Now, the amusing thing about today’s piece of news is that Samsung, after issuing the recall of its flagship, started warning the non-cooperating users about their demise in case they fail to exchange the presumably defective Galaxy Note 7 until September 30th.
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A comprehensive US ban on using the Note 7 on airplanes could be triggered by an official recall on the product.
Samsung last week announced plans to recall 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones worldwide after its investigation of the device fires found rechargeable lithium batteries manufactured by one of its suppliers at fault. Several airlines around the world asked travelers not switch on the jumbo smartphone or put it in checked baggage, with some carriers banning the phone on flights.
Lewis also said the family has been in contact with Samsung regarding the incident, but did not say what the nature of their contact is.
“We are asking users to power down their Galaxy Note 7s and exchange them as soon as possible”, Koh Dong-jin, Samsung’s mobile president, said in the statement.
Some 2.5 million of the premium devices have been sold worldwide that need to be recalled, the firm has said, and some analysts say the recall could cost Samsung almost $5 billion in lost revenue this year. 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. The unsold devices will be replaced with new modified versions so that they will not be affected by the exploding battery problem, Samsung said. Earlier this year, the UN’s aviation agency banned shipments of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes. New Note 7 phones will need CPSC approval before they can be released in the U.S.
It wasn’t immediately clear how major US 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.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has been reportedly involved in a number of fire-related episodes across the world. Singapore Airlines, Australia’s Qantas and Virgin Australia have announced similar bans.
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Samsung didn’t respond to a request for comment on the use of the Note 7 on airplanes. The Galaxy Note series is one of the most expensive lineups made by Samsung.
