Samsung Note 7 Fires Expected To Be Blamed On Irregular Battery Size: Report

Samsung will announce the results of its investigations into the cause of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires, which led to a massive recall of the devices in 2016 and prompted the FAA to ban the devices from airplanes. The Wall Street Journal reports that the investigation found that irregularly sized batteries caused overheating while others had manufacturing problems.

The company will make the announcement at a news conference on Monday.

In the United States, Samsung has received 96 reports of Note 7 batteries overheating, including 23 such reports after the first recall announced in September 2016, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. A subsequent recall announced in October included replacement devices that consumers had received as part of the initial recall.

The Journal reports that 96 percent of Galaxy Note 7 phones in the U.S. have been returned. The FAA has since lifted the ban on the phones on airplanes.

Production of the phones was stopped in October, Samsung said at the time.

According to the Washington Post, the controversy with the phones led Samsung to report its smallest quarterly profit in history in its October earnings report.

Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.

Image via Samsung/CPSC