Samsung to halt sales, exchange of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that it has decided to temporarily halt the global sales and exchange of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones following reported cases of the replacement phones catching fire or overheating.

The company said on its website that the decision was made after consulting with relevant authorities.

Although a precision investigation is underway over recently reported cases of replacement Note 7 phones catching fire, Samsung said it decided on the temporary suspension for the sake of consumer safety.

It said the company is closely cooperating with partners and mobile carriers for consumers using Note 7 phones, promising to notify the consumers of follow-up measures, such as exchange for other devices, as early as possible.

The suspension came as multiple cases of overheating were reported even from replacement Note 7s. A Southwest Airlines flight in the U.S. Kentucky was evacuated last week as one replacement Note 7 emitted smoke.

Some of U.S. mobile carriers, including AT&T and T-Mobile, stopped or suspended selling the new Note 7 phones while advising consumers to exchange the phones with other smartphones.

According to media reports, eight cases of the Note 7 phones catching fire or overheating were reported globally, including five in the United States, one in South Korea, one in the Chinese mainland and one in China's Taiwan.

About 450,000 new Note 7s have allegedly been given to consumers in South Korea alone, including some 350,000 replacement phones. Samsung resumed the sales of the devices here beginning Oct. 1.

Galaxy Note 7 made its debut in August with rave reviews, but Samsung stopped global sales of the phones two weeks later as dozens of the devices catching fire were found and caused property damage and injuries.

The company began to exchange older models with new ones later last month, but fire cases were reported even with the new phones and replacement devices. Endit