Following a series of fires and explosions, Samsung recalled and then ended production on its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone back in October. Samsung initially believed the problems were caused by defective batteries from one supplier, but once it was clear that wasn’t the case, the company began a larger investigation into the cause of the issue. While Samsung will likely publicly reveal the results of this probe on Monday, an insider leaked the findings of the investigation to Reuters a bit early.
In its investigation Samsung was able to successfully replicate the fires numerous users experienced, Reuters reports. However, Samsung ruled out hardware design or software issues as the cause. Instead, the company has concluded that the batteries themselves were in fact to blame.
Many surmised that the Note 7’s issue didn’t have to do with defective batteries at all, but rather with the design of the phone. One third-party engineering firm, for example, concluded that the enclosure for the battery was too small. This meant that as the battery naturally expanded during heavy use, the combustible compounds within could accidentally come into contact with one another, leading to a bulge in the phone at best, and fiery results at worst. The conclusion certainly seemed plausible.
Samsung will announce its fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 24, and will likely divulge the details of this investigation the day prior. We’ll update this post with more details from Samsung as soon as it’s announced.
H/T Reuters