Samsung has taken a massive $22bn hit to its market value after stock dropped by 11% in two days following further fallout from the battery explosions plaguing its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.
Advertisement
In a statement posted Saturday on its website, Samsung asked users around the world to “immediately” return their existing Galaxy Note 7 and get a replacement. About 1 million of them have been sold and will be eligible for the exchange. The lithium batteries were said to be manufactured by one of Samsung’s suppliers.
The issue was serious enough to warrant a warning from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which advised Note7 owners to “power them down and stop charging or using the device”. The U.S.is part of the first countries to act after the recall of the Samsung products was issued.
According to TheStar, Samsung announced that the reported incidents involving their device are only small in number, and that Samsung is taking every possible steps to rectify the situation, and provide their users with the needed assistance.
The recall by the safety commission will allow the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to ban passengers from carrying the phones on planes.
Scandinavian Airlines said Saturday that it has prohibited passengers from using the Galaxy Note 7 on its flights because of concerns about fires.
People who choose to receive a new Galaxy Note 7 would need to register on Samsung’s Web site from Monday next week, and deliveries of replacements are expected to begin on September 23, the company said.
Advertisement
Samsung later confirmed that the devices were suffering from a “battery cell issue” after conducting an investigation of its own, and announced that it would voluntarily replace them, on September 2.
