U.S. carriers are offering customers to swap their Samsung Galaxy Note 7 replacement unit with another available smartphone.
Samsung has announced a global recall of Galaxy Note 7 after reports that the battery in some units caught fire or exploded while being charged. Various airline operators and aviation agencies across the world also banned the use of the Galaxy Note 7 in their flight because of safety concerns.
Samsung has recalled about 2.5 million potentially hazardous Galaxy Note 7 units and the company has replaced the majority of faulty devices. However, the question about the phablet's safety has started once again after smoke started to emerge from a passenger's replacement Galaxy Note 7 just before takeoff on a Southwest Airlines flight.
All passengers and crew members disembark the airplane safely.
The incident has raised safety concerns of Galaxy Note 7 replacement units. A previous Tech Times report highlighted that AT&T is thinking of stopping all sales of Galaxy Note 7. Sprint is also allowing customers to exchange their replacement Galaxy Note 7 for any other smartphone. Other carriers in the U.S. are also following suit.
"Customers can bring their Galaxy Note7, along with accessories they purchased from T-Mobile, to a T-Mobile store and exchange it for a new CPSC-approved Note7 replacement or a full refund and choose from any device in T-Mobile's inventory. This applies to recalled, replacement and newly purchased Note7s," says T-Mobile.
T-Mobile has also announced that it will waive off the restocking charges, and customers who purchased the Galaxy Note 7 during preorder can also keep the free Netflix subscription and Gear Fit or SD card they received with the device.
"Any Verizon customer concerned about the safety of their replacement Note 7 smartphone may take it back to the original point of purchase to exchange it for another smartphone beginning Saturday, October 8," says Verizon Wireless in a statement. "Verizon online customers may also exchange their replacement Note 7 smartphones at Verizon stores beginning Saturday, October 8."
The recall has cost Samsung about $1 billion. However, the company's reputation is also at stake, especially after the replacement Galaxy Note 7 units, deemed to be safe, also caught fire.
Samsung is investigating into the incident that occurred on the Southwest Airlines flight. The entire battery exploding issue has definitely resulted in loss of sales for the company. However, if carriers are offering customers to swap their Galaxy Note 7 replacement unit with another available smartphone, Samsung might lose a lot of its business to rivals.
