Some Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Phones Are Mysteriously Bricking, Unable To Charge

Samsung appears to be facing another round of battery woes, although this time around, phones are not overheating or catching fire, as was the case with the Galaxy Note 7. Instead, some Galaxy Note 8 owners are complaining about their phones abruptly shutting down and not being able to power them back on. Furthermore, there is no indication that the battery is attempting to recharge when plugging in the charging cable.

"My wife's [Galaxy] Note 8 turned off today and won't turn back on. Tried the soft reset and Safe Mode button pushes and it won't turn on. When it's plugged in, the red light doesn't turn on," a user wrote on Samsung's community forum.

Several others chimed in saying they are experiencing the same issue. One of the forum members noted that tried recharging his Galaxy Note 8 both wirelessly and with a charging cord. Neither method worked. He did not mention if the LED charging light on his phone turned on, but did say that the blue light on his charger was illuminated.

Samsung responded to the complaints through one of its moderators, SamsungMel, who asked the first batch of affected users to send their phones' IMEI numbers via private message.

"This particular problem with the [Galaxy] Note 8 not turning on is definitely something that we want to get addressed immediately," SamsungMel said.

Users who are affected by this should seek a warranty repair or replacement. Unfortunately, that means some downtime, and that's if everything goes right. One user said the repair center forgot to reinsert the SIM card tray back into his phone, causing a further delay in getting a working handset.

"Without the SIM card tray the phone is not useable. No SIM card tray = no SIM card. No SIM card = no service. After 20 minutes mostly on hold with Samsung they are sending me the SIM card tray to arrive in two more business days. So now, I am driving 7 hours to D.C. to spend Thanksgiving with family tomorrow and I don't have a cell phone. I am 10 days and counting without a phone because mine came with a faulty battery and charging system, as per the repair center," the disgruntled user wrote. "What do I get from Samsung to make this right? So far it's nothing but repairs."

Samsung has mostly moved away from using removable batteries on its phones, including the Galaxy Note 8. That leaves users with little recourse but to send their phone to Samsung for repair, provided they are not able to swap out their defect unit with their wireless carrier.