Thursday’s move by the United States safety agency formalises the recall underway in 10 countries after reports of faulty batteries that caused some handsets to explode during charging. It’s been said that people really love the Galaxy Note 7, and there could be something to that given that replacements won’t be in until September 21st so no one’s moving on the recall.
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The CPSC said Samsung has received 92 reports of the batteries overheating in the U.S., 55 of which involved property damage such as fires in cars and garages. This has led the CPSC to recall a total of around one million of its smartphone devices. But if the developers are hard-pressed to make an early release, then it could mean changes geared towards faster production of the phones may be initiated. Firstly, passengers must turn off their Galaxy Note 7 device and disconnect it from any charging equipment.
It would prevent the phones from overheating, and thus exploding, but would effectively mean a downgrade of the high-end device. They can also request a refund or a “new replacement device”, which we take to mean an alternative handset to the Galaxy Note 7.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) has officially recalled Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 following dozens of incidents of the phablets catching fire.
Earlier this month, Samsung announced a global recall of the Note 7 smartphones as some of their batteries caught fire while being charged. “To date, we already have exchanged 130,000 units – a fast and meaningful start – and with the CPSC’s partnership, we will continue implementing corrective steps to exchange every single Note 7 on the market….” Several Australian commercial airlines banned the phone outright. While the company was previously offering to replace the phones, it will now offer consumers the choice of a replacement or a full refund.
Following Thursday’s formal recall, the FAA revised its warning.
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Tim Baxter, Samsung’s president and COO for America, personally appears on a video posted on the Samsung news site to address customers and apologizes for the breach in trust. Samsung and the Consumer Product Safety Commission urge users to power down their phones and exchange them for different phones as soon as possible. NPR told the story of a woman who really wanted to return her phone but kept getting the run-around between the retailer and her mobile service provider.
