Tragically becoming known as the “hover board” of 2016, Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 has randomly burst into flames all over the globe. Although Samsung officially recalled the Galaxy Note7 on September 10th, it hasn’t prevented an estimated 2.5 million Note7 owners from falling victim to the self-destructing device. About 35 cases have been reported so far and the Note7 was only released a month ago on August 19th. As Samsung’s flagship item of the year, the Note7 comes with countless bells and whistles such as: splash and submerging water resistance, a curved edge display, an S-Pen, iris scan unlocking ability and an outstanding photo video quality. All of these things can and have taken a strong toll on the device’s non-removable lithium-ion battery causing it to overheat and eventually combust.
These combustions have been no small matter as lives have been at stake for performing normal activities like charging your phone inside a car, having cellular conversations and watching viral videos. In an online press release, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission pleaded with American citizens to put these devices down. “Lithium-ion based batteries pack a lot of power into a small package according the release. When these batteries overheat and burst, the results can be serious.
This is why the Consumer Product Safety Commission is urging all consumers who own a Samsung Galaxy Note7 to power them down and stop charging or using the device.” This warning did not come soon enough for a six year old boy from Brooklyn, New York. As he enjoyed the entertainment of his parent’s device he was not expecting it to burst into flames while still in his toddler sized hands. This incident resulted in a hospital trip due to physical burns on his body and mental burns that will not be as easy to recover from. This is only one of several incidents that could have ended in a fatality. Currently, even airlines have banned the use of the Galaxy Note7 on flights.
In light of recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung, the Federal Aviation Administration strongly advises passengers not to turn on or charge these devices on any board aircrafts and not to stow them in any checked baggage per the Federal Aviation Administration’s website. This past week Samsung Electronics has been working diligently to correct the product mishap and keep consumers amidst of all updates. “Our number one priority is the safety of our customers. We are asking users to power down their Galaxy Note7s and exchange them as soon as possible” says Samsung’s President of Mobile Communications Business, DJ Koh.
Upon exchange, safe to use phones will be indicated by an “S” on their boxes and an online form is currently being set up to give consumers the ability to check to see whether or not their phone is in fact a damaged good. The phone’s IMEI number will be necessary to complete this process. With a hefty price tag of around $899 who would have guessed these devices would be so faulty. Hopefully (for the company’s sake), Android lovers will be willing to give the Galaxy Note7 a second chance upon re-release.