Amid the depressingly familiar horror of US politics this weekend, you might have forgotten all about another disaster that's been in the news lately — Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 crisis. What started out as a few isolated reports of exploding batteries in late August has continued to gather pace. Samsung initially delayed shipments, then issued a worldwide recall on September 1st, before sending out replacement Note 7 devices that same month. But over the last week there have been multiple reports of replacements catching fire, too. Here's the latest: What's the news? Replacement Note 7 devices that Samsung has sent out to customers are proving to be as unsafe as the originals. Since Thursday there have been a total of (1, 2, 3, 4) five replacement phones catching fire, the latest happening in Texas. To be clear, these are the devices that Samsung claims are safe. They are not. What is Samsung doing? The company says it has adjusted its production of the Note 7, but has refused to confirm or deny reports from Korean news agency Yonhap and The New York Times that it has suspended production altogether. Samsung told The Verge this weekend that it is "working diligently with authorities and third party experts" to fix the problem, but the company is also downplaying the issue, noting that there are only a "limited number" of reported incidents. What are carriers doing? Mobile carriers are stopping all sales and replacements of Note 7 devices, including the new devices shipped out by Samsung. In the US, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile have all issued statements saying so. Sprint has yet to announce that it has stopped sales altogether, but last week said it would offer customers exchanges on even replacement Note 7 devices. What are regulators doing? In the US, it's the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that's taking point. Samsung was criticized initially for not working closely enough with the commission when the recall began, but now says it will only take action with regards to replacement devices if it is "approved by the CPSC." A spokesperson for the CPSC said on Sunday that it didn't know if the most recent reports did definitely involve replacement Note 7 devices (though we have seen plenty of evidence showing that they did). "We would like to speak with each customer and assess what happened to their phone," said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson. What should you be doing? If you've got a Note 7, be it an original or a replacement, you should back up your data and stop using it right now. Head down to your carrier's nearest store as soon as possible — they'll give you a new device. You may tell yourself you're happy to take your chances, but think about all the places your smartphone will go over the next week: it'll be in your car, in your pocket, maybe in an airplane or the hands of your children. Now imagine it bursting into flames. It's not worth the risk. http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/10/13225038/samsung-note-7-what-is-even-happening
I wonder who the executive was that signed off on changing the battery supplier from the Note 5 ? His seat must be on fire ! (pun intended) I almost got the Note 7 but it wasn't enough of a leap from the Note 5 to justify the cost. I have the Note 5 and love it!
Yeah, turns out they finally pulled it yesterday. What a massive screw up. Only way I think they can save the brand is if they release a better phone next year, prove it won't explode and release it at a much cheaper price. $400 or less would be the sweet spot. Sent from my BLU LIFE ONE X using Tapatalk
Why they got away from the battery used in the Note 5 is a mystery. My phone never gets hot and has pretty good battery life on bluetooth. If they want to come out with a Note 8, 9 or 10, find a new design/supplier.
They need to come out with another Note by December of next year when I am ready to upgrade. The perfect phone for when you are getting older and your eyes start going. Had to go from an HTC One to the Note 5 so I could read things without searching for my glasses every time.
Burned Galaxy Note 7 from Southwest flight seized by federal regulators for testing Investigators with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) used a subpoena to seize the charred remains of Brian Green’s Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the phone thatcaught fire on a Southwest Airlines flight on October 5th. The investigatory team then drove the device to Bethesda, Maryland and hand-delivered it to the CPSC lab there for extensive testing. Green told The Verge that the CPSC confiscated his device with a subpoena on October 6th, the day after the fire, while it was in the hands of the Louisville Fire Department. He said the CPSC apologized for that action as generally the agency prefers to get permission before taking possession of a device, but investigators were not able to get in touch with Green as quickly as they’d have liked. The investigators called it "exigent circumstances" and felt the situation warranted the drastic action. The day of the fire, the CPSC’s chairman announced it "moving expeditiously to investigate this incident." Though we have not seen any official results from the the investigation, Samsung announced today that it was shutting down production of the Galaxy Note 7. http://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2016/10/11/13241032/samsung-galaxy-note-7-subpoena-seizure-cpsc Sent from my BLU LIFE ONE X using Tapatalk
Note 5 is the best phone I ever had. What the hell is wrong with people? Why screw up such a good thing and get greedy with design
I used to have a note 2 and loved it. Went with the nexus 6 for my newer phone and it has a very similar screen size. Just as good IMO.
I have a note 7 and mine is just fine. Its the best phone ive ever had. The media is overplaying this. 2.5 million sold, barely over 100 had issues. They found that of those barely over 100 a quarter of those were false. So im not worried. Sent from my SM-N930V using Tapatalk
The 100 can be a liability nightmare. All it takes is a explosion somewhere and Samsung can never recover. They have to take the huge loss on this one
Other cellphones with these lithium ion batteries have had these issues. Multiple iphones have had them. Its what happens when you push technology. Theyre already working on the s8 and like normal the note 8 will follow. Sent from my SM-N930V using Tapatalk
Yeah, I think I looked at the Nexus but just happened that Sprint was offering the Note 5 for $49 at the time on my 2 year re-up. Maybe next time I'll just get a Phablet so I never have to worry about my glasses.
How many fires are acceptable? Does it matter if there are no injuries? What about burned up cars? How about burned down houses? Office buildings? Hotels? Jetliners? Cruise ships? Is all that okay if no one dies? If fewer than ten die? Maybe Samsung should not have bought the batteries from Takata? (The last part was a joke.)
