Galaxy Note 5: using Samsung-issued S Pen accessory can break new phone

Putting pen into its special slot the wrong away around can stop it working, and some have speculated that Samsung might have to recall the phones

The new Samsung Galaxy Note 5 sits on display in a store on August 21, 2015 in New York, United States (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Using an accessory included with the brand new Galaxy Note 5 can entirely break the phone, according to reports.

Putting the S Pen stylus the wrong way into the slot that holds it can break the phone, according to a report by Android Police. The easy mistake can break the mechanism that detects whether the pen has been taken out, or leave it to get stuck entirely.

The pen’s slot is meant to hold the stylus — which can be used for drawing and writing on the phone’s screen — when it’s not in use. On previous versions of the phone the pen can only go in one way, since the two wouldn’t slot together the other way around.

But on the newly-released Galaxy Note 5, there’s no indication as the pen goes in that it is being placed in wrong, according to Android Police. It will slot in until it gets stuck — and if users try and get it out, they might break the mechanism that lets the phone know when the pen has been removed.

The mechanism lets the phone switch into relevant modes when the pen has been taken out or put in. Taking it out opens up the note taking app, for instance.

It is easy to tell which way around the pen should be when looking at it — it is curved into a tip at the top end, and has a Samsung name badge at the bottom. But it can be easily slotted in without looking.

Tech blog Ars Technica said that it couldn’t “see any way Samsung can sell the Galaxy Note 5 like this”, in its post. “The company may need to either recall the Note 5 or issue a redesigned S-Pen,” the site said.