walk-In Customers
Apple Stores Will Have 'Limited' Availability of iPhone Duo for Walk-In Customers
17 hours ago
iPhone Duo Reviews Explain Why Device is Both 'Fun' and 'Frustrating'
iPhone Duo Reviews Explain Why Device is Both 'Fun' and 'Frustrating'
17 hours ago
Apple Says 'Reachability' Feature Coming to iPhone Duo Later This Year
Apple Says 'Reachability' Feature Coming to iPhone Duo Later This Year
18 hours ago
Loop Capital Cuts Apple Rating Over iPhone Sales Outlook
Loop Capital Cuts Apple Rating Over iPhone Sales Outlook
22 hours ago
Apple Stores in Bordeaux and Lille Looted During French Protests
Apple Stores in Bordeaux and Lille Looted During French Protests
22 hours ago
Bluesound Adds Native Apple Music Support
Bluesound Adds Native Apple Music Support
23 hours ago
Apple CEO John Ternus Explains What Makes Good Product Design
Apple CEO John Ternus Explains What Makes Good Product Design
1 day ago
UK Proposes New Ways to Help Apple Pay Rivals
UK Proposes New Ways to Help Apple Pay Rivals
1 day ago
WhatsApp Developing In-App Browser for All Chat Links on iPhone
WhatsApp Developing In-App Browser for All Chat Links on iPhone
1 day ago
Apple's App Store Chief Explains Its Push for Premium Games
Apple's App Store Chief Explains Its Push for Premium Games
1 day ago