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Galaxy S III explodes, Samsung looking into the matter

By on June 21, 2012 at 10:09am in Mobile News


Samsung’s Galaxy S III is on its way to becoming a worldwide bestseller, but this is really the first bit of bad news we’ve heard from a new owner of the device. An Irish customer, who goes by the name of dillo2k10, is reporting that his newly-purchased i9300 (not the one coming to Canada) exploded while he was driving. We’re grateful it wasn’t in his pocket as that could have caused an accident, but more importantly we’re not entirely sure why the phone exploded in the first place.

The damage can be seen on the right back near the microUSB slot, so it’s possible that the cord plugged in was providing too much juice, resulting in the explosion. Samsung has already issued a response in an attempt to subdue the bad news:

There have been recent online posts displaying pictures of a Samsung GALAXY SIII that appears to have heat-related damage at the bottom of the device. Samsung is aware of this issue and will begin investigating as soon as we receive the specific product in question.

At this point there’s no reason to be alarmed — it’s only an epidemic if there are multiple defective products such as this. We’ll bring you more as it comes.

Source: The Verge

  • zzzZZZZzz

    I said it on Engadget, I’ll say it here: don’t buy cheap eBay accessories for your 700$ phone, especially when it comes to chargers.

    • George

      8 thumbs up plus the OP means 9 people who didn’t even read the forum post, just the headline. the car dock was NOT charging it. it was a holster, nothing more.

    • Gerhardt

      Hey Fandroid fanbois…looks like your POS PHAILED!!! HAHAH

      IPHONE 4 EVER

    • TIMMINS

      more samsung junk flooding the market.

    • SAM

      OHHHHHHHHHH SAMMIE OH SAMMIE! WHY U LET ME DOWN!! WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA SAMMIE!!!!!!

    • jack

      he probably tried to smoke it, those crazy irish ppl

    • Samsung = Junk

      And so it begins…

    • boojay

      Samsung mimicking Apple more and more everyday. Apple is gonna sue for this exploding phone.

  • ns.dev

    I don’t know about others, but when I have my phone (not samsung) in my dashmount the sun heats it super quickly. This sounds like it could be multiple things leading up to the incident. Sun + faulty charge controller + USB surge…

    • George

      4 thumbs up plus the OP means 5 people who didn’t even read the forum post, just the headline. the car dock was NOT charging it. it was a holster, nothing more.

    • ns.dev

      The damage from something else didn’t have to happen at the same time, it just may not have been apparent and the sun was just the straw that broke the camels back.

    • Manbo

      @George Just because the guy whose phone exploded “says” it wasn’t being charged, doesn’t mean he isn’t lying.

      If you’re that naive, I have a bridge I want to sell you.

  • RIMpireStrikesBACK

    hahahahaha what junk. Samsung FAIL :)

  • George

    i dont think any of you i****s actually read the post. the car dock WAS NOT CHARGING the unit. it was not plugged in at all. it was simply HOLDING it.

    i****s

    • Mr.Crowley39

      Maybe you should go back & read the article. Quote ” The damage can be seen on the right back near the microUSB slot, so it’s possible that the cord plugged in was providing too much juice, resulting in the explosion.” End Quote.

    • ns.dev

      Remember that the comments on a MobileSyrup post is based on the information in the post (gasp!). Don’t accuse the readers of not reading the article, when the information is there (although incorrect). The source article doesn’t even mention if it was plugged in or not, and if it’s in the comments it’s under the Apple flame war.

  • Netguru

    Well when everybody predicted that the S III was going to be a “hot” product, this wan’t what they had in mind.

    • Brad F

      Well, at least the Galaxy S III is coming with a bang! :p

  • hellomymellow

    Hey remember when the iPhone exploded too?

    • metoo

      I do remember a report of an iPhone exploding. Turned out it had been repaired at a third party, uncertified shop that had punctured the battery with a screw.

      So, not only with Samsung phones squash your nutsm they will cook them too. Great.

      Gooooooooo Samsung!

    • Dalex

      I’m not sure which is worse, having my nuts on fire or using an Iphone, I still think the Iphone takes it. I’d rather use a feature phone than look at the pathetic OS that is IOS.

    • Andrew

      Hey remember the time all of those iPod Nanos kept exploding and setting people’s pants alight? Yeah, technology is funny. At least Samsung’s products aren’t going wholesale inferno across the globe.

      Trololol.

  • SourceSlayer

    “The damage can be seen on the right back near the microUSB slot, so it’s possible that the cord plugged in was providing too much juice, resulting in the explosion”

    I read that part, did you not? :)

  • tbv420

    …yeah I read that too ;-) …plus you know, there is nothing in that part of any device that can explode….unless IT WAS PLUGGED IN.

    Use logic and you can clearly see this was caused by a charger short…..weather that was because of the phone, or the car charger..that remains a question (my bet is the $5 car charger…I’ve seen this happen on other phones before)

  • metoo

    Umm, it was not plugged in. MobileSyrup made an assumption without actually reading the original source. The person that reported this says
    “The mount did not have a charger, and no charger was connected. It just holds the phone. ”

    Retards trying to blame a cheap charger: learn to read first.

    • George

      amen (i’m not religious i just thought i’d toss that out there)

    • TKG666

      Fyi. Lipo batteries can poof and or light on fire or explode while not connected to a charger. A battery that is over charged or discharge can do this. Max voltage on a lipo single cell is 4.2v minimum is 3v

  • benny

    samsung = junk

    • Koala

      I suppose you prefer the iPhone? hehehe

  • ExcessDan

    if this causes another delay in canada, i’m gonna go insane! let it explode in my pocket. my wounds will heal.

  • jono

    This is one phone from millions!! Give Samsung a break. Who knows it this was set up or not. Maybe apple is jealous and trying to ruin samsungs awesome reputation!

    • Manbo

      Maybe so, but defective units are one thing. Exploding units are a whole different beast.

      We don’t know what lead up to the failure of the phone, we don’t know if it was tampered with or if it was just defective parts. Speculating is pointless and unless a bunch of SGS3′s start popping in peoples pockets, I doubt sales will be hurt at all.

      End result is, electronics fail.

  • andy c

    i think we have established the phone was not plugged in but was the phone sync’d to the car via bluetooth? radio might have overheated.

    • metoo

      @andy c:
      What possible difference could whether it was using BT make in the end? Let’s pretend it did overheat because it was connected via BT: what would that tell you? Don’t use BT with your Samsungs? How about if it was the cellular antenna? Don’t use the cell functions?

  • kxj

    like clock work’ impending launch then “exploding” phone. I can’t put stock in this guys timed mishap but if multiple owners’ SGlXY lll start to explode TMZ,CNN,ABC ” an who ever” will be all over it …….right’

  • SourceSlayer

    i have sold cellphones for 10 years, samsung has always been the most reliable. Obviously there are going to be the odd case of faults, name one brand that hasn’t had an issue.

    this forum just reminds me that people really have a lot of time on their hands lol I hope that phones don’t just start spontaneously combusting……cheap chargers or not

  • Carter

    I guess we should just stick to HTC, Nokia and the iPhone. no but actually i prefer all of these and its not because an S III exploded but that’s certainly making me think

  • Mark

    Hoping it’s just a cheap charge that caused this thing to fry like that, otherwise I guess that’s one con this phone has vs my Nexus. Thinner but it blows up?…nah, I’ll pass.

  • Henaway

    I don’t buy it. If it wasn’t plugged in, there is no way for that to explode where it did. I think someone wants a new phone because their charger blew up a super-pricey phone in the first week of a 3 year contract. I have seen USB cables short and go up in smoke like that … but it wasn’t the device at fault. I call shenanigans.

  • OgtheDim

    Boffo thread that in Ireland.

    Not the charger for sure but there is a possibility it was a mixture of his car heater, the sun and heat thus been conducted through the plastic holder he was using.

    He got a new phone within a day and is happy.

    How many of these units have been sold?

  • WAP

    I REGRET NOTHING!!!

  • Vinny

    The only think shocking about this photo is that the Apple Fanboy resisted the urge to Autotune/Instagram the photo…Nice try…

    • OgtheDim

      Vinny, scroll up to the forum link where the guy first posted this.

      He’s a Samsung fan and happy with his new replacement phone.

  • Alex

    That’s what fandroids deserve.

  • pacalis

    Haha, from the original post. Last sentence says it all.

    “There is no confirmation that it was a fault with the phone. It may actually have been caused by a combination of my car mount and my cars heating system.

    Just delighted to have my Galaxy back.”

  • JC Denton

    Did he use a cheap charger from DealExtreme? Sure looks like he got an extreme deal out of it.

  • David Geller

    lol i thought it said an irish customer who goes by the name: dildo2k10

    • Edge

      David Geller, his name is dillo2k10.

      Either it’s your eye glasses or your meds? Check them out!

  • Dalex

    Oh no, more publicity for a phone that is leaps and bounds the best handset on the market. I love you delusional apple fanboys, you are cute to read though keep going. It’s really sweet that you think having an Iphone lets you have any credibility to discuss smartphones. It’s ok though, maybe one day you will stop wasting money.

    • metoo

      That’s right Dalex, it’s the best phone on the market. Not only does it have a super duper pentile screen, not only does it come in groovy blue, but it will char you balls, free of charge.

      It slices, it dices, it’ll even roast you nuts.

      You’re super cute. One day you have a job and money to waste. Until then, Samsung all the way!!!

    • Dalex

      Cool, so you mean I’ll be able to throw Iphones at the i****s like you who buy them? Sweet!

      A super duper pentile screen too? You mean actually superior technology at a higher resolution on a non pathetically small screen? All of that on an OS that doesn’t think introducing Turn by Turn navigation to your phones in 2012 is revolutionary?

      Are you guys paid by Apple to post such nonsense?

    • OgtheDim

      Can the 12 year olds take it outside please…..

    • SAM

      Maybe Dalex will one day get a job and do something productive. Probably not!

  • superman

    Turns out its a 16 year old kid who thought it would be funny to intentionally cause damage and blame the phone. He is now liable for a lawsuit against him for damages against Samsung. The irony.

    The kid also had an iPhone on him. Go figure. Just when I thought apple supporters couldn’t be any more re tar ded.

    • S2556

      Source????

  • John

    This article is a total misrepresentation…spontaneous combustion is a feature of ICS!!

  • Mike

    Oh fandroids how can u say galaxy s3 is the best. Next time it catches fire u may have to pee on it. Ooops. Hahaha

  • rob

    POS android

  • metoo

    Dalex, if you think pentile is superior to anything, you deserve it. And of course it has a higher resolution, but only because it has a bigger screen (duh). DPI, what actually matters is still lower. Although actual DPI on the S3 is only slightly lower than the iPhone (319 vs 326), the effective DPI is actually closer to around 200 because of, wait for it, the crappy pentile technology using only 2 subpixels. Be proud of you big fuzzy display. Even Samsung acknowledges they use them because they are cheaper but they know their sheep will buy them and even try to defend them.

    Seriously, I love that you post out of such blind, ignorant devotion to Samsung. You prove exactly what Android was meant to attract: not very bright young guys that are easily led. Sheep.

    Oh and your earlier post that you would prefer to have your nuts burned off than to use an iPhone. I have no doubt at all that that is completely true ;) Just make sure your public housing has proper fire alarms.

  • metoo

    I love how Android fans actually think they are smarter than others, yet every time they post or speak they show nothing but ignorance. You guys are hilarious.

    They call other sheep, they buy into the most bogus of marketing drivel from Samsung. They call other i****s, yet most are lucky to have a HS diploma. You guys are really getting desperate to justify your devotion. It’s funny and sad at the same time.

  • superfly

    Any Apple iPhone lover who jailbreaks his device is a Hypocrite. They defend Apple who is their God but sin against him by breaking the first commandment….thou shalt not jailbreak.

  • Tminus

    Awww Sambum fans trying to defend their all mighty phablet. How come I can leave my htc flyer sitting in my truck on sweltering days for a complete summer (and as we speek) with no problems of exploding? Oh yah samsung phones are s**t quality and touchwiz eats s**t. HTC all the way

  • samsung = POS

    FAIL

  • metoo

    Samsung is all about choice!!!! If you want squashed nuts, go with a Note. If you wanted roasted nuts, pick the S3. It’s really up to you!

    Choice. It’s what matters.

  • Gary

    its called… APPLE FANBOY PRANK!

  • Jesse

    Guess it has quite the explosive launch!

    *badum chh*

  • OgtheDim

    That’s a pretty elaborate prank.

  • Wilbour

    Did it say he was driving a runnaway Toyota at the time? Just kidding ;)

  • Alex

    Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

  • Generation OneX

    That’s a great way to heat up a marketing campaign. Let’s get a cigarette lighter and burn the bottom of the phone and say the phone exploded. Good job Apple.

  • TKG26

    Lipo batteries can puff,explode or burn if abused. The peak voltage for a 1 cell lipo is 4.2volts no more.. The minimum save voltage is 3volts. A charger that is not accurate could over charge a phone battery, it may or may not damage it on the spot but using the phone along with heat and an over charged battery can cause damage..

  • Wilbour

    “I just blew up all on it’s own, while I drove my runaway Toyota” Wait for all the “copy cat” acidents.