In the wake of continued safety issues with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, U.S. carrier Sprint is offering exchanges.
The Galaxy Note 7 has been plagued by issues with an overheating battery since its release. Several of the phones have caught fire and injured their owners. Now Recode reports that Sprint is allowing customers to swap the Samsung handset for a different smartphone.
Recalled Galaxy Note 7 allegedly still suffering problems
Since the first batch of phones had problems with overheating battery units, Samsung issued a global recall. However there have also been problems with the replacement handsets.
U.S. federal regulators and Samsung are looking into an incident involving a Note 7 handset this Wednesday. A Southwest Airlines flight was canceled after a Note 7 handset belonging to a passenger caught fire before takeoff. The phone was allegedly a replacement model.
Samsung is reportedly investigating the incident. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency responsible for handling the recall, said it “is moving expeditiously to investigate” if there are problems with replacement devices. The agency had previously approved replacement Galaxy Note 7 handsets.
Sprint allowing owners to exchange Samsung smartphones
On September 2 sales of the original Note 7 smartphone were stopped following multiple incidents. Some handsets were found to have caught fire, and several people were injured.
Samsung reported that the issue was due to the battery unit, and began shipping replacement smartphones last month. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has not said whether it thinks that replacement units are safe.
Recode cites a Sprint representative who said that the carrier “is working collaboratively with Samsung to better understand the most recent concerns regarding replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.”
“If a Sprint customer with a replacement Note 7 has any concerns regarding their device, we will exchange it for any other device at any Sprint retail store during the investigation window,” the Sprint representative said.
Recall entitles Note 7 owners to a refund
Fellow carrier T-Mobile is still selling the replacement device after resuming sales on Wednesday. However sources say that customers can replace their Note 7 with a different smartphone under the standard “remorse” policy. This means buyers can change their smartphone of choice within 14 days.
A representative for AT&T was not available for comment. A Verizon representative did not wish to comment,
Every U.S. carrier has a policy which allows buyers to exchange an original Note 7 for a refund or credit. Under the terms of the official recall anyone that owns a recalled Note can get a refund.
Continued problems have dented the reputation of South Korean tech giant Samsung. Many people have been left disappointed by the Galaxy Note 7, which had been hailed as an iPhone killer.
In response to the battery issues it appears that Samsung may released its Galaxy S8 smartphone earlier than planned. The upcoming handset wasn’t expected to launch until next year, but we might see it sooner rather than later.
The issues come at a bad time for Samsung as it attempts to cement its position as the top selling smartphone manufacturer in the United States. Samsung has beaten off competition from arch rival Apple recently, but the Note 7 problems could change that.
That said some analysts are predicting weak sales figures for the Apple iPhone 7, so it will be interesting to see which company comes out on top. Apple is set to announce financial results, including iPhone 7 sales figures, during a call on October 25.