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US regulators: Official recall of 1M Samsung Note 7 phones

If you’re watching this video on a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, you should probably turn off the phone and stick it in your fireplace.

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“Consumers should immediately stop using and power down the recalled Galaxy Note 7 devices purchased before September 15, 2016”, the notice said.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a formal recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on Thursday. Samsung has already informed the public that US replacements for their latest device would be happening on this date, but this comes as an official confirmation from Sprint that they will be following this time frame and getting safe Galaxy Note 7 devices into the hands of their subscribers as soon as they can. Samsung says that retail stores will have new devices that are safe and approved by the CPSC available for exchange “no later than September 21st”.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 005930.KS formally recalled 1 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold in the United States, replacing or refunding the flagship phones, whose susceptibility to catching fire has damaged the image of the Korean powerhouse.

Samsung issued a recall earlier in September, but it’s been anything but smooth. It also announced its exchange program on that date, which let customers that had purchased a Note 7 trade it in for another device while they waited for safe units to arrive.

Samsung had already announced that it was recalling the Note 7 earlier this month, but the company botched the standard procedure for ordering a recall, leaving the USA government somewhat hamstrung.

Outside the U.S., Samsung has offered other solutions to consumers. It’s also offering a software patch in that country that prevents affected phones from charging about 60 percent.

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The recall came at a particularly bad time for Samsung. Rival Apple’s much-anticipated iPhone 7 debuts Friday.

The US safety agency's decision formalizes the recall underway in 10 countries after reports of faulty batteries that caused some Samsung Galaxy Note 7 handsets to explode during charging