Samsung to limit Galaxy Note 7 battery to 30% charge

Ever since the scandal that surrounded the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the company has been trying to get people to return their units and while at least 90% of people have complied there are still pockets of people who have refused to let go, risking danger just so they can enjoy their Samsung phones.

Already Samsung has made the phone severely limited in Canada and have rendered it almost unusable in the USA and now the South Korean company have set their eyes on the BBC.

According to online sources, from the 15th of December, Galaxy Note7s in the United Kingdom will begin to receive an update that will limit prevent owners from charging them above 30%. That's a huge hit as the Note7 and its 3500mAh battery allowed for solid battery life, but 70% shaved off means it's barely more than 1000mAh. That's even less than the original iPhone's battery's capacity.

Whether this will translate to the rest of Europe is unknown as this information was only made available on their UK page. It is quite likely that it will happen though as Samsung continues to look for ways to discourage people from using the Galaxy Note 7.

Apple's new iOS update to come with solution for Battery issues for iPhone 6s

Some iPhone 6s users have found it hard going with their batteries for a while, experiencing shutdowns and so on. 

Apple has come out to say that they are working on the issue. They say it was caused due to some batteries being exposed to "controlled ambient air" during manufacturing -- while also expanding the scope of the affected range of customers facing the problem.

In the original message, Apple noted that "a small number" of iPhone 6s smartphones made in September and October of 2015 were facing unexpected shutdowns due to their prolonged exposure to controlled ambient air. Now, Apple said that it's discovered a few customers "outside of the affected range" who have also been facing unexpected shutdowns of their iPhone 6s devices meaning that the battery problem might be more widespread than initially thought.



Apple has now tasked themselves with preparing an iOS update that it said will introduce an "additional diagnostic capability" so the company can gather information and improve its ability to manage the battery performance levels and untimely shutdowns. The update, presumably iOS 10.2, will be made available sometime next week, and Apple mentioned that if any improvements and solutions are discovered thanks to the diagnostic tool, "they will be delivered in future software updates."

Real Reason for the Samsung Galaxy 7 Battery explosion Revealed

Photo Crd: Reuters

The demise of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has captured the imagination of people for the 2nd half of 2016 and naturally theories were put forward, some reasonable, others...not.

Samsung originally blamed a battery cell issue in cells from one supplier, however the second recall and subsequent cancellation of the phone would seem to discount that.

It seems though that a concrete reason might have been espoused as a report from engineering firm Instrumental claims to have solved the mystery. 

According to the firm's CEO the cause of the explosion is actually quite simple-- the batteries were too large.

In her report, Anna Shedletsky concludes that there wasn't enough space around the battery to allow for various manufacturing tolerances, and the slight expansion of the battery through use.

She said

"What's interesting is that there is evidence in the design of an intellectual tension between safety and pushing the boundaries. Samsung engineers designed out all of the margin in the thickness of the battery, which is the direction where you get the most capacity gain for each unit of volume.

"But, the battery also sits within a CNC-machined pocket -- a costly choice likely made to protect it from being poked by other internal components. Looking at the design, Samsung engineers were clearly trying to balance the risk of a super-aggressive manufacturing process to maximize capacity, while attempting to protect it internally."

High-res images posted by Instrumental show less than 0.1mm between that "machined pocket" and the top of the battery. Other dimensions are similarly constrained.

Doubts arise when you consider that the sample size for this report is just one unit but the report is quite compelling in its argument.

Interestingly, Shedletsky says that even if the Note 7 hadn't suffered an early demise, the shortage of space around the battery would have eventually caused the phones to break apart through battery swelling.

It's speculated that Samsung will look at this report and probably think twice about battery issues when they release the Note 8 next year.

Apple Have Said they'll Offer Free Battery replacements for your iPhone 6s...only if it's Shutting down unexpectedly

Apple have said they'll offer free battery replacements to those who are having issues with unexpected shutdowns on their iPhone 6s.

Apple have said they'd replace the batteries for these devices at its branded retail stores and authorized service provider centers for free.

So if your iPhone 6s has this problem, Apple says there’s no cause for concern as it isn’t a safety issue. Plus, the company believes it only affects devices within a limited serial number range that were manufactured between September and October 2015. 

This is different from the 'Touch disease' problem some iPhone 6s suffered earlier. Apple announced a repair program for that last week, 

Photo Crd: GSM Arena

Before going ahead with the replacement though, you should backup your data, erase your settings and turn off the Find my iPhone security feature. To erase your data, you can head over to Settings > General > Reset > and click on Erase all Content and Settings. Apple also notes that the program covers iPhone 6s batteries for three years from first retail sale of the unit and battery replacement does not extend the standard warranty coverage of your device.

So once you've sorted this out, you should be able to get your iPhone 6 battery replaced.