Samsung Galaxy S7 camera glass is apparently “spontaneously shattering”

Samsung have had a rough time lately; unfortunately for them, things don’t look to be getting better anytime soon…

Following Samsung’s rough 2016 with many reports of Samsung mobiles ‘overheating and exploding’, and their washing machine tops detaching from the body, 2017 isn’t looking any better as Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge and S7 Active owners are complaining that the glass on their smartphone camera is “shattering spontaneously!”

“Shattered like a bullet shot”

A Galaxy S7 owner reported that, after having his mobile phone for less than a week, he woke up to find that the camera glass on his brand new device had shattered. The owner, who goes by the name of Sean, told the Consumerist that he was shocked to find the Samsung device in that condition as he had left his mobile untouched on his bedside table all night.

Sean notes that:

“…the camera glass had shattered like a miniature bullet hole.”

What was perhaps more shocking was the fact that Samsung refused to replace the phone as Sean told Samsung’s Customer Service Advisor that he believed it was a defect under the manufacturer’s warranty. The adviser refused to replace the phone insisting that the damage had been inflicted by the user.

Unsatisfactory response from Samsung

After receiving a negative response from Samsung, Sean didn’t have any other options, so he did some online research to see whether his incident was an isolated one. From what he gathered, it was a reoccurring issue among many users, without the mobile being dropped. Though it seemed like a clear issue with no fault on the user’s part, Samsung has refused responsibility and are leaving the customers no choice but to pay for the repair themselves.

One Galaxy S7 owner says:

“I’ve had it back for less than a week and the lens is cracked… Is there an issue with the lens, or am I the only one. It cost $70 [£57] to get fixed. I really don’t feel like paying it again.”

This particular owner had waited three weeks for it to be fixed, but then to find that it had shattered yet again. After spending over two hours in a Samsung Service Centre in addition to speaking to Samsung Customer Services, she is sending her phone to the company for inspection.

Online forum reports many owners having the same issue

Reports of the camera being defective began in April 2016 with the most recent reports at the end of December 2016. Owners have turned to the Samsung Community website to reach out to other users whose devices are “spontaneously shattering”. One owner even took it upon himself to replace the shattered glass using a DIY kit after Samsung denied him a replacement.

In the majority of the cases, Samsung owners emphasise that they hadn’t done anything to the device for it to shatter in a circle shape. Others say that the device had been in a protective case so it would’ve been impossible for it to be their fault that the camera glass had shattered in the way it did.

Samsung has replied to some forum posts by affected owners. They’ve not explicitly announced a recall of the defective devices, but have insinuated that the only way that they can get to the bottom of the issue is to inspect the devices in person.