Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Has Major Flaw From Fast Charging

[dgstorm]

It turns out that the cutting edge Galaxy S6 Edge from Samsung has a serious design flaw that makes one of its best features useless. According to multiple reports from users across the US, the auto-rotate feature of the display for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge sometimes just stops working. We reported on this issue previously here: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Owners Experiencing Some Screen Auto-rotate Problems Android Forum at DroidForums.net

The problem has now been tracked down, and it turns out it is caused by the Fast Charging feature of the device. This feature apparently heats up the phone more quickly and to a higher degree than regular charging, and this overheating is damaging a portion of the internal circuit board. The section of the circuit board is the accelerometer, which is why the Auto-Rotate feature suddenly stops working. Galaxy S6 Edge users are highly encouraged to avoid using the Fast Charging feature at all, until Samsung issues a fix.

So far this problem has only been reported for the Galaxy S6 Edge. The "vanilla" Galaxy S6 doesn't seem to have this design flaw. Although they haven't shared anything publicly yet, Samsung is likely working on a fix right now. Until they release a fix, it is best not to use the Fast Charging feature on the Galaxy S6 Edge. If you do end up having this problem before you had a chance to read this article, you should be able to exchange the device at the store where you purchased it (or through Samsung's support system).

For a few more details, hit up the source link below, and be sure to check out our dedicated Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge section in the forums: Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge General Discussions Android Forum at DroidForums.net

Source: If You Have a Galaxy S6 Edge DO NOT USE This Feature Samsung Galaxy S6

 

[FoxKat]

Well, as I've said before the fast charging should for most people be reserved for those times when you actually NEED a rapid replenishment of power. Using it as the standard overnight charger is a design and marketing flaw, driven by an attempt to alleviate the problems caused by smaller batteries, faster processors and higher data throughput.

Clearly this isn't the way this is supposed to work anyway but i believe there will be future issues that surface from this type of charging and this one particular issue is perhaps just the start. The biggest issue I believe will surface is shortening battery life, showing up possibly as soon as 6 months to a year down the road. Expanding or swelling battery packs which could occur at any time is also a potential issue.

And now we see even heat related damage to the other components of the device due to the heating up of the battery during rapid charging. Anyone who knows anything about electronics knows heat is it's worst enemy. We put fans and heat sinks in our tower PCs to alleviate this problem but in the phone the only way for heat to dissipate is by migrating into other components and eventually to the outer shell.

IMHO, they're should be an option on ALL rapid/quick/fast/Turbo chargers to charge at a battery-friendly (and now apparently circuit board friendly) standard charging rate, and in a pinch the rapid charging rate. It would be as simple as a button on the charger block that activates the higher voltage and current circuits, but only once pressed.

 

[furbearingmammal]

Until Samsung issues a fix?

How can they issue a software fix for something frying a circuit board due to excessive heat without rendering the feature either non-functional or seriously reduced in functionality?

Stop building phones so thin, increase battery capacity to something realistic (or check out the Blu Studio Energy for a REAL battery), and for the love of money, start putting in some insulation to protect key components!

Stop trying to outdo each other on "sexy" things that mean little (thinness in particular) and start building phones for real users, who charge their phones, drop their phones, and USE their phones and watch your sales increase.

 

[FoxKat]

Until Samsung issues a fix?

How can they issue a software fix for something frying a circuit board due to excessive heat without rendering the feature either non-functional or seriously reduced in functionality?

Stop building phones so thin, increase battery capacity to something realistic (or check out the Blu Studio Energy for a REAL battery), and for the love of money, start putting in some insulation to protect key components!

Stop trying to outdo each other on "sexy" things that mean little (thinness in particular) and start building phones for real users, who charge their phones, drop their phones, and USE their phones and watch your sales increase.

Couldn't have said it better (and could have made it into an essay! LOL!). Great post, FBM!

 

[akhenax]

Samsung could fix the issue by replacing damaged phones, and update their software to selectively choose a charging type, when plugging in phones, and to have a charging cycle that automatically disables fast charging when the battery is full OR when the device reaches a certain temperature (whichever first).

 

[FoxKat]

Samsung could fix the issue by replacing damaged phones, and update their software to selectively choose a charging type, when plugging in phones, and to have a charging cycle that automatically disables fast charging when the battery is full OR when the device reaches a certain temperature (whichever first).

I agree to the first point, and to the second point, but have some comments regarding the third.

The ability to reduce the charging rate to a more common standard charge or even to a trickle charge is already incorporated into the process. Rapid Charging only happens when the battery is between a range of charge levels. It is not used at the beginning of a charge range (i.e. 0% to 20%), nor is it used towards the end of that range (i.e. 80% to 100%). It's within these "ends" of the charging cycle that battery experts have confirmed the greatest damage is done with elevated charging rates. It also is designed to back off or terminate charging altogether temporarily if the battery temperature reaches a certain threshold, where at higher temperatures damage to the Anode of the battery ensues.

Unfortunately, the elephant in the room can't be ignored. Fast charging will ALWAYS increase heat. It's a matter of basic electicity and resistance or more simply, physics. In order for the heat to be mitigated, the fast charging would have to be interrupted or reduced. This WILL reduce the rate of charge, and in effect make it far closer to a standard charging rate. There is no way around physics. It's really not much different than when you turn on an electric range. In that example you are sending large amounts of electricity through a "pipe" (the heating element), which is high in resistance and by doing so, you create friction and heat.

The charging system is already "optimized" from lab testing and R&D to give the greatest charge rate increase at the least cost in terms of battery life and heat, so any further tweaking will likely be to the detrement of the process as mentioned earlier. Who wants a rapid charger that takes a 3.5 hour charging process and makes it a 3 hour process? If it's not a significant improvement in charge time (much shorter), or doesn't provide a substantial increase in battery reserve in a very short period of time (8 hour boost in 15 minutes), the "feature" loses its appeal

So in order to fix this, they will have several options. FBM made several very good points...increase case size, increase battery size, look for better battery technology, put sufficient heat sinks in place piped to external dissapation plates, manage heat shielding better, and manage the intention and use of rapid charging to better reflect the real need and convenience factors.

 

[dgstorm]

Until Samsung issues a fix?

How can they issue a software fix for something frying a circuit board due to excessive heat without rendering the feature either non-functional or seriously reduced in functionality?

Stop building phones so thin, increase battery capacity to something realistic (or check out the Blu Studio Energy for a REAL battery), and for the love of money, start putting in some insulation to protect key components!

Stop trying to outdo each other on "sexy" things that mean little (thinness in particular) and start building phones for real users, who charge their phones, drop their phones, and USE their phones and watch your sales increase.

The current theory is that Samsung can create a software fix which will throttle different parts of the device during fast charging to mitigate some of the heat that is created. This could be enough to effectively nullify the issue.

Although I agree that our phones don't need to be razor thin!

 

[FoxKat]

The current theory is that Samsung can create a software fix which will throttle different parts of the device during fast charging to mitigate some of the heat that is created. This could be enough to effectively nullify the issue.

And I am confident what you are saying is what they're selling, but I hear more "damage control" publicity than anything else in that statement. By "throttling" different parts of the device, that would mean effectively slowing down or shutting down different parts to offset the heat produced by the rapid charging. So by rapid charging you may also be causing the device to operate slower. That's not going to sit well with everyone who is demanding faster devices, less lag, greater throughput, etc.

 

[Ollie]

I've always been suspect of this fast charging phenomenon. I have mine toggled off. I tried it a few times when I first got my phone. I wanted to see how fast it was.

After that I turned it off because it didn't feel right.

 

[FoxKat]

I've always been suspect of this fast charging phenomenon. I have mine toggled off. I tried it a few times when I first got my phone. I wanted to see how fast it was.

After that I turned it off because it didn't feel right.

Turned it off? Is this an option on the Edge? Interesting. Maybe they heard me! LOLOL

 

[jackiescivic]

The current theory is that Samsung can create a software fix which will throttle different parts of the device during fast charging to mitigate some of the heat that is created. This could be enough to effectively nullify the issue.

Although I agree that our phones don't need to be razor thin!

I think you mean Razr thin (see what I did there? Hehe)

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[FoxKat]

I think you mean Razr thin (see what I did there? Hehe)

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I was leaving that for someone else to have fun with. Good to see you, @jackiescivic picking up on it.

 

[Ollie]

Turned it off? Is this an option on the Edge? Interesting. Maybe they heard me! LOLOL

Yep! It is optional on the TMO Edge and Note 4.

 

[FoxKat]

Yep! It is optional on the TMO Edge and Note 4.

Interesting. Something I didn't know and which I feel should be on ALL phones (or on the chargers as I mentioned above).

 

[Ollie]

Interesting. Something I didn't know and which I feel should be on ALL phones (or on the chargers as I mentioned above).

I have an external battery that has two USB outputs. One is for normal charging and one is for fast charging. They should just bake it into the phones.