AT&T Won't Replace Galaxy Note 7s After New Fire Reports -- Update
October 09 2016 - 6:16PM
Dow Jones News
By Trisha Thadani and Georgia Wells
AT&T Inc. said Sunday that it will stop issuing new Galaxy
Note 7 smartphones to replace the ones turned in by its customers,
further complicating a massive recall of the Samsung Electronics
Co. devices and sowing confusion among consumers after reports of
multiple devices overheating.
The phone carrier, one of the biggest distributors of Samsung
phones, said Galaxy Note 7 customers can return their phones for
different models while Samsung and U.S. safety authorities
investigate why several phones melted in the past week.
At least four Samsung phones have emitted smoke or caught fire
in the past week, including one on a Southwest Airlines Co. flight
before takeoff . It is unclear if the affected phones were Note 7
devices, and if the problems were caused by faulty lithium-ion
batteries.
"We're no longer exchanging new Note 7s at this time, pending
further investigation of these reported incidents," AT&T said
in a statement.
Samsung is working with authorities including the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission to investigate the new incidents, a
Samsung spokeswoman said Sunday.
"We are working diligently with authorities and third-party
experts and will share findings when we have completed the
investigation," the company said in a statement. "If we determine a
product safety issue exists, Samsung will take immediate steps
approved by the CPSC to resolve the situation."
Regarding AT&T's suspension, Samsung added, "We respect
their decision."
The CPSC doesn't know if the most recent incidents involved
replacement Note 7 phones, a spokesman for the agency said
Sunday.
"We would like to speak with each customer and assess what
happened to their phone," CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said. "It is
important for consumers to be reminded that a full refund is one of
the options available under the recall."
Samsung launched a recall of the 1 million Note 7 phones in the
U.S. last month after discovering that the lithium-ion batteries
could explode while charging. Under the recall, hampered by
misinformation and false starts at the beginning, consumers could
exchange their Note 7s for a new device or obtain a refund.
The recall seemed to be finally proceeding smoothly until the
Southwest Airlines incident last week. Since then, customers have
reported other phones catching fire or melting even when not
plugged in.
On Friday, a Galaxy Note 7 overheated and started smoking in the
hand of 13-year-old Abby Zuis, according to her father, Andrew Zuis
of Farmington, Minn. He said the device was a replacement phone
that he had obtained in a Verizon Communications Inc. store at the
beginning of the recall.
"You could smell it from down the hall," Mr. Zuis said. He said
his daughter's hand bore black char marks from the phone.
Mr. Zuis said he has been contacted by both Samsung and the CPSC
regarding the incident but the phone is still in his
possession.
Another Samsung customer, Shawn Minter, of Richmond, Va., said
he was woken up Sunday morning by his replacement Note 7 phone
making a loud noise and emitting smoke and flames.
"I've never seen anything like that in my life," said Mr.
Minter.
"We are taking every report seriously," Samsung said in a
statement.
AT&T's decision to stop offering replacement Note 7s comes
after U.S. phone carriers Friday said they would allow customers to
replace their phones a second time. T-Mobile US Inc. said on Sunday
it is still issuing Note 7 phones to customers, including those who
already replaced their phones.
After offering to distribute new replacement phones on Friday,
Verizon on Sunday said the company is completely out of stock of
Note 7 devices. Customers can place an order for a new Note 7, or
exchange it for another device, a spokeswoman said.
Samsung's devices aren't the only electronics to catch fire.
Lithium-ion batteries, which power many of today's mobile devices
in addition to Samsung's, have been known to catch fire. The FAA
has previously said they have recorded 171 i ncidents involving
batteries aboard aircraft from 1991 to January of this year.
Write to Georgia Wells at Georgia.Wells@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 09, 2016 18:01 ET (22:01 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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