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AT&T, T-Mobile US, Verizon suspend exchange programmes following fresh reports of burning handsets.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 woes continued on Monday, with reports emerging that the South Korean electronics giant is temporarily suspending production of its combustible flagship.
Following fresh reports of newly-issued Galaxy Note 7s catching fire, Yonhap news agency quoted an official at one of Samsung’s suppliers who said the company is halting its manufacture in cooperation with consumer safety regulations in South Korea, the U.S. and China.
"We are temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note7 production schedule in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters," said a U.K.-based Samsung spokeswoman, in an email to Total Telecom.
Samsung is in the midst of a global recall of its Galaxy Note 7, following multiple reports of devices smouldering, or catching fire. However, it has since emerged that the issues have not been resolved, and that replacement devices have been catching fire too.
Over the weekend, two regional U.S. news outlets carried reports of separate incidents where replacement Note 7s melted or caught fire.
WKYT reported on Saturday that a man awoke to find his Note 7 on fire and his bedroom full of smoke. He had taken possession of a replacement handset a week earlier.
On Sunday, 5 Eyewitness News reported that a replacement Note 7 melted in a teenager’s hand while she was holding it. The device was swapped under the exchange programme in September.
Last week, a flight had to be evacuated after a passenger’s replacement Galaxy Note 7 started smoking and crackling, according to a USA Today report.
In response to these reported incidents, AT&T, T-Mobile US, and Verizon all suspended their Galaxy Note 7 exchange programmes.
All three operators offered to swap Note 7s with another device of the customer’s choosing.
Over the course of Monday, operators from all over the world have similarly halted their Note 7 exchange programmes.
The first global recall was expected to cost Samsung upwards of $1 billion. With the recall now being suspended and the company facing the very real prospect of having to issue a second recall, that estimate will likely prove conservative.
