With Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus now set to go on sale in just a few hours from now, Samsung has had another day to forget after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that it had formally recalled all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices sold within the United States.
While Samsung had already told all of its users worldwide to return their Note 7 handsets due to a fire or explosion risk caused by faulty batteries, the CPSC in the US has now taken matters into its own hands by recalling the product officially after initially issuing a warning about it a week ago.
Over a million devices in the US alone will need to be handed back to retailers as part of this recall, with most of the customers being offered either full refund or a replacement.
While all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones sold in the United States are covered by the recall, CPSC chairman Elliot Kaye said that users could seek out a special code, etched into the rear panel of their handsets, and then put that into a new page on Samsung site which will confirm whether their particular device is in a position where it could set itself alight at any moment.
CPSC also confirmed that about 92 cases of the battery overheating were reported to Samsung in the US, with 26 reports of burns and around 55 reports of property damage caused by Note 7, which includes fire in cars, garage and other places.
It’s not been a good couple of weeks for Samsung, whose Galaxy Note 7 was released to stellar reviews only to see all of that forgotten as numerous reports of fires and explosions began to surface. With Apple launching its own updated flagship device this week, now is not a great time for Samsung to find itself having to recall each and every one of its high-end smartphones for fear of them harming people.
It’s a PR nightmare at best, and a devastating blow for consumer confidence at worst.
Samsung says that replacement Note 7 devices will be ready to hand back to customers as soon as next week.
(Top image via: Galaxy Note 7 explosion damages hotel room in Australia)
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