Samsung urges 1 million Note 7 holders in Korea to stop using them

By Lee Min-hyung

Samsung Electronics has advised an estimated 1 million Galaxy Note 7 users to stop using the device, citing a recent emergency order from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) that banned all Note 7 smartphones on airline flights there.

“We encourage any Note 7 users to be sure to get a refund or change the device with other models before any flight,” the company said in a statement, Saturday. “We apologise for causing inconvenience following orders from the DOT and Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.”

The company said it had been running Samsung Electronics’ rental phone booths at Korea’s major airports in Incheon, Gimpo and Gimhae for people who had yet to return Note 7 devices. According to data from predictive app intelligence company Apteligent, more than 1 million Note 7 devices were still being used as of Wednesday.

Since Samsung Electronics announced on October 11 that it would stop producing the device, the company has required Note 7 users to turn off and return their devices as soon as possible amid mounting concerns that original and replacement devices are reported to be catching fire.

The world’s largest smartphone vendor by shipment unveiled the 5.7-inch high-end smartphone on mid-August. But its advanced functions including iris scanner or water proofing started to lose their luster amid continued reports that the device overheats and catches fire while charging.

The mounting controversy led Samsung to recall about 2.5 million Note 7s about two weeks after the model’s launch. At that time, Samsung cited a battery fault as the core reason behind the defect.