Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Design Flaw

[BlueCreek]

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2015/08/this-is-how-the-s-pen-can-break-your-brand-new-note-5/

A major design flaw has been found in samsungs newest flagship Note 5. Where inserting the s-pen backwards breaks the device and disables most of its s-pen features.

 

[TWSS37]

It clearly says in the instructions not to do this. Stupid is not a design flaw.

 

[BlueCreek]

It clearly says in the instructions not to do this. Stupid is not a design flaw.

Just like sitting on or bending your phone is stupid. Yet was treated as a huge design flaw.

 

[maflynn]

Just like sitting on or bending your phone is stupid. Yet was treated as a huge design flaw.

Sitting with a phone in your pockets is a natural act, jamming a stylus backwards is not.

 

[Robstevo]

Makes me laugh, it's clear not only would you have to not notice you have put it in backwards, but you also have to forcefully click it into place.

Not a design flaw, just stupidity and nothing like "bend gate" where putting you phone in your pocket or back pocket bends the phone if you sit on it. I have not changed my use cases ever and the only phone that has ever bent on me is the iPhone 6 Plus.

 

[jamezr]

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2015/08/this-is-how-the-s-pen-can-break-your-brand-new-note-5/

A major design flaw has been found in samsungs newest flagship Note 5. Where inserting the s-pen backwards breaks the device and disables most of its s-pen features.

LOL......have you ever own a Galaxy Note? Have you ever used one? yeah.........thought so.
This is a non issue posted from an iphone fan still butt hurt over "bendgate".

 

[MRU]

Could the stylus on previous notes be inserted backwards ?

I had the Note 3 & 4 and never once did so - so don't know if they were different.

As for Note 5, whilst it sad that this can happen - it's just one of the normal accidental things that can happen with any piece of technology, whether its dropping it by mistake, USB getting inserted upside down on a laptop or the myriad other accidental things that can happen.

Essentially - accidents can happen. Nothing can be made 'accident proof'. People need to take responsibility when using your expensive new device, and if your going to hand it to a child - supervise or take the pen away from them. Common sense is your best protection - but even then ... accidents will happen - they are not the manufacturers fault.

 

[tbayrgs]

Makes me laugh, it's clear not only would you have to not notice you have put it in backwards, but you also have to forcefully click it into place.

Not a design flaw, just stupidity and nothing like "bend gate" where putting you phone in your pocket or back pocket bends the phone if you sit on it. I have not changed my use cases ever and the only phone that has ever bent on me is the iPhone 6 Plus.

LOL......have you ever own a Galaxy Note? Have you ever used one? yeah.........thought so.
This is a non issue posted from an iphone fan still butt hurt over "bendgate".

Have to disagree--while these are clearly examples of user errors, it is a design flaw. Design it properly and the user errors aren't even possible and nobody's having this discussion. It's the equivalent to having a poorly designed microUSB port that actually can accept the plug upside down and when that happens, the port break and becomes unusable.

Another member made a great point over in the Note 5 thread I believe---what if you gave your Note 5 to your kid to use for a minute? While most adults clearly understand the mechanics of the S-Pen, it would be quite believable for a child to insert it incorrectly. Or what if you were showing something on your Note to another adult who had never used one before--I could see my mom (not that tech savvy) inserting it upside down on accident. And also, previous versions of the Note actually gave a warning to notify the user if they were inserting it incorrectly and according to the article I linked below, the stylus couldn't actually be inserted backwards in previous Notes--why would Samsung remove this feature?

This article is clearly from a source that isn't 'an iPhone fan still butt hurt over "bendgate"' and for the most part, they agree that Samsung hasn't taken appropriate measures.

And mattopotomus posted this video in the Note 5 thread as well. Clearly, Leo's a bit of an idiot for actually do it himself but the important elements that I at least took away from it:

1) It appears to be quite easy to insert it incorrectly, meaning there's no physical resistance or indication that it's backwards

2) Samsungs official solution is 'Read the Manual'. That's just as ridiculous as Steve Jobs saying 'You're holding it wrong.'

 

[MRU]

also, previous versions of the Note actually gave a warning to notify the user if they were inserting it incorrectly and according to the article I linked below, the stylus couldn't actually be inserted backwards in previous Notes--why would Samsung remove this feature?

Is it the new spring-head on the S-Pen that is causing the damage or it to get stuck ? Like I say I can't remember it on the Note 3 or 4 - but then i never tried inserting it upside down to know.

I still think owner and parental responsibility has to be factor too though.

I'm wondering how many folks are going to be attempting to break display models in stores by doing this, much like some folks did with iPhone bendgate

 

[tbayrgs]

Is it the new spring-head on the S-Pen that is causing the damage or it to get stuck ? Like I say I can't remember it on the Note 3 or 4 - but then i never tried inserting it upside down to know.

I still think owner and parental responsibility has to be factor too though.

I'm wondering how many folks are going to be attempting to break display models in stores by doing this, much like some folks did with iPhone bendgate

I think your first assumption is spot on--sounds like the edge get caught on a mechanism inside the slot used to 'grip' the stylus and keep it from easily falling out.

And I don't disagree about personal responsibility but if Samsung designs it properly so it's not even possible, this entire issue doesn't even exist. Now, they're going to get a s***load of bad press, deserved or not, for something that appears to be a simple fix in the design process.

 

[EnVyCaLiBeR]

Have to disagree--while these are clearly examples of user errors, it is a design flaw. Design it properly and the user errors aren't even possible and nobody's having this discussion. It's the equivalent to having a poorly designed microUSB port that actually can accept the plug upside down and when that happens, the port break and becomes unusable.

Another member made a great point over in the Note 5 thread I believe---what if you gave your Note 5 to your kid to use for a minute? While most adults clearly understand the mechanics of the S-Pen, it would be quite believable for a child to insert it incorrectly. Or what if you were showing something on your Note to another adult who had never used one before--I could see my mom (not that tech savvy) inserting it upside down on accident. And also, previous versions of the Note actually gave a warning to notify the user if they were inserting it incorrectly and according to the article I linked below, the stylus couldn't actually be inserted backwards in previous Notes--why would Samsung remove this feature?

This article is clearly from a source that isn't 'an iPhone fan still butt hurt over "bendgate"' and for the most part, they agree that Samsung hasn't taken appropriate measures.

And mattopotomus posted this video in the Note 5 thread as well. Clearly, Leo's a bit of an idiot for actually do it himself but the important elements that I at least took away from it:

1) It appears to be quite easy to insert it incorrectly, meaning there's no physical resistance or indication that it's backwards

2) Samsungs official solution is 'Read the Manual'. That's just as ridiculous as Steve Jobs saying 'You're holding it wrong.'

I'm sorry, but if you're going to give your $700+ device to a child to play with, then you're asking for anything that comes afterwards and when it can end worse than a child sticking the S-Pen in backwards. I'm around kids all the time and I don't let them even come close to touching any of my phones because I know the consequences of what could happen. It's common sense.

I had my Note 3 for about a year and now I have the Note 5 and I've never even thought about or even came close to accidentally sticking it in backwards. I told my mom (who I bought the Note 5 as well) not to insert the S-Pen backwards because it could mess up the slot yesterday and her exact response was "Why in the hell would I do that?".

Samsung should have made it more "idiot-proof" but there needs to be some user accountability as well. If you break the screen on your phone, you don't say "the manufacturer needs to make stronger glass". You suck it up, pay for it, and do whatever you can to make sure it doesn't happen again such as getting a case, throwing a screen protector on it or both. With this, just don't insert the pen in backwards and you'll be fine. If you've owned a Note before, then you probably know that you've probably never had the impulse to do this anyway.

Oh and comparing it to bend gate is laughable. People put their phones in their front pockets and were coming out with bent phones. THAT is something the user couldn't control and was completely on Apple. This is something that is easily controlled by simply putting the pen in the way it was meant to be put it in.

 

[tbayrgs]

I'm sorry, but if you're going to give your $700+ device to a child to play with, then you're asking for anything that comes afterwards and when it can end worse than a child sticking the S-Pen in backwards. I'm around kids all the time and I don't let them even come close to touching any of my phones because I know the consequences of what could happen. It's common sense.

Yet if Samsung designed the stylus and port probably, it's not an issue. But you're right, kids don't deserve to touch any electronic devices---give em some paper and a pencit--oh wait, they may write on something they shouldn't or 'poke their eye out'. Quit apologizing for a poor design.

I had my Note 3 for about a year and now I have the Note 5 and I've never even thought about or even came close to accidentally sticking it in backwards. I told my mom (who I bought the Note 5 as well) not to insert the S-Pen backwards because it could mess up the slot yesterday and her exact response was "Why in the hell would I do that?".

Wonderful, you've proven you and your mom are smarter than some other people.

Samsung should have made it more "idiot-proof" but there needs to be some user accountability as well. If you break the screen on your phone, you don't say "the manufacturer needs to make stronger glass". You suck it up, pay for it, and do whatever you can to make sure it doesn't happen again such as getting a case, throwing a screen protector on it or both. With this, just don't insert the pen in backwards and you'll be fine. If you've owned a Note before, then you probably know that you've probably never had the impulse to do this anyway.

Poor and irrelevant analogy. You cannot, short of putting behind a giant protective case or covering, design a modern smartphone so that the glass cannot be broken under any circumstances. You know what you can do? Design a stylus that won't be accepted into its storage port backwards. Samsung themselves have proven this with previous versions of this very device.

Oh and comparing it to bend gate is laughable. People put their phones in their front pockets and were coming out with bent phones. THAT is something the user couldn't control and was completely on Apple. This is something that is easily controlled by simply putting the pen in the way it was meant to be put it in.

Yup, the bending issue was a design flaw as well and you know what Apple did? Replaced those phones for the handfull of documented cases. Antenna problems with the iPhone 4 were also due to design but it didn't permanent break the phone and again, Apple offered a tangible solution by providing a bumper case to anyone who requested it. Samsung's response so far--should've read the manual.

 

[EnVyCaLiBeR]

Yet if Samsung designed the stylus and port probably, it's not an issue. But you're right, kids don't deserve to touch any electronic devices---give em some paper and a pencit--oh wait, they may write on something they shouldn't or 'poke their eye out'. Quit apologizing for a poor design.

Poor and irrelevant analogy. You cannot, short of putting behind a giant protective case or covering, design a modern smartphone so that the glass cannot be broken under any circumstances. You know what you can do? Design a stylus that won't be accepted into its storage port backwards. Samsung themselves have proven this with previous versions of this very device.

Yup, the bending issue was a design flaw as well and you know what Apple did? Replaced those phones for the handfull of documented cases. Antenna problems on with the iPhone 4 were also due to design but it didn't permanent break the phone and again, Apple offered a tangible solution by providing a bumper case to anyone who requested it. Samsung's response so far--should've read the manual.

Never said that. I'm saying if you're going to let a child play with a $700 phone without your supervision, then you deserve whatever happens next. Quit trying to get companies to do your parenting for you. If I let a child use one of my devices, I'd be watching them like a hawk to ensure nothing happens and if I can't watch them, then they wouldn't have my device at all.

I'm aware, but the point was that as the user you do whatever you can to ensure that the nothing happens to the phone by doing things such as putting it in a case, putting a screen protector on it or both because you know if something happens to your device that it 's coming out of your pocket. You know what you can do about putting your S-Pen backwards? Don't do it. It's really that simple.

Apple replaced them because it was something that the user could not avoid if it happened to them, which is why it's a bad comparison. This is as avoidable as it gets, which is why I think it's silly. As I said, I don't disagree that Samsung should have took measures to make sure it's 100% idiot proof like they did with previous devices, but it's a flaw that is so easily avoidable that you don't even really think about it.

 

[nfl46]

http://9to5google.com/2015/08/25/ex...e-note-5s-s-pen-is-put-in-backwards-teardown/

Really, Samsung? So, they knew about this, put it in the manual but didn't think to fix it before the devices shipped out?

As someone said, they could have made the tip of the pen bigger so you wouldn't be able to slide it in that direction. Oh well.

 

[jamezr]

1) It appears to be quite easy to insert it incorrectly, meaning there's no physical resistance or indication that it's backwards

2) Samsungs official solution is 'Read the Manual'. That's just as ridiculous as Steve Jobs saying 'You're holding it wrong.'

Not even close to being the same thing. I had a IP4 with antenna issues. I would hold it in a normal fashion and the phone would lose service. Rendering the phone useless as a communication device.
There were no instructions as to how to hold the phone to avoid this issue. This was through normal use and the phone was rendered useless.....through normal use.
You did not have to put something in backwards. There was no user error involved.

I have a 7 year old that loves to use my Note 4 and now my Note 5. He uses the pen to draw mustaches on photos of me and his siblings. He gets quite amused by it.

NEVER once has he inserted the pen backwards or attempted to insert it back wards. It doesn't seem to occur to him to do that. It seems like a normal function to put it back in the most logical way. Which is the exact way it came out.

So this is something nice for people to poke fun at Samsung. I do find it amusing that people would put the pen in backwards. But stupid is as stupid does.....

If you do give your phone to a small child and they break something....shame on you....not the phone maker or the child. Adults should know better.

My ipad has the iPhoto feature that you can blur and distort photos. My son has so much fun with that as well...in fact all of us do. So if my son drops my ipad and the glass breaks should I blame Apple? They should know kids are using and make it survive a drop?
Or maybe people should use their electronics with reasonable caution and care

 

[mrex]

"im a man, i dont read manuals!"
- damn, im only a hairy monkey, i should have read it...

 

[BoxerGT2.5]

This is what happens when you hand smartphones to ****tards.

 

[Sevanw]

My oh my, how stupid people have become these days. I remember the days when kids would get VHS tapes stuck in the VCR by putting them in backwards. Actually you even had adults making this mistake. Sometimes they would eject, but many a time they would get stuck. Never once did I hear anyone blame the manufacturer or claim a design flaw. Oh the good old days, when people believed in accountability.

Bottom line: Some people just need to stick to a flip phone.

Can you imagine walking into a dealership and asking for a new clutch because you burnt it doing clutch dumps from racing? Lol. "... But Mr Service Manager, it was so easy to do. Why didn't they design it so I couldn't do such a thing? What do you mean I'm stupid?"

 

[Zwhaler]

What a bunch of sensationalist garbage... there's of lots of things that can break if you deliberately use them incorrectly. What I'd like to know is what percentage of users actually jam their S Pen in all the way backwards... accidentally.

 

[Zedcars]

My oh my, how stupid people have become these days. I remember the days when kids would get VHS tapes stuck in the VCR by putting them in backwards. Actually you even had adults making this mistake. Sometimes they would eject, but many a time they would get stuck. Never once did I hear anyone blame the manufacturer or claim a design flaw. Oh the good old days, when people believed in accountability.

Bottom line: Some people just need to stick to a flip phone.

Can you imagine walking into a dealership and asking for a new clutch because you burnt it doing clutch dumps from racing? Lol. "... But Mr Service Manager, it was so easy to do. Why didn't they design it so I couldn't do such a thing? What do you mean I'm stupid?"

You might have a point; only problem is your point collapses once you realise their entire previous Note lineup 1, 2, 3 and 4 were designed so that it was impossible to insert the stylus in backwards. IOW, the design to avoid consumer error was already present in previous iterations - but they took it out! Sorry, but there's no excuse for a company when they already had knowledge of the problem and they had the solution. Instead of a pathetic tiny warning in a less accessible online manual, why not put a prominent sticker or card inside the box? Or, better still, design it better in the first place! lol

 

[Surf Donkey]

This is not deliberate misuse, this is a very easy mistake to make. There is no jamming necessary, just look at the videos. This causes irreversible damage to the phone. I was called an android fanboy on here for getting down on Apple for the antenna and bending issues in the past. But I will say this is even worse by Samsung. They will be forced to address this with replacements.

 

[tbayrgs]

<Removed first part as better judgment finally came to me. My apologies for anyone who read it and took offense.>

The dropping the iPad analogies are completely irrelevant because as pointed out, nothing the OEMS can do short of making it out of rubber will solve that problem. THIS problem is easily remedied with proper design--Samsung did it in the past so failing to do so with this device is simply poor judgement on their part--it's a flaw any way you slice it. They recognized the potential problem in the past and designed for it--guess what we never heard about--people getting their S-Pens stuck in their devices. This time they didn't and are blaming customers for not reading their manual. Come on.

Regardless of whether any of you would do it personally, the FACT of the matter is that people are doing it--and not children. And guaranteed there are going to be more stories about it as more people do it. Can't wait for the YouTube video of some idiots doing it at a retail location. You know who's going to take an beating in the media for it? Samsung---there is no upside for them in this scenario. If they stand firm on it being a 'user' issue (which it is), they look as a**holes. The alternative is acknowledging it and offering to assist affected customers (best option, IMO) but they're still seen as screwing up the design. It's happened to Apple twice now and we still hear 'antenna-gate' or 'bend-gate' all the time.

 

[iSheep5S]

This is the reason why 'caution hot' is on hot coffee cups these days.

 

[BoxerGT2.5]

It's amazing we can still wipe our own asses at this point.

 

[Surf Donkey]

You people are crazy comparing this to "hot coffee" and wiping our own asses. This stylus would be SO easy to put in the wrong way accidentally:

I have a note 1 that I still use at night by my bed. When the lights are off and I am tired, I put that damn stylus away upside down all the freaking time. But guess what, it has a stopper on one end and prevents me from damaging the phone. Because that is good design. They got it right on 4 phones. They screwed up on this one.