The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was one of the finest handsets ever released. It looked stunning and had some of the best spec and hardware ever committed to a phone – but then it started exploding.

That changed everything, obviously. A few months later, Samsung had completed its mass-recall of the handset and confirmed it would issue an update that would brick the remaining handsets in circulation.

The reason for the brick-update is simple: the handset is now deemed dangerous and has to be decommissioned, though some people are apparently not keen on letting their handset go.

Reports suggest there are still plenty of Galaxy Note 7 handsets in operation in the US, which is obviously concerning for Samsung as it does not want another case of one of its phones exploding in public again.

What Caused The Galaxy Note 7 To Explode?

Samsung knows what happened now, according to reports. But for whatever reason the company has yet to make its findings officially official.

However, word on the street suggests the reason behind the exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was down to a manufacturing and/or design issue; the phone was too thin and this placed the battery under way too much pressure and that in turn caused the problems.

Samsung previously said the issue was caused by faulty batteries – batteries made by its affiliate, Samsung SDI – but was forced to reconsider this position after replacement units began exploding.

While Samsung’s findings have not yet been made official, multiple sources are confident the issue at play is down to the handset’s aggressive design which places unnecessary pressure on the battery itself, even during normal use.

The Investor has also reported that Samsung execs are now on lockdown and have been instructed to ensure NO emails concerning the Galaxy Note 7, its problems and the potential root causes of them, leak out to the press, ahead of the launch of the company’s upcoming Galaxy S8 handsets.

Whether Samsung will delay its official findings until after the release of the Galaxy S8 remains to be seen. How it handles this issue will likely have a direct affect on how its next phone is received. Samsung knows this and is likely now in the process of adding up the pros and cons of different approaches.

Being secretive about something like this is never a good idea, though. Consumers want to feel confident that the handsets they’re using are safe, that the issue that affected the Note 7 won’t happen again, and the best way to do that is communicate all findings to the public.

Keeping data under wraps, particularly for a case this prominent and well known, makes it look as if Samsung is hiding something. And that, like an exploding phone, is bad PR.