Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5 is gorgeous and a beast under the hood, but some consumers have been playing around with the device and have found something else to complain about. A tech reviewer decided to put his pen in backwards to see what would happen. Unlike previous iterations, the Galaxy Note 5 allows you to insert the S Pen into the phone in the wrong way — entirely. Whereas the Note 4 only allows partial insertion, the Galaxy Note 5 allows full backwards insertion. Whereas before, you couldn’t insert the S Pen incorrectly, now you can insert the S Pen and get the stylus stuck. Of course, there are ways to remove it (one involving the use of plastic film), but it takes some practice and some precision to get it just right. Most customers will likely visit their local retail store or look for someone to fix the problem, but backwards insertion of the S Pen deactivates the clicking mechanism as well as the phone’s registration of the S Pen insertion.
You may or may not be aware of the recent Galaxy Note 5 discussion over whether or not this is a manufacturing flaw of Samsung’s or user error on the part of consumers, but Samsung has taken some criticism to heart and now provides a public warning on the front of Galaxy Note 5 units. The factory screen protector now features the following message, according to a YouTube video by my good friend, J. Williams:
Warning! Be sure to insert your S Pen with the nib pointed inward. Inserting the S Pen the wrong way can cause it to become stuck and can damage the pen and your phone.
What this means, in effect, is that you’re to place the writing tip inside the slot, with the clicking portion pointing outward. The writing tip goes inside the slot to protect the tip, while the top clicking portion goes outward so that you can “press it” to slide the S Pen out when you’re ready to use it. That seems to be a principle that veteran Galaxy Note 5 users have lived by for the last few years, but some new users have to learn this principle and are experiencing it for the first time with their new Samsung device. It’s okay to have first-time buyers; in fact, Samsung appreciates first-time buyers of the Galaxy Note 5!
Samsung has now provided an even bigger visible warning about the S Pen backwards insertion risk, although the company already provided warning against the problem in its own Galaxy Note 5 manual. It’s nice to see Samsung provide a second warning for users. Now, should a Note 5 user find himself or herself in the awkward position of inserting the S Pen backwards, he or she can no longer blame Samsung — though we happen to think some will still blame the Korean manufacturer, anyway.
