Remember Samsung’s Batterygate saga in 2016? The Note 7 was a great phone… until it was recalled because of exploding batteries and the smartphone was banned from the plans? It looks like Samsung has had some problems with smartphone batteries. And the troubles aren’t over, as recent findings show that Samsung’s batteries appear to be at a higher risk of wear and swelling.
Before you panic, your Samsung smartphone is not in danger of exploding. There is no need to hide and hide. But it’s worth keeping an eye on old Samsung phones lying around to make sure the battery isn’t swollen.
YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss (Arun Maini) has posted a video showing the results of his research into his (quite extensive) collection of Samsung smartphones. A slew of devices including the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S10 and Z Fold 2 have been hit by bloated batteries. After initially thinking the UK heatwave earlier this year might be to blame, he found that no other smartphone brands were affected.
This all sounds pretty strange, but could it be an isolated case? This is where it gets interesting. Other tech YouTubers including MKBHDtook to Twitter to share their similar findings. Daily users started sharing their stories on social media. So it seems that this battery problem is pretty widespread.
All batteries, including smartphone batteries, degrade over time. Most Samsung smartphone batteries are designed to last at least five years without any problems. It’s particularly worrying to see this in phones that are only two years old, like the Galaxy Z Fold 2. Exactly what’s happening isn’t clear yet, but it sounds like bad news for the tech giant.
Samsung has not yet made an official statement. If you’re worried about an old Samsung phone lying around, the brand says it’s best to contact their support team. Samsung can take a look and fix anything that’s wrong if needed. And if you want to get rid of your device, trading it in or recycling it is always a good option.