Samsung's Note 7 explosion commotion appears to be far from over, as reports suggest that as many as five "safe" replacement phones have burst into flame.
While the first batch of Note 7 devices tended to catch fire while connected to a charger, combustion related to replacement handsets seems to be far more spontaneous. In one case, a Note 7 owner had the phone catch fire after he powered it down on a plane. In another, the Note 7 started burning in its owner's hand.
As a result of these incidents, American telco AT&T has halted Note 7 sales and exchanges. While Note 7 owners can still bring in their Note 7, AT&T will instead offer customers another smartphone of their choice (rather than new Note 7 stock).
All four big American carriers are allowing returns of the Note 7, regardless of when they were purchased.
Locally, The Verge reports that Australian shipments of Note 7 replacement devices have been put on hold, following the recent incident. In an internal memo sent to Telstra, Samsung says that it believes the new Note 7 handsets are safe, but is nonetheless pausing supply.
"Samsung has temporarily paused the supply of new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones following a reported incident in a replacement phone in the US," said the memo. "Samsung is confident in the replacement Note 7 and says they have no reason to believe it’s not safe. We’ll let you know the status of your replacement Note 7 as soon as we have more information."
Samsung Australia provided the following statement:
"Samsung Electronics Australia is aware of a number of incidents involving replacement Galaxy Note7 smartphones. Samsung is conducting a thorough investigation into this matter. We continue to move quickly to investigate the reported cases to determine the cause and will provide an update as soon as possible."
"Samsung Electronics Australia is working with its partners. We understand that telecommunications operators and retailers in Australia have paused the supply of replacement Galaxy Note7 smartphones in this country and are providing loan phones to concerned customers. Samsung Electronics Australia would like to reassure our customers that we take this matter very seriously. We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate their patience as we work diligently through this process."
A Vodafone spokesperson told WhistleOut that it is also pausing its Note 7 replacement program following the incidents overseas. Vodafone plans to keep existing Note 7 owners updated as it receives more information from Samsung.
"From tomorrow, Samsung Galaxy Note 7 customers are able to exchange their device for a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge or another smartphone in stock of equal or less value," said a Vodafone spokesperson. "Customers are encouraged to back-up their data, complete a factory reset to delete all personal information, power-down their device and exchange it at any Vodafone branded store."
"Optus has decided to temporarily suspend the distribution of replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 handsets pending an investigation by Samsung," said an Optus spokesperson. "We will advise customers who are awaiting their replacement Note 7 handset of the next steps as soon as we have more information."
WhistleOut has reached out to Telstra, and Virgin for further comment on the local situation.
In the meantime, WhistleOut suggests that Australians Note 7 owners should contact the carrier or retailer they purchased their phone from, regardless of whether it has been deemed "safe" or not.
Alex Choros
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