Samsung today announced that it is officially asking its global partners to cease all sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while it further investigates claims of ongoing safety issues with replacement devices.
As of last week, there have been several reports from customers who had their replacement Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, which were deemed safe by Samsung, catch on fire. The devices were supposedly using batteries Samsung said were "not vulnerable to overheating and catching fire."
On Wednesday, a flight from Louisville to Baltimore was evacuated when a Note 7 began smoking, and on Saturday, a 13-year-old girl in Minnesota received burns from a defective device while a man in Kentucky suffered from smoke inhalation after his Note 7 caught fire while he was asleep.
Two additional reports of replacement Note 7 fires rolled in on Sunday from Virginia and Texas, plus there were reports of fires from Taiwan and South Korea.
By Monday morning, all major carriers in the United States had already announced plans to stop sales and "safe" replacements of the Galaxy Note 7, and now sales will temporarily end worldwide.
According to Samsung, customers with an original Galaxy Note 7 or a replacement Galaxy Note 7 should shut down their devices and stop using them right away.
We are working with relevant regulatory bodies to investigate the recently reported cases involving the Galaxy Note7. Because consumers' safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 while the investigation is taking place.
We remain committed to working diligently with appropriate regulatory authorities to take all necessary steps to resolve the situation. Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Galaxy Note7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available.
Earlier today, reports suggested that Samsung has stopped production on the Galaxy Note 7. Samsung said that it is "temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters," with more information to be available in a month.
For customers in the United States who still have a Galaxy Note 7, all of the major carriers are now offering to replace the defective devices with another smartphone, such as an iPhone 7.
