Samsung Australia is “investigating” Note 7 fires
While telcos have paused delivery of replacement Note 7 devices, Samsung Australia is investigating the Note 7 fires issue.
Samsung Australia has confirmed that Australian telcos are temporarily not offering replacement Note 7 devices following a spate of fires associated with the replacement Note 7 devices issued after the initial recall. There’s still no sign of any fires for Australian-issued Note 7 replacement devices at this stage.
Some news reports are suggesting that Samsung has also halted production of new Note 7 devices, but Samsung Australia won’t confirm that. In a statement to finder.com.au, Samsung Australia stated that:
"Samsung Electronics Australia is aware of a number of incidents involving replacement Galaxy Note7 smartphones.
"Samsung is conducting a thorough investigation into this matter.
We continue to move quickly to investigate the reported cases to determine the cause and will provide an update as soon as possible.
Samsung Electronics Australia is working with its partners. We understand that telecommunications operators and retailers in Australia have paused the supply of replacement Galaxy Note7 smartphones in this country and are providing loan phones to concerned customers.
Samsung Electronics Australia would like to reassure our customers that we take this matter very seriously. We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate their patience as we work diligently through this process."
So what does all this mean if you’re a Note 7 user? We’d strongly advise using the phone as little as possible until Samsung Australia can provide more clarity, or ideally, seeking a replacement or refund on the device. Simply put, given the potential risk, it doesn’t seem to be worth it for this particular device, which is a pity, because in our own time reviewing the Note 7, it otherwise seemed like a fine handset.