Samsung refuses to use outside labs to test its batteries: Claims self-testing could not have led to battery crisis.

Smartphone manufacturers selling their products through major US carriers all put their batteries to the test at external labs approved by the CTIA – that is, except for Samsung.

 

In the midst of the firm’s massive recall of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, which is set to cost at least $5.3 billion and has been called an ‘environmental disaster,’ it has been revealed that Samsung tests its products at an in-house lab.

 

Though the facility is certified by the CTIA, the move makes Samsung the only such manufacturer that does not use an independent battery testing site, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.



A Samsung Note 7 handset is positioned for testing in the lab (left), then later catches fire after pressure is applied to its fully charged battery (right). The testers later claimed that the same would happen to 'any phone' under these conditions.

 

Smartphone manufacturers selling in the US all go through one of 28 labs certified by the US wireless industry’s trade group, the CTIA, according to the report.

Other tech giants, including Apple, use third-party CTIA labs.

 

On Friday, Samsung said it will be making ‘significant changes’ in its quality assurance process to improve the safety of its devices.

The firm, however, did not elaborate on how this would be done.

 

When manufacturers test their own products rather than going through a third party, they often run the risk creating conflicts of interests, Eddie Forouzan, of the IEEE committee that developed the battery standard, tells WSJ.

Doing this, however, can help to protect company secrets and even get the product out faster.

 

HOW THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 7 HAS BEEN PLAGUED BY TROUBLE SINCE ITS LAUNCH IN AUGUST

• Aug. 2 - Samsung unveils the Galaxy Note 7 at a New York media event. 
• Aug. 19 - Samsung starts Galaxy Note 7 sales in 10 markets including United States and South Korea.
• Aug. 24 - Report of a Note 7 explosion surfaces in South Korea.  
• Sept. 2 - Samsung announces global recall of 2.5 million Note 7 phones, citing faulty batteries.
• Sept. 8 - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration advises passengers to not turn on or charge Note 7 smartphones aboard aircraft or stow them in plane cargo.
• Sept. 9 - U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urges Galaxy Note 7 users to stop using their phone.
• Sept. 15 - U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission formally announces recall of about 1 million Note 7 phones.   
• Oct. 6 - A Southwest Airlines plane in the United States evacuated due to smoke from a Note 7 device on board. 
• Oct. 10 - Samsung says it is adjusting Note 7 shipments for inspections, quality control due to more phones catching fire.
• Oct. 11 - Samsung asks customers to stop using all Note 7 smartphones, halts production, sales and exchanges of the device globally.