Samsung executives thought recalling the 2.5 million faulty Galaxy Note 7 phones worldwide would control the damage to its reputation and sales. The Korean company has replaced most of the faulty Note 7 units with “safe-to-use” ones. But there seems to be no ending to Samsung’s woes. Now consumers in South Korea who received the replacement Galaxy Note 7s are complaining about overheating.
Samsung says new Galaxy Note 7 unrelated to batteries
Citing Korean TV network YTN, the Wall Street Journal reported that customers who have received replacement Note 7s since last week are complaining that the replacement devices overheat and lose battery power even while being charged. That’s better than phones exploding and injuring users, though. Samsung is yet to confirm the number of such cases it has received in South Korea and internationally.
Samsung told the Wall Street Journal that the issue was completely “unrelated to batteries.” A company spokesperson added that the overheating issues were “isolated cases” related to the mass production of the Galaxy Note 7. Samsung is closely observing the situation. It indicates that the Korean company has learned nothing from the battery debacle. If the new problem spirals out of control, it would seriously damage Samsung’s reputation worldwide.
Samsung pushes back Note 7 relaunch in Korea
The Korean electronics giant said over the weekend that it would push back the relaunch of Note 7 until October 1 in order to speed up the recall process. Samsung had said previously that it would resume sales on September 28. A Samsung spokesperson said over the weekend if the company resumed sales on Sept.28, the recall rate would fall sharply. Only about 50% of the Galaxy Note 7 buyers in Korea have registered for a replacement unit so far.
Last week, the Korean telecom regulator had asked Samsung to extend the refund deadline to September 30. The Note 7 recall has wiped out more than $20 billion from Samsung’s market value. To avoid yet another debacle, the company should have thoroughly examined the device and addressed various issues before making the replacements available.
