Looks like Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 nightmare won’t end soon as the company braces for a possible second recall.
Yes, it has happened again. After a ‘safe’ Samsung Galaxy Note 7 unit caught fire on a Southwest aircraft last week, two more cases have been reported. Among the latest incidents, one unit caught fire in the US, whereas the other took place in Taiwan.
A 13-year old girl, Abby Zuis from Minnesota, said she felt a “weird, burning sensation” while holding the Galaxy Note 7. The device had burn marks similar to what we’ve already seen on other Note 7 devices, and it also melted the cover that was put on the phone. Soon after the incident, a Samsung spokesperson offered a statement to The Verge saying, “We want to reassure our customers that we take every report seriously and we are engaged with the Zuis family to ensure we are doing everything we can for them and their daughter. Customer safety remains our highest priority as we are investigating the matter.”
The other incident took place in Taiwan where a 26-year old woman, going by surname Lai, was in the park walking her dog.Ms Lai heard a bang and then started feeling a sensation of heat on her buttocks. Soon after that, she pulled out the device from her pant pockets and threw it on ground. To her surprise, the 10-day-old replacement unit was spewing smoke. The device then caught fire and melted. Ms. Lai had purchased the Galaxy Note 7 in August, and got it replaced on September 27. RELATED: A ‘safe’ Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has reportedly exploded in China
Samsung Taiwan also released a statement saying it was trying to reach the customer so it can do some research on the damaged phone to figure out what went wrong. The Korean giant also mentioned that it will have to take an in-depth look at the unit to ensure that it was indeed a replacement unit.
Going back to what happened earlier this week; an alleged replacement unit caught fire and exploded inside a Southwest Airlines jet. The owner said he had around 80 percent charge in the phone, and as per the instructions from the flight crew, he turned off the phone. However, the moment he put the phone in his pocket, it started emitting ‘thick grey-green angry smoke’ after which he dropped the device to the floor. The cabin crew was quick enough to evacuate the aircraft, but when one passenger went to get his personal belongings, the device had burned into a crisp, damaging the floor carpet of the aircraft.
Now, if the investigation does determine that it was a replacement model, there are chances wherein Samsung might have to go ahead and recall the phone for the second time. Most American carriers are now letting users swap out even the replaced Galaxy Note 7 units for any other smartphone despite no recall issued by Samsung.
Meanwhile Samsung released an official statement on its website, “Samsung understands the concern our carriers and consumers must be feeling after recent reports have raised questions about our newly released replacement Note7 devices. We continue to move quickly to investigate the reported case to determine the cause and will share findings as soon as possible. We remain in close contact with the CPSC throughout this process. If we conclude a safety issue exists, we will work with the CPSC to take immediate steps to address the situation. We want to reassure our customers that we take every report seriously and we appreciate their patience as we work diligently through this process.” RELATED: Here’s the real reason why the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 batteries are exploding
Now, while Samsung is doing a lot to clear its name, the Galaxy Note 7 battery fiasco doesn’t seem to end. Recently, the company also revealed that over a million users were using ‘safe’ Galaxy Note 7 units, with each of them being put through quality control tests. Despite all these claims, it is quite shocking to see that the replacements are also suffering from the same issue.
Samsung is likely launch the Galaxy Note 7 in India during the festive Diwali season. But with multiple cases of even “safe” units catching fire, it remains to be seen if it actually goes on sale around that time.
Photo Credit – The Verge
Source: bgr.in
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