So I put the S pen in backwards...saga...

[anon(394005)]

It's comments like this that typify the difference between U.S. and other Westernized societies. The lack of personal responsibility teamed with how litigious the U.S. is make us comedic fodder abroad. The expectation that suppliers and manufacturers have to protect each and every customer from their own ignorance and sometimes outright stupidity boggles the mind.

I've had a Note 10.1, Note 10.1-14, Note 12, Note II, Note 3, Note 4, and now Note 5. Across years of using all those devices I've never inserted the S Pen wrong. Lost it? More times than I can count. Gotten it wet rendering it useless? Many times. But it's not like you can't feel the difference between the narrow pointed end and blunt end when you're handling it. Team that with the fact none of those devices cost me less than $700 and my heightened sense of awareness probably played a role in not abusing them or doing something stupid with/to them. And if I did do something stupid I'd own it and bear the consequences. There are people here and on the other forum that admittedly stuck it in backwards on purpose after this became news to see if what people were talking about was true and how easy it was to get it stuck. Is Samsung responsible for that?

This is no different than the cracked display threads where people say "I only dropped it from [insert number of feet] and it shouldn't have cracked so it's obviously [insert manufacturer's name] fault because the [insert phone type] is badly designed and too frail."

With or without a manual and not knowing the consequences of sticking it in backwards it's not too difficult to figure out that the pointy side of the S Pen should go in the silo first.

I used to think that way too as I've NEVER attempted to insert the S-Pen backwards on three different Note devices (ex. OG Note 10.1, Note 2 and 4). But that's missing the point all together as those devices were designed in such a way that made it VERY obvious the S-Pen was going in backwards to the point you'd have to actually force it to go in. That's NOT the case with the Note 5 where they changed the design to the degree you can very easily insert the S-Pen backwards with so little effort you may not even notice until it's too late! To add insult to injury, they also re-designed it in such a way that inserting it backwards actually causes damage to internal components. Again, this wasn't the case at all on previous Note devices EVEN if you could insert the S-Pen backwards. So the fault here is mainly on Samsung for changing the design in such a way to where this is even possible when it previously was not.

 

[BarryH_GEG]

You can very easily insert the S-Pen backwards with so little effort you may not even notice until it's too late!

That's really not true. The opening on the body of the phone is the same diameter as the clicky end cap on the S Pen.

The pointy end is about 1/3 that at the tip. So someone would have to have extraordinary aim in order to get the clicky end of the pen to line up with the body opening without missing and having to try multiple times. I have problems getting the smaller pointy end lined up sometimes when I'm walking or not paying attention and trying to reinsert the pen.

 

[anon(394005)]

That's really not true. The opening on the body of the phone is the same diameter as the clicky end cap on the S Pen.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/690/21288267408_da28bd9a15.jpg

The pointy end is about 1/3 that at the tip. So someone would have to have extraordinary aim in order to get the clicky end of the pen to line up with the body opening without missing and having to try multiple times. I have problems getting the smaller pointy end lined up sometimes when I'm walking or not paying attention and trying to reinsert the pen.

The video below shows how easily the Note 5 S-Pen goes into the silo AND slides all the way in with just gravity. I can just as easily put my Note 4 S-Pen in backwards, BUT only about a quarter of an inch before it stops and won't go in further unless I apply excessive force.

 

[BarryH_GEG]

The video below shows how easily the Note 5 S-Pen goes into the silo AND slides all the way in with just gravity.

It also makes my point that it's pretty hard to put it in backward accidentally. To make the video you were looking at what you were doing and had already aligned the clicky cap with the body opening. Anyone that conciously puts the pen in backwards probably won't get a lot of sympathy. No matter how distracted I am it's pretty easy by feel to know which end of the pen I'm holding. Add to that my previous comment about the increased difficulty of lining up two same sized objects (the clicky cap and opening) vs. inserting the pen tip side first which requires far less accuracy and you can see how hard a "true" accident would be.

One camp isn't going to change the views of the other so let's agree to disagree on both the scale of this issue and whether responsibility lies with Samsung or the user; nothing's going to happen regardless. Samsung's official position is "don't put the pen in backwards." It'll take a lawyer or regulatory body to change that. If someone wants to go with the former the Note 9 will be out by the time they receive a $20 voucher to use in the Samsung store as settlement. The class action lawyers though will pocket 10's of millions of dollars in fees. That's the way a letigious society works.

So bottom line is don't buy the Note 5 if you're prone to distraction. And if you do buy it know you need to be conciously aware enough to always put the pointy end in first.

 

[dpham00]

What they could have done was to make the click head a little larger then added a counterbore at the end of the shaft

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 5

 

[bassplayrguy]

Wizards rule number 1 - People are stupid.