Farmington Teenager: Replacement for Recalled Samsung Phone Melted in Hand

October 08, 2016

A teenager in Farmington says her replacement Samsung smartphone melted in her hand, raising more questions about a massive worldwide recall that was supposed to address fire hazards and safety concerns.Thirteen-year-old Abby Zuis says she felt a “weird, burning sensation” in her thumb while holding her Galaxy Note 7 Friday afternoon. The phone, which has significant smoke damage and burn marks, melted the protective cover.



]Zuis says she suffered only a minor burn to her thumb. “It felt like pins and needles except a lot more intense,” she said.Andrew Zuis, Abby’s father, says the phone is a replacement for the Galaxy Note 7 that was recalled last month.

He provided 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS with receipts showing they originally purchased the Galaxy Note 7 in August and then exchanged it on September 21 after Samsung announced it was recalling 2.5-million Note 7 phones because of problems with batteries overheating and catching fire.

In a statement released to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, a Samsung spokesperson said "We want to reassure our customers that we take every report seriously and we are engaged with the Zuis family to ensure we are doing everything we can for them and their daughter.” The spokesperson confirmed the matter is under investigation.

Nicholasville man injured by replacement Samsung phone

Oct 08, 2016

Around 4:00a.m. Tuesday, Michael Klering says he and his wife woke up to a hissing sound in their bedroom.

Klering says when he opened his eyes, he saw his bedroom was filled with smoke.

Klering said he had only had his replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 for a little more than a week before it caught fire.



“The phone is supposed to be the replacement, so you would have thought it would be safe. It wasn’t plugged in. It wasn’t anything, it was just sitting there,” Klering said.

Later in the day Tuesday, Klering said he started feeling sick, so he went to the Emergency Room.

“I was vomiting black so it was very scary. It was a lot of black stuff and it didn’t look right,” Klering said.

Klering provided WKYT with his hospital records that stated he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. A Nicholasville Fire Department report was also taken after the hospital called the fire department to notify them that Klering suffered from smoke inhalation.

Klering says Samsung also wanted possession of his device but he refused to give it up. Klering says the company did pay for him to have it x-rayed.

Klering says he felt Samsung was helping him, until he got a text message from a Samsung representative that was not intended to go to him.

That message read:

Smartphone giant Samsung has reportedly stopped production of its Note 7 phone amid claims that replacement devices are still at risk of catching fire.

News agencies reported Samsung had temporarily halted production after talks with safety regulators.

Samsung told the BBC it was "adjusting the production schedule to ensure quality and safety matters".

The company has been forced to issue new models of the smartphone following complaints of faulty batteries.

It issued a recall of the Galaxy Note 7 in September and later assured customers that the fixed devices were safe.

But there have now been several reports of replacement phones starting to emit smoke.

'No longer exchanging'

In a further blow, two US mobile networks have stopped replacing or selling the phone.

The AT&T and T-Mobile networks said they would no longer replace the devices in the US, while the latter said it would halt all sales of the phone.

"While Samsung investigates multiple reports of issues, T-Mobile is temporarily suspending all sales of the new Note 7 and exchanges for replacement Note 7 devices," T-Mobile said on its website.Image copyrightBRIAN GREENImage captionThis Samsung phone led to a flight being evacuated

Meanwhile, AT&T said: "We're no longer exchanging new Note 7s at this time, pending further investigation of these reported incidents." It advised customers to exchange them for other devices.

Manufacturing error

Samsung said in a statement last month that the issue of overheating was caused by a "rare" manufacturing error that resulted in the battery's "anode-to-cathode [negative and positive electrodes]" coming into contact.

But last week, a domestic flight in the US was evacuated after a replacement Note 7 started emitting smoke in the cabin. And a man in Kentucky reportedly woke up to a bedroom full of smoke from a replaced Note 7.

In an update on Monday, Samsung said it understood the concerns of carriers and consumers about the newly released replacement Note 7 devices.

"We continue to move quickly to investigate the reported case to determine the cause and will share findings as soon as possible," Samsung said.

"If we conclude a product safety issue exists, we will work with the CPSC (US Consumer Product Safety Commission) to take immediate steps to address the situation."

Shares in Samsung Electronics closed down 1.5% in Seoul.

Brand damage

Eric Schiffer, a brand strategy expert at Reputation Management Consultants, said the company needed to take action to limit the harm to its image.

"If the Note 7 is allowed to continue, it could lead to the single greatest act of brand self-destruction in the history of modern technology," he said.

"Samsung needs to take a giant writedown and cast the Note 7 to the engineering hall of shame next to the Ford Pinto."

In 1977, the Pinto was the subject of a then-record US recall to address safety concerns.

Samsung Will Ask All Global Partners to Stop Sales and Exchanges of Galaxy Note7 while Further Investigation Takes Place

October 11, 2016

We are working with relevant regulatory bodies to investigate the recently reported cases involving the Galaxy Note7. Because consumers’ safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 while the investigation is taking place.

We remain committed to working diligently with appropriate regulatory authorities to take all necessary steps to resolve the situation. Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Galaxy Note7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available.

Samsung to Permanently Discontinue Galaxy Note 7 Smartphone

SEOUL— Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday that it would permanently discontinue production and sales of its embattled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, pulling the plug on a premium product whose botched recall has brought headaches to consumers and inflicted damage on the Samsung brand.

Samsung said in a filing with South Korean regulators that it would permanently cease production and sales of the device, following a string of reported incidents in which supposedly safe replacements of the premium smartphone overheated and in some cases caught fire.

The move comes on a day when investors wiped off about $17 billion from Samsung Electronic Co.’s market capitalization, as investors digested the possibility that the South Korean smartphone giant could discontinue the entire Galaxy Note series, more than a month after it launched its initial recall of the smartphone.

Samsung shares tumbled 8%, its biggest one-day decline in eight years, far outpacing the broader South Korean market’s 1.2% pullback, after Samsung told Galaxy Note 7 users world-wide to immediately switch off their devices Tuesday.

Earlier the company said it was asking all telecom carriers and retailers that sell the Note 7 globally to stop sales and exchanges of the device pending investigation into the latest incidents. Major U.S. carriers already had made that move on their own.

Consumers with either an original or a replacement Note 7 should power down and stop using the device, said Samsung.

As the recall has gone from bad to worse for the world’s largest manufacturer of smartphones by shipments and sales, stock analysts have begun tallying up the likely financial hit for Samsung.

Daniel Kim, a Seoul-based analyst for Macquarie, estimated that the potential losses to Samsung could reach 3.1 trillion Korean won ($2.8 billion) for the last three months of the year, which would be enough to wipe out the entire mobile division’s operating profits for the fourth quarter.

Mark Newman, an analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong, argued that Samsung should even consider ditching the Galaxy Note series altogether, meaning no Galaxy Note 8 next year. The company also has its flagship Galaxy S series to fall back on, which outsells the Galaxy Note at a rate of roughly three to one.

Reports of Samsung Washers 'Exploding' Prompts Company to Issue Safety Warning

September 28, 2016

Samsung acknowledged Wednesday that some of its top-loading washers “pose a risk of personal injury or property damage,” the latest safety issue to hit the South Korean manufacturer in recent weeks.

Over a dozen consumer complaints about Samsung washers, some referring to “exploding” machines, prompted the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday, September 28, to issue a warning about certain top-loading machines made between March 2011 and April 2016. Only top-loaders are affected, not front-loading Samsung washers.



According to the complaints filed with the CPSC, the problem seems to occur during the spin cycle when some machines suddenly and sometimes violently break apart. In a statement, the agency said it is “actively and cooperatively working with Samsung to address safety issues.”

The problem with some top-loading Samsung washers comes less than two weeks after Samsung was forced to issue a massive recall of the Galaxy Note7 because of problems that can cause the battery to overheat and catch fire.

Neither the CPSC nor Samsung could provide Consumer Reports with model numbers of affected units at this time.

Student's iPhone explodes in his back pocket, catches fire during class

October 01, 2016

MT. LAUREL, N.J. (WPVI) --
It was a scary scenario for Darin Hlavaty, a student at Rowan College at Burlington County, after he says his iPhone 6 Plus exploded in his back pocket, burning a hole in his jeans.

"I felt this crazy, hot burning in my leg," said Hlavaty.



Hlavaty had just been reaching for a pen in his 9:30 a.m. physical science class.

"Right as class was starting, my phone started smoking in my pocket. It was a fire," said Hlavaty.

"Out of nowhere, we heard a fizzing and a popping sound. Suddenly a great mass of smoke comes out from his pocket," said Rebecca Bookbinder, student.

Classmate Rebecca Bookbinder had been sitting nearby.

"Everyone was kind of like, 'What is that? What is that? And then we all realized that's his phone that combusted in the middle of class," said Bookbinder.

A school spokesperson confirmed a teacher called public safety for a report of a burning phone around 9:45 a.m.

A spokesperson from the college says when public safety arrived the fire was already out, but they could still smell the smoke. The students were moved to a different classroom for rest of the period.