Samsung has halted the sale of their new Premium device, the Galaxy Note 7 just two weeks after the flagship phone’s launch, after finding batteries of some of the gadgets exploded while they were charging.
Following the reporting of the incidents, Four Australian airlines namely Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Tiger Airways have banned passengers from using or charging the Galaxy Note 7 during flights in lieu of the safety of all passengers travelling on the flight. Qantas, its budget unit Jetstar and Virgin Australia said they had not been directed to ban the use of the phone by aviation authorities, but did so as a precaution following Samsung’s recall of the phones in 10 markets including South Korea and the United States.
“Following Samsung Australia’s recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 personal electronic device we are requesting that passengers who own them do not switch on or charge them in flight.”
-Qantas spokesman
The FAA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are working on guidance related to this issue and they will hopefully soon reach to a conclusion on the course of action to be undertaken.
There have been no reports of Note 7 phones exploding on commercial flights, but owners have continued to post footage of their devices catching fire this week. A man in St. Petersburg, Florida told a local TV station today that his phone exploded while he was charging it in his Jeep, causing the SUV to erupt in flames.
Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung’s mobile business, said customers who already bought Galaxy Note 7s will be able to swap them for new smartphones, regardless of when they purchased them. Koh said the company’s investigation found that a battery cell made by one of its two battery suppliers caused the phone to catch fire though he refused to name the battery supplier.
Samsung said it has sold more than 1 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones since the product’s August 19 launch. It has manufactured about 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones so far, some of them still in inventory.
