The more than one million owners of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones should turn the devices off and stop using them because of the risk the batteries can explode, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned Friday.
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On Thursday, Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd QAN.AX , Jetstar Airways and Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd VAH.AX announced they had banned passengers from using or charging the phones in response to the recall.
The Canadian Transport Ministry followed suit later on Friday, advising air passengers not to carry the phones on board.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 is one of the most lovely smartphones ever produced.
The South Korean manufacturer last week recalled the Note 7 in 10 markets including the United States, saying the phones’ batteries were prone to catch fire. In its statement, the agency asked owners of the Note 7 “to power them down and stop charging or using the device” in the meantime. “These incidents have occurred while charging and during normal use, which has led us to call for consumers to power down their Note7s”.
The battery trouble comes as Samsung’s archrival Apple launches new iPhone 7 models, with the California company predicting brisk sales as it began taking orders Friday.
Samsung said users should exchange their phones now via a swap program it announced last week where customers can return the phones for another device. They can also exchange their phones for a Galaxy S7 or a Galaxy S7 edge, and replace “any Note 7 specific accessories with a refund of the price difference”.
“We are aware of the Federal Aviation Administration’s statement about the Galaxy Note7”, the company’s USA division said in a statement.
American Airlines Group Inc, the world’s largest carrier, said it was in touch with the FAA about the phones.
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Koh Dong-jin, chief of Samsung Electronics’ handset division, said on September 2 that the Galaxy 7 incidents were caused by a flaw in the battery cell and had nothing to do with the phone itself.
