A Samsung employee demonstrates underwater use of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone during a launch event for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 at the Hammerstein Ballroom, August 2, 2016 in New York City.
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Samsung last week has agreed to replace every single Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, after at least 35 reports that the phone’s batteries could overheat and explode.
“We are asking users to power down their Galaxy Note 7s and exchange them now”, said Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America. In a statement posted Saturday on its website, Samsung asked users around the world to “immediately” return their existing Galaxy Note 7 and get a replacement.
However, the recall process is pretty much different and varies by country.
Three Thai airlines have separately announced the ban of the use of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on board their airlines and in storing the phones in their check-in luggage. During this time, you are advised to stop using your phone, although you aren’t offered any devices instead.
The statement from the CSPC comes less than two weeks after reports of exploding Galaxy Note 7 devices started to surface around the globe. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission Friday urged Note 7 owners to stop using the device.
Aviation authorities and airlines across the world have also issued bans or guidelines prohibiting passengers from turning on or charging the phone inside airplanes in response. A more formal recall process will also prevent any Galaxy Note 7 devices from being sold in the U.S. until safe replacements are available.
Qantas and Virgin Australia also told customers not to use or charge the devices on their planes.
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The mobile division accounts for the lion’s share of Samsung’s business, but has been increasingly squeezed by competition both from Apple’s iPhone and by lower-end devices from Chinese rivals such as Huawei.
