Technology

Posted on October 11, 2016 by staff

Samsung urges people to turn off ‘fire hazard’ Note 7s

Technology

Samsung has urged people to turn off their Note 7 smartphones while it investigates new reports of them catching fire.

It also stopped all sales of the devices a day after “temporarily” halting production following talks with safety regulators.

In September Samsung issued a recall of the original devices after dozens of them caught fire or emitted smoke.

Samsung blamed faulty batteries and began to issue replacement handsets, which it claimed were completely safe.

However last week a flight in the US was evacuated before it could take off when one of the newer models began to emit smoke.

And a man in Kentucky claimed he awakened to a bedroom full of smoke from a  replaced Note 7.

The Korean electronics giant said in a statement: “Because consumers’ safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while the investigation is taking place.

“Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note 7 or replacement Galaxy Note 7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available.

“We recently re-adjusted the production volume for thorough investigation and quality control, but putting consumer safety as top priority, we have reached a final decision to halt production of Galaxy Note 7s.”

South Korean media reports suggest Samsung is likely to stop selling the phone permanently.