AT&T Considering Halting All Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Sales and Replacements

AT&T is considering stopping all sales and replacements of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 due to ongoing safety issues, reports Bloomberg. Citing a person "familiar with the situation," Bloomberg says AT&T may halt sales as soon as today.

AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint have all started allowing customers to exchange their Galaxy Note 7 devices for different smartphones such as the iPhone 7, but AT&T's full sales ban would go one step further, seeing the company cease offering "safe" replacement devices altogether.

Samsung first issued a recall of the Galaxy Note 7 in early September following dozens of reports of overheating, leading to batteries that explode and catch on fire. Many people who purchased a Galaxy Note 7 have reported injuries and property damage.


While Samsung has replaced more than one million Galaxy Note 7 devices with versions that are said to have batteries that are "not vulnerable to overheating and catching fire," at least one report suggests the replacement devices are also prone to problems.

Earlier this week, a Southwest flight from Louisville to Baltimore was evacuated after a Galaxy Note 7 started smoking and caught fire, unusual because the device in question was a replacement smartphone that had been deemed safe by Samsung. Federal regulators are investigating the incident, which has reignited fears about Samsung devices.

According to rumors, Samsung rushed the Galaxy Note 7 into production in an effort to outshine Apple after hearing that the iPhone 7 would not feature major design changes. Suppliers were pushed to meet tighter deadlines for an earlier launch, which potentially led to critical oversights and has ended up costing Samsung millions in recall fees and replacements.

All customers who purchased a Galaxy Note 7 from one of the four major carriers can replace it with a different device, including those who have already exchanged their faulty Note 7 smartphones for versions that Samsung has declared safe.

Tags: AT&T, Samsung

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Top Rated Comments

nfl46 Avatar
112 months ago
As I said, the Note 7 is DONE. Give it a month or so, all air carriers are going to ban it from being on their planes.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Andres Cantu Avatar
112 months ago
Samsung better enjoy the good quarter while it can, the next one won't be so pretty!
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jerry16 Avatar
112 months ago
just when you thought it couldn't get worse.. really doesn't get much worse than a fire on an airplane
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gleepskip Avatar
112 months ago
This seems so reactionary. The worst that could happen is a few hundred innocent people get killed. Let people have their Android phones, AT&T! /s

Seriously - why has it taken so long to get these LITERAL bombs off the market? This is enough to prevent me to ever consider another Samsung product in the future. It should have been mass recalled weeks ago -- and never put back on the market.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rob_2811 Avatar
112 months ago
They just need to kill this device now, surely nobody wants to buy a Note 7 at this point ?
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
foxconn Avatar
112 months ago
As I said, the Note 7 is DONE. Give it a month or so, all air carriers are going to ban it from being on their planes.
as someone who used to work for the TSA, it is nearly impossible for us to stop phones from entering an aircraft. almost everyone travels with a phone and we can't search every bag to see if they have a note 7.

all cell phones look similar on an x-ray image.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)