SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20260517-8A918-2147319142. Severity: Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional. Product: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra smartphone, Titanium Gray color, 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm). Incident: On multiple occasions over the last month, my Samsung smartphone -- a Galaxy S25 Ultra -- has experienced severe, recurring thermal runaway events resulting in consecutive battery swelling, expanding the phone's chassis and making the device physically too hot to touch. The issue began with the original battery swelling, causing the back panel to separate. I took the device to an authorized Samsung service partner, [REDACTED], where the battery was replaced with an official OEM part. Within days, that second battery swelled completely up inside the chassis. I returned to the authorized [REDACTED] service center for a second replacement. The third replacement battery is now actively swelling, bloating the chassis, and radiating extreme heat even when idle. It measures at a temperature of 90 degrees C, or 194 F, and caused minor burns to my palm which took several days to heal. Because this catastrophic failure has occurred across three separate, brand-new batteries, the internal charging logic board or power management integrated circuit (PMIC) of the phone is fundamentally defective. It is delivering improper voltage, creating an ongoing fire, explosion, and chemical hazard in my home and workplace. Despite reporting this multi-stage safety loop to Samsung customer service over a two-week period, frontline support agents have repeatedly failed to escalate the issue, dropped communications, and closed my active service tickets without resolution. The device cannot be safely operated, cannot be charged, and represents a significant thermal safety hazard.