Two more Galaxy Note 7 phones catch fire, Samsung allegedly stonewalling users

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Another two of Galaxy Note 7 phones that were replaced under the recall have lit on fire, with a text inadvertently sent to one of the owners in the middle of support communication exchanges suggesting that Samsung is attempting to "slow down" user complaints about the phone.









On Tuesday, another Kentucky man's Galaxy Note 7 phone lit on fire, sending him to the hospital with acute bronchitis caused by smoke inhalation. Samsung said nothing publicly about Tuesday's fire at the time, potentially contributing to an event the next day at the Louisville airport the next day.

"Just now got this. I can try and slow him down if we think it will matter" -- Samsung tech support misdirected text message

"The phone is supposed to be the replacement, so you would have thought it would be safe," Michael Klering told television station WKYT about Tuesday's fire. "It wasn't plugged in. It wasn't anything, it was just sitting there."



Klering had the phone for slightly more than a week, and claims it was one of the replaced models.



After complaining to Samsung, Klering recieved a text message from Samsung support, apparently intended for another support associate.



"Just now got this. I can try and slow him down if we think it will matter," the text, which was seen by WKYT, said. "We just let him do what he keeps threatening to do and see if he does it."



Samsung asked for the phone, but Klering refused. Klering did accept an offer to pay for the phone carcass to be x-rayed, however.



"We want to reassure our customers that we take every report seriously and we are engaged with Mr. Klering to ensure we are doing everything we can for him," said Samsung in a statement about the fire that sent Klering to the hospital. "Customer safety remains our highest priority as we are investigating the matter."

Friday's fire in Minnesota



Later in the week, 13-year old Abby Zuis felt a "weird, burning sensation" while holding her phone on Friday, according to ABC affiliate KSTP.



Zuis received only minor burns before tossing the phone to the ground. The school principal prevented a larger issue by the phone out of the building.



Samsung issued platitudes to the Zuis family similar to what Klering was told.



"We want to reassure our customers that we take every report seriously and we are engaged with the Zuis family to ensure we are doing everything we can for them and their daughter," said Samsung in a statement. "Customer safety remains our highest priority as we are investigating the matter."

Pattern of destruction



The two fires add up to three reported issues in a week. Additionally, all three phones weren't being charged when the fires started.



Southwest Airlines evacuated 75 passengers from a flight preparing to take off from Louisville Airport in Kentucky on Wednesday after smoke from a Samsung Galaxy phone filled the cabin. The phone was a replacement Galaxy Note 7 that had been powered down for takeoff.



Samsung issued a voluntary recall worldwide for the device after wide-spread reports of battery fires during charging, and drew criticism from the U.S. Consumer Protection and Safety Commission for how the matter was being handled. All customers who have purchased a Galaxy Note 7 should now be able to swap the device for a new one either online or at wireless carrier corporate-owned stores.



Before the well-publicized battery fires in the Galaxy Note 7 forcing the recall, reviewers and YouTube examiners discovered that the Gorilla Glass 5 used for the screen of the device was significantly more susceptible to screen scratches than other smartphones, iPhone 7 family included.



On Friday, all of the U.S. carriers started allowing Galaxy Note 7 owners, including those already replaced by the exchange program, for other devices. AT&T is reportedly considering halting sales of the device altogether.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 53
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    fourth replacement Galaxy Note 7 caught fire in Virginia this morning
    http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/9/13218730/samsung-galaxy-note-7-fire-replacement-fourth-virginia
    magman1979netmagewatto_cobrah2pjony0
  • Reply 2 of 53
    pscooter63pscooter63 Posts: 1,080member
    How is this any different from a toy recall?  In other words, why is this company being given a blind eye?
    anton zuykovlollivergilly017watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 3 of 53
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    Nothing against Samsung but if these genuine exploding Galaxy 7 continues than(at least) better FAA restricts Galaxy 7 to carry on board of passenger plane. Airport Security can confiscate it like other materials not allowed on plane for the safety of passengers and millions dollar plane and if plane crashes over populated area than those innocent people.
    edited October 2016 calichiasockrolidanton zuykovurahara
  • Reply 4 of 53
    How is this any different from a toy recall?  In other words, why is this company being given a blind eye?
    Because they're not Apple.
    calitallest skilDeelronsockrolidrevenantanton zuykovmacxpressnolamacguyjuanguapololliver
  • Reply 5 of 53
    Samescum expected the Galaxy Note 7 to be a really hot seller... but not literally!
    coolfactorfrantisekanton zuykovgilly017watto_cobrah2pjony0
  • Reply 6 of 53
    This would actually be pretty funny except for the fact people are getting injured by these phones.

    Apparently AT&T has confirmed they're halting sales.
    andrewj5790calilolliverpscooter63magman1979netmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 53
    esoomesoom Posts: 155member
    The sun came up this morning, the sky is blue and Samsung is still treating customers like crap.
    baconstangcalianton zuykovlollivermagman1979watto_cobrah2pjony0
  • Reply 8 of 53
    baconstangbaconstang Posts: 1,103member
    "Customer safety remains our highest priority as we are investigating the matter."   
    Bullcrap!   Highest priority is their bottom line.
    anton zuykovlollivermagman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 53
    mobiusmobius Posts: 380member
    wood1208 said:
    Nothing against Samsung but if these genuine exploding Galaxy 7 continues than(at least) better FAA restricts Galaxy 7 to carry on board of passenger plane. Airport Security can confiscate it like other materials not allowed on plane for the safety of passengers and millions dollar plane and if plane crashes over populated area than those innocent people.
    You do realise that would entail searching every person and bag and then identifying which phones were actually Note 7's rather than a similar looking phone. I'm not sure that is practical given everyone has a smartphone, and some carry more than one.
    duervo
  • Reply 10 of 53
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    How is this any different from a toy recall?  In other words, why is this company being given a blind eye?
    Because they're not Apple.
    Yep. The so-called Touch Disease lawsuits are being trumpeted all over the world by the tech media, including 9TO5MAC.  Not a peep about the exploding Samsung phones. No reports of law firms seeking victims to join a class action. No class action filings being reported. C|net is completely mum on the subject but that twink Brian Tong is bashing Apple on all fronts.
    Deelroncaliandrewj5790ericthehalfbeetmayduervololliverpscooter63idreybadmonk
  • Reply 11 of 53
    ronnronn Posts: 653member
    This would actually be pretty funny except for the fact people are getting injured by these phones.

    Apparently AT&T has confirmed they're halting sales.
    Verizon has no Note 7s in stock and it doesn't appear they have any plans to restock until further notice. I'd bet by early next week all four major carriers will not sell the "safe" Note 7s till further notice. Of course, it also wouldn't surprise me if they decide to stop selling the Note 7 permanently. It's causing too many headaches.

    Sammy should get smacked for endangering the lives of customers and the general public in regards to the plane fire since they already knew "safe" Note 7s were exploding.
    baconstangcalilolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 53
    ronnronn Posts: 653member
    mobius said:
    wood1208 said:
    Nothing against Samsung but if these genuine exploding Galaxy 7 continues than(at least) better FAA restricts Galaxy 7 to carry on board of passenger plane. Airport Security can confiscate it like other materials not allowed on plane for the safety of passengers and millions dollar plane and if plane crashes over populated area than those innocent people.
    You do realise that would entail searching every person and bag and then identifying which phones were actually Note 7's rather than a similar looking phone. I'm not sure that is practical given everyone has a smartphone, and some carry more than one.
    I'd be okay with longer TSA lines and having some kind of tagging system by TSA for Note 7 carriers. It would be foolish to wait for a serious or catastrophic incident in the air. They already ask for electronic devices  to be placed in separate bins. Passengers will hate the longer lines and longer wait times, but I'd rather be inconvenienced and safe.
    calibaconstangperkedelwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 53
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Looks like these should be banned from schools too.
    baconstangcoolfactorlolliverpscooter63netmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 53
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Their brand is going to take a hammering from this. No leadership, no care, no respect.
    edited October 2016 caliandrewj5790lolliverperkedelwatto_cobrapalomine
  • Reply 15 of 53
    Really what needs to happen is Samsung/Carriers need to force down an update that disables the phone in 30 days if the phone has not been swapped out. These phones are dangerous. 
    calilolliverwatto_cobrapalomineh2p
  • Reply 16 of 53
    ireland said:
    Their brand is going to take a hammering from this. No leadership, no care, no respect.
    Problem with that is, there's also, no reporting
    calilolliveranantksundaramwatto_cobrapalomine
  • Reply 17 of 53
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    How is this any different from a toy recall?  In other words, why is this company being given a blind eye?
    Because they're not Apple.
    And they never will be.
    No matter how hard they copy.
    edited October 2016 caliandrewj5790anton zuykovpscooter63irelandgilly017watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 53
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,239member
    A 13-year-old using a Note 7, with the knowledge of this situation? I think the parents should be held accountable in that case.
    edited October 2016 macseekercalirevenantanton zuykovlolliver
  • Reply 19 of 53
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,332member
    This is a black eye on the CPSC. They should have insisted that Samsung provide sufficient peer reviewed evidence from the root cause failure mode analysis of the first round of defective exploding phones and the prescribed modifications before allowing the now possibly defective replacement phones to be imported. The speed at which Samsung was able to deliver the supposed "fixed" products into the sales channel leads me to believe that consumer safety is being short circuited for reasons known only to the CPSC and Samsung. Someone's not doing their job and consumer health and public safety is being compromised. Totally Unacceptable.

    calidanhlolliverpscooter63netmagebadmonkwatto_cobrapalomineh2p
  • Reply 20 of 53
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    A 13-year-old using a Note 7, with the knowledge of this situation? I think the parents should be held accountable in that case.
    Concur. Time for schools to be Note 7 free zones. 

    Local media here in Seattle covered 2 iPhone fires, all clearly caused by being connected to non-Apple chargers/cables.
    baconstangcalimacseekerlolliverirelandanantksundaram
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