Samsung acknowledges charging issues with Galaxy Note 8 and S8 devices

[Fred98TJ]

https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-note-8-battery-problem-dead-charge-825899/

 

[Baby_Doc]

I have yet to run my N8 down to 0 charge. Sometime during the warranty period, perhaps, I should purposefully do that to see if it will recharge. Yet, even if it does once is no guarantee it would continue to do so. Furthermore, it isn't good for the battery to run it down like that even as a test. I hope, therefore, that Samsung will replace or fix a phone outside of the warranty period should it have a charging problem. Maybe my hope, however, is a pipe dream.

 

[anon(7901790)]

I have yet to run my N8 down to 0 charge. Sometime during the warranty period, perhaps, I should purposefully do that to see if it will recharge. Yet, even if it does once is no guarantee it would continue to do so. Furthermore, it isn't good for the battery to run it down like that even as a test. I hope, therefore, that Samsung will replace or fix a phone outside of the warranty period should it have a charging problem. Maybe my hope, however, is a pipe dream.

I wouldn't recommend it. Besides, I'm not entirely sure it's a phone problem. My wife accidentally ran hers down to zero today and it charged back up with no worries. It shut off on its own and when I put it on my wireless charger it showed it charging. It powered up with no problems.

It's possible that certain apps (likely games) could shut down the safety shutdown feature to get maximum performance. If that's the case, then it's possible for the phone run down past the safe battery level. In other words, there is a lot of information missing about this and Samsung is just knee jerking and trying to take control of the narrative. It is a little gun shy because of last year's Note 7 debacle.

 

[Fred98TJ]

And it’s a good thing that Samsung is acknowledging because of last years 7 problems. They certainly don’t want to ignore another possible battery problem.
Samsung is trying to be somewhat proactive and that’s a good thing.
If it is an app or game that’s somehow disabling the battery safety systems (and i really don’t believe that to be the case) then this is a very serious bug in the SW (Samsung’s and/or androids).
If an app can do that then it can allow for overcharging (again protected by the build in safety systems, which is almost certainly HW) and cause fires or explosions.

 

[anon(7901790)]

Yes you're correct about the potential problems that overriding the safety features could have. I've read up a little more on LiIon and LiPoly batteries. The protection circuit is built into the battery and not the OS, so overriding it is nearly impossible.

So the only way for batteries to reach the point to not be able to charge would be if the the over discharge protection circuit or the controlling firmware could be bad or corrupted.

In any case the not charging once the battery goes below 2.7v safety feature still works.

https://www.quora.com/Why-cant-lithium-batteries-be-recharged-once-they-reach-zero-percent

 

[Rukbat]

First, discharging the battery even below 40% isn't healthy for the battery's life span. (Especially in a phone with a non-removable battery).

Second, charging a lithium battery that's been drained down to 0 can cause an explosion and/or fire, which is why the safety feature in all lithium batteries. gernerttl, I suspect that your wife's shutoff point is a bit above 0, so even though her phone shut off, the battery wasn't fully discharged. But discharging it to close to 0 on every charge cycle will kill the battery in a few months. (The manufacturers don't tell us that, because battery replacement is a high-profit job.)

If you can't charge the battery when it drops below 40%, shut it off. It's seldom worth $60 (unless Samsung raised the price) to do whatever you're doing at that point.

 

[103Softail]

It's called "Max Power Saving Mode"

 

[Almeuit]

Glad to see they have acknowledged it and are working with the ones that are experiencing the issue.

 

[LuvULongTime]

First, discharging the battery even below 40% isn't healthy for the battery's life span. (Especially in a phone with a non-removable battery).

Second, charging a lithium battery that's been drained down to 0 can cause an explosion and/or fire, which is why the safety feature in all lithium batteries. gernerttl, I suspect that your wife's shutoff point is a bit above 0, so even though her phone shut off, the battery wasn't fully discharged. But discharging it to close to 0 on every charge cycle will kill the battery in a few months. (The manufacturers don't tell us that, because battery replacement is a high-profit job.)

If you can't charge the battery when it drops below 40%, shut it off. It's seldom worth $60 (unless Samsung raised the price) to do whatever you're doing at that point.

This is interesting. I need to do more reading on batteries. I haven't always observed the 40% recharge rule. I always thought that recharging too often would also shorten the batteries life span.

 

[LuvULongTime]

On another note (no pun intended), how difficult would it be to replace the battery on these phones?

 

[anon(7901790)]

This is interesting. I need to do more reading on batteries. I haven't always observed the 40% recharge rule. I always thought that recharging too often would also shorten the batteries life span.

I've never heard of that rule either. LiIon and LiPoly batteries start to degrade after about 750ish (laptops are around 1000) cycles.

One cycle is from "zero" to full charge. So, if you charge at 40% to 100%, pull it off the charger and put it back on at 60% and charge until 100% that counts as one cycle.

That means on average, it'll take approximately two years before you see any significant battery degradation. That's why I threw the BS flag for Apple's explanation of why they were throttling the CPUs of its iPhone 6s an 7 phones.

 

[anon(7901790)]

On another note (no pun intended), how difficult would it be to replace the battery on these phones?

I wouldn't try it. Without the proper tools and parts you'd lose the IP68 rating. That's one of the reasons why I got the S8+ and now a Note 8.

 

[anon(7901790)]

First, discharging the battery even below 40% isn't healthy for the battery's life span. (Especially in a phone with a non-removable battery).

Second, charging a lithium battery that's been drained down to 0 can cause an explosion and/or fire, which is why the safety feature in all lithium batteries. gernerttl, I suspect that your wife's shutoff point is a bit above 0, so even though her phone shut off, the battery wasn't fully discharged. But discharging it to close to 0 on every charge cycle will kill the battery in a few months. (The manufacturers don't tell us that, because battery replacement is a high-profit job.)

If you can't charge the battery when it drops below 40%, shut it off. It's seldom worth $60 (unless Samsung raised the price) to do whatever you're doing at that point.

As far as the OS is concerned, it shuts off at 0%. The protection chip tells the OS via firmware what the battery reading is. Meaning that 0% = 2.7v (depending on manufacturer).

Discharging past 2.7v won't cause a fire. It happens if you try to recharge a LiIon/LiPoly battery once it's gone below 2.7v.

 

[magichoward]

Don't forget Samsung has guaranteed theat after two years use we will only lose 2 percent of our charge.. No mention of how you charge it

 

[Almeuit]

Don't forget Samsung has guaranteed theat after two years use we will only lose 2 percent of our charge.. No mention of how you charge it

Not sure if that is really the case here since the main issue is them dying completely.

 

[Blues Fan]

If I were this guy I'd be livid buying a brand new phone less than a month old and they send you a refurb with wear on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyzjwOu61LM

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Good that they’re acknowledging it.

BUT, replace them with new phones. Replacing them with refurbished units just seems like a slap in the face, especially when you’re that guy who bought a brand new unit less than a month ago.

I know companies are just going to do the absolute minimum when it comes to issues but when you’re getting PR attention, what you don’t want is more PR attention of the negative kind and to my eye, replacing a phone which is still brand new with one that’s older due to it being a refurb is um.....pretty bad in terms of PR.

 

[Iva_LadyDiCaprio98]

I've had my phone drop to 0% a few times and always managed to get my phone to charge. So far *knock on wood* I've not had any problems with charging and I've has this phone since September

 

[anon(5630457)]

Second, charging a lithium battery that's been drained down to 0 can cause an explosion and/or fire, which is why the safety feature in all lithium batteries.

That's not true at all. Otherwise, there'd be mini bombs going off every day.

 

[anon(7901790)]

I've had my phone drop to 0% a few times and always managed to get my phone to charge. So far *knock on wood* I've not had any problems with charging and I've has this phone since September

That's because you're not one of the few with a defective battery (or at least a battery with defective/corrupted firmware). To be honest, had the Note 7 debacle not happened, this would be a non-issue.