China’s quality watchdog said on Wednesday Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s (005930.KS) local unit will recall 1,858 units of its Galaxy Note 7 phones, after the Korean firm’s product was found to have fire-prone batteries. Reports on Tuesday said that Samsung is looking to limit the maximum battery charge of the phone’s battery to 60%, to diminish explosion risks.
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The firm has sold 2.5 million Note7 phones in 10 markets including South Korea and the United States that are subject to the recall.
Samsung Electronics Co. will be able to replace all 400,000 Galaxy Note7 phones sold to Korean customers in early stage packed with potentially problem batteries by September 25 and is discussing with regulators and wireless carriers of other countries to proceed with global recall.
It would prevent the phones from overheating, and thus exploding, but would effectively mean a downgrade of the high-end device.
Following the latest Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) order which was issued keeping air safety in mind, SpiceJet is the first airline company to ban its passengers from carrying Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in check-in bags.
The new Galaxy Note 7 temporary battery fixing update will be apparently pushed as an obligatory solution.
Since the global launch of the oversized “phablet” smartphone in August, several users have posted images on social media showing the charred device, saying it suddenly caught fire.
Samsung said replacements for the recalled phones would be available from Sept 19.
In the USA, the company is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to figure out how a formal recall of the phones will work.
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The mobile business accounts for a major share of profits at Samsung, which is the world’s largest smartphone maker but also produces home appliances and memory chips.
