In Singapore, where Samsung started its exchange program last week, close to 80% of Galaxy Note 7 customers had registered for an exchange, the company said Thursday.
Advertisement
SEOUL-Samsung Electronics Co., reeling from a massive recall of its premium smartphones amid reports of batteries catching fire, said that about 250,000 customers in the US who had purchased its defective smartphone had exchanged their devices as of Tuesday.
Samsung announced Tuesday that by morning, 500,000 new Galaxy Note 7 devices would be in stores. But the company has said about 2.5 million devices may be affected worldwide, including 1 million sold in the United States. This development followed worldwide reports of dozens of the phone exploding while being charged due to fault in the battery. “It appears that consumers are not active in seeking an exchange or a refund”.
South Korean consumers who bought the defective Note 7 began getting notifications that they can get a new one starting Monday. The other will display a short notice to owners of older phones covered by the recall, telling them to turn off their device and take it in for a replacement. As of Friday, Samsung had exchanged about 130,000 Note7 smartphones in the U.S. The green icon indicates that consumers have a new Note7 with a new battery deemed safe. For those who aren’t aware of the warnings, a software update will be pushed to all recalled devices that prompts the user to power down and exchange the device every time the user powers up or charges the device.
Advertisement
She was unable to say how many Note 7 buyers sought refunds, but said “the vast majority” received a different Samsung phone as a replacement.
