On the same day, AirAsia and AirAsia X also banned the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 from being used onboard and checked baggage.
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The world’s top smartphone maker said on Saturday all Galaxy Note 7 users affected by the ongoing recall should power off their devices and turn them in. So we reached out to the USA call center and a representative said Note 7 users should power off the phone and bring it back to the retail location where it was purchased.
“We will voluntarily replace your Galaxy Note 7 device with a new one”, the statement noted.
According to GSMArena, 63 percent of 7,465 poll participants said they would replace their Note 7s with new ones, while 37 percent said they would buy other brands such as the iPhone 7 Plus. On Friday (local time), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) advised consumers against using Galaxy Note7, warning of serious results from overheat and burst.
A comprehensive USA ban on using the Note 7 on airplanes could be triggered by an official recall on the product.
It wasn’t immediately clear how major USA airlines would respond to the announcement by the FAA, which has previously warned that fires caused by the type of batteries found in cellphones can be very hard to extinguish aboard planes. It also said it was working with Samsung and hoped to have an official recall “as soon as possible”. Singapore Airlines (SINGF), Qantas (QABSY) and Virgin Australia say they are telling passengers not to turn on Note 7s or charge them on flights.
USA federal transportation rules permit the lithium batteries found in cellphones and similar electronic devices to be checked or carried on board planes. As of September 2, as many as 35 Galaxy Note 7 owners documented their units catching fire, with the phone having possibly set someone’s house on fire.
Since then, at least two more cases have been reported, including at hotel in Perth, prompting the company to call for an “immediate” end to all use by customers.
Last week, Samsung ordered a global recall of the jumbo phones after its investigation of explosion reports found the rechargeable lithium batteries were at fault.
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The Note 7 problems are a major blow to Samsung’s efforts to build on the strong sales of its Galaxy S7 smartphones launched in March.
