Sometimes when a device fails, it fails in spectacular fashion. Daniel Rotar, who leads the ZONEofTECH YouTube channel, posted on X today that the battery on his Samsung Galaxy Ring began swelling while he was wearing it. “I cannot take it off and this thing hurts,” he wrote. A few hours later, Rotar posted again that he had gone to a hospital and received help to remove the smart ring. He also shared photos of the device that showed the swelling on the interior surface.[1][2][3]
We reached out to Samsung for comment and received this statement from a spokesperson: “The safety of our customers is a top priority and we are in direct contact with this user to learn more about their concerns. While experiences like this are extremely rare, there are a few ways to attempt removing a stuck ring, including soap and water – or submerging your hand in cold water. If these methods do not work, additional information is provided on our Samsung Support page.”[4]
Current technologies aren’t perfect and a device’s battery can fail. When that happens, trapped gasses and heat can cause the battery to swell. It’s not a common problem, but it is a known one. There’s even a whole Reddit community dedicated to the phenomenon of these “spicy pillows.” So here’s a recurring reminder that if you’ve got old gadgets you aren’t using, consider recycling them before they potentially reach this sort of fail state.[5][6]
References
- ^ ZONEofTECH (www.youtube.com)
- ^ posted (x.com)
- ^ posted (x.com)
- ^ Samsung Support (shopping.yahoo.com)
- ^ spicy pillows (www.reddit.com)
- ^ recycling (www.engadget.com)