Samsung halts global sales of Galaxy Note 7 amid safety concerns

Published : Oct 11, 2016 - 07:59 Updated : Oct 11, 2016 - 11:57

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that it will request its partners around the world to stop selling and replacing the Galaxy Note 7 amid growing safety concerns over continued reports of the smartphones catching fire.

The decision was made during an investigation in the US about 10 days after the tech giant resumed the sale of the new Note 7.

The South Korean tech giant also advised customers to stop using the phablets, both the original and the replacement, as soon as possible, in a statement.

“We are working with relevant regulatory bodies to investigate the recently reported cases involving the Galaxy Note 7. Because consumers‘ safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carriers and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while the investigation is taking place,” it said.

(Yonhap)

“We remain committed to working diligently with appropriate regulatory authorities to take all necessary steps to resolve the situation,” it added.

Samsung’s decision of suspending sales and exchanges of the smartphones was the “right move,” said Elliot Kaye, chairman of the US safety commission in a separate statement.

“No one should have to be concerned their phone will endanger them, their family or their property. Due to the ongoing safety concerns associated with Galaxy Note 7 phones, it is the right move for Samsung to suspend the sale and exchange of all Galaxy Note 7s,” Kaye said.

“I also appreciate the safety leadership role the wireless carriers and retailers are playing by temporarily stopping the sale of the Note 7 and not providing the Note 7 model as a replacement device,” he said.

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, a state-run agency tasked to ensure the product safety, also advised customers in South Korea to stop using the smartphones.

Local mobile carriers also decided to suspend sale of the phablets.

Smartphones catching fires are not new as similar cases have been reported around the world for years. But Samsung is the first tech company recalling smartphones after multiple cases reported in a short period of time.

The cause of the reported fires involving the Note 7s remains unknown.

Samsung is expected to deal a serious blow from suspended sales of the phablet, offering a bleak prospect to its third quarter earnings as well as damaging its brand value.

The tech giant has not yet come up with follow up measures.

After its worldwide debut in New York on Aug. 19, the first case of Galaxy Note 7 fire was reported in Korea on Aug. 24.

On Sept. 2, Samsung confirmed battery defects and said it would recall millions of handsets sold worldwide, admitting that batteries, produced by its own battery maker Samsung SDI, were the cause of the problem.

Less than three weeks later, Samsung released Note 7s with new batteries in Korea and the US, but cases of replaced Note 7s catching fire started to appear.

Last week, a replaced Note 7 caught fire abroad a Southwest Airlines flight before taking off. Following the incident, major US carriers voluntarily suspended Note 7 sales on Sunday.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)