Samsung has received 92 reports of batteries overheating in the US, including 26 burn reports and 55 property damage reports including fires in cars and a garage. That drew the ire of consumer advocates and others who said that Samsung’s actions were not in line with USA protocol or laws governing recalls.
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“This recall involves the Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone sold before September 15, 2016”, writes the CPSC.
Then, equip yourself with a loaner Samsung J Series or equivalent device to use until the replacement Note 7s are available.
The company stopped all sales and shipments of the Note 7 and said it was working with government agencies and cellular carriers around the world to provide refunds and exchanges for the phone. Note 7 owners must not only turn off the device on airplanes, it said, but also protect the power switch “to prevent the phone from being unintentionally activated”.
Samsung’s recall trouble comes as rival Apple seeks to regain momentum with the Friday release of new-generation iPhone 7 models. We also now know when Samsung plans to have the phone back on shelves. The Note 7 represented its third major phone launch in 2016, following the success of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
This recall affects about one million Galaxy Note 7s. “Consumer safety is always our highest priority”, Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, said in a statement. Samsung was reportedly aware of 95 instances of this happening.
After the initial reports of the fires began circulating, Samsung saw its market value slashed by $7 billion. “This issue is now being investigated and our customer services team is in contact with the customer regarding the matter”.
In the wake of the official Galaxy Note 7 recall, Samsung has a serious problem on its hands. Consumers are being urged to contact their wireless carriers or the store where they bought their phones for a replacement Note7 phone that is free of the defect or for a refund of their purchase price. But, again, any Note 7 sold before the middle of September has been recalled and should be immediately returned.
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Thus far, Samsung appears to have weathered the negative effects of what will surely be a costly recall of the Note 7.
