Best you keep it switched off if you’re flying anytime soon.
Advertisement
The Federal Aviation Administration also warned passengers not to put the Galaxy Note 7 phones in their checked bags, citing “recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung” about the devices. It’s offering to replace everyone’s Note 7 free of charge, but until the FAA is satisfied all the affected devices are out of circulation, its warning is likely to stay firmly in place.
In one case, a family in St. Petersburg, Florida, reported a Galaxy Note 7 phone left charging in their Jeep caught fire, destroying the vehicle. The U.S. Product Exchange Program, announced Friday, for example, also offered to exchange current Galaxy Note 7 devices for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge and replacement of any Note 7 specific accessories, with a refund of the price difference between devices.
The company estimated that it would take about two weeks to begin swapping old Note 7s for new phones.
The company received dozens of complaints that the device caught on fire while charging. It said it had investigated the issue and found a problem with the batteries in a small number of Note 7 devices. The phone was released August 19.
Earlier this year, the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency that sets global aviation safety standards, banned bulk shipments of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes until better packaging can be developed to prevent a fire from spreading and potentially destroying the plane. Consumer Reports said the recall had to be done officially with the involvement of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which would have made it illegal to sell the phones.
Advertisement
– Reed Alexander, Sheena Jones and Rene Marsh contributed reporting.
