Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones to stop using or exchange the devices

[reno]

Samsung has urged owners of its Galaxy Note 7 phones to stop using or exchange the devices as they risk exploding.
Samsung recalled 2.5 million phones last week after reports emerged of the device exploding during or after charging.
And airline passengers were warned by US authorities not to switch on or charge the phones while on board.
The South Korean company said it would replace all devices that were handed in from 19 September.
A statement by Samsung, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said "our customers' safety is an absolute priority".
"Until a replacement device is provided, Samsung asks all customers with a Galaxy Note 7 smartphone to power down your device and return it to its place of purchase at your earliest opportunity," the statement added.
Earlier on Saturday, aviation authorities in the United Arab Emirates banned use of the devices on the Emirates and Etihad airlines.
What makes lithium batteries catch fire?
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37329191

Samsung recalled the phone last week after reports emerged of the device exploding during or after charging.
US TV channel Fox 10 reported claims that a faulty Galaxy Note 7 had set fire to a family's Jeep.
Samsung has said that battery problems were behind the phones catching fire, but that it was difficult to work out which phones were affected among those sold.
The phone was launched last month and has been otherwise generally well-received by consumers and critics.
http://www.samsung.com/us/explore/galax ... /?cid=ppc-
Galaxy Note7 Exchange Program: Act now and exchange your device.

[FlyingPenguin]

Going to be a fiasco for Samsung.

[Err]

Do these phones get tested by UL? I know the chargers they ship with the phones are tested but I wonder if they are submitting the phones themselves.

[FlyingPenguin]

UL tests pre-release models, and there's nothing to say those batteries weren't okay.

My feeling is that there's two different suppliers, and that one of the suppliers is making inferior batteries. Could be the first few batches were okay, and then they started cutting corners.

I also get the feeling this is not all that a wide spread problem (35 fires out of 2 1/2 million phones is not many) but the problem is there's no way of knowing which phones are time bombs.

[Err]

Construction worker sues Samsung after suffering burns from exploding phone

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016 ... comments=1

[reno]

BETHESDA, Md. - U.S. regulators issued an official recall of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 phone on Thursday because of a risk of fire.

Samsung already has voluntary recalled the devices after a few dozen devices exploded or caught fire. That was out of about 2.5 million phones sold.

More News Headlines
Samsung to limit battery charging on Galaxy Note 7 phones to prevent fires
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is stepping in on a formal recall. Its chairman, Elliot Kaye, blasted Samsung for trying to do the recall on its own, saying that anyone who believes that to be adequate "needs to have more than their phone checked."

Samsung promised replacement devices, but that was put on hold while regulators reviewed the situation. Kaye said customers will now be offered full refunds, not just replacement devices, if they choose. Note 7 owners need to contact Samsung and provide a number from the back of the phone to determine whether that unit is at risk.

Kaye said about 1 million devices are affect.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/us-r ... osion-risk

[FlyingPenguin]

They're taking a 1.5 BILLION dollar right off on this, and you can expect the financial impact in lost sales to be nearly double that.

[FlyingPenguin]

[Losbot]

LMAO

[EvilHorace]

LOL. A guy at work was about to get an S7 2 weeks ago. Good thing he procrastinated.

[Err]

Samsung may not be out of the woods yet:

A post-recall Galaxy Note7 caught fire on a Southwest Airlines flight

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/10/05 ... es-flight/

[Pugsley]

I wonder what the TSA would do if you just had a backpack full of note7's. not on or anything but just full to the brim with phones... I don't think that it would be breaking the 3-1-1 rules!

[EvilHorace]

Why can't people just put another battery in it or isn't that an option on those? With my trusty Note 4 edge, I can swap out the battery in seconds if needed.

[FlyingPenguin]

I suspect it's more than just the battery. I think it's a combination of the battery AND the charging logic. Just not sure if it's something they can fix in firmware.

[Err]

Why can't people just put another battery in it or isn't that an option on those? With my trusty Note 4 edge, I can swap out the battery in seconds if needed.

From the S6 and above, you can no longer just swap the battery. Now that we've seen a replacement phone catch fire, it may be more of an issue with the phone itself.

There's actually a GTA-V mod now that adds the S7 as a sticky bomb: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Explodin ... od_id86092