Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 is being recalled

Samsung has an answer for what went wrong with the Galaxy Note 7, but it may not be a very satisfying one.

After months of investigating, Samsung is pinning all the blame on two separate battery flaws, insisting nothing was wrong with the phone itself.

As much as it would like to look forward, Samsung knows it has to address what went wrong in its recent past, especially with the disastrous Galaxy Note 7.

“This year was a challenging year for Samsung,” Samsung Electronics America President Tim Baxter said at the outset of the company’s CES 2017 press conference.

On a recent episode of Too Embarrassed to Ask, The Verge’s Lauren Goode talked with Recode’s Ina Fried and Kara Swisher about Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 “exploding” debacle.

You can read some of the highlights from their discussion at that link, or listen to it in the audio player above. Below, we’ve posted a lightly edited complete transcript of their conversation.

Samsung said Friday that nearly 85 percent of the recalled Galaxy Note 7 devices in the U.S. have been returned or exchanged for another device, with most opting for a different Samsung phone.

Now, it is planning new ways to encourage the holdouts to stop using the devices.

The majority of Samsung customers returning their Galaxy Note 7 phones are opting for another model from the Korean electronics giant, according to Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure.

“Most of them are basically switching to a Galaxy S7,” Claure said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters.

With Samsung recalling the Galaxy Note 7 for the second time, consumers might understandably be on edge.

Thankfully, late-night host and noted consumer product safety expert Stephen Colbert has some helpful tips on how to safely handle the recalled “phablet.”

A version of this essay was originally published at Tech.pinions, a website dedicated to informed opinions, insight and perspective on the tech industry.

Those involved in the design and manufacture of hardware products understand that one of the most important phases of the process is testing. That’s the point when all of the assumptions that have been made need to be validated. The only way to do that is to build hundreds or thousands of units and subject them to a battery of tests. Even then, you might still find problems not anticipated once devices get into the hands of thousands of customers, but the goal is to be sure they are relatively minor.

Samsung’s recalled, fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 has been placed on the no-fly list.

For weeks, flight attendants around the world have warned passengers not to operate or charge their Note 7 devices aboard a flight.

After dozens of incidents in which batteries overheated and began smoking or catching fire, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is dead. But Samsung’s nightmare is just beginning.

“Samsung isn’t the only [company] out there offering Android phones,” Recode’s Senior Mobile Editor Ina Fried said on the latest episode of Too Embarrassed to Ask. “They have a less defensible position, which makes it all the more crucial that they work on repairing that brand ASAP.”

A version of this essay was originally published at Tech.pinions, a website dedicated to informed opinions, insight and perspective on the tech industry.

It’s hard to imagine a worse scenario.

Samsung and U.S. safety regulators on Monday both urged Galaxy Note 7 owners, whether they have an original or a replacement device, to power down their device and return it for a refund or a different type of phone.

The Korean phone maker also said it was again halting sales globally of the Note 7 after several reports that the supposedly safe replacement phones were catching fire.

With each day that Samsung’s Note 7 problems remain in the headlines, the damage to Samsung’s brand and long-term business prospects grows.

Every day, flights are taking off with what amounts to an anti-Samsung commercial, warning people not to use or plug in their device. At stores and airports, where there used to be scores of ads touting the Samsung brand, there are now dire signs warning of a mass recall.

Samsung is halting production of the Galaxy Note 7 as it continues to investigate reports that some replacement models are also overheating.

”We are temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters,” it said in a statement.

Reports out of Korea say Samsung plans to temporarily halt production of the Galaxy Note 7, and it should.

The Note 7 isn’t going to get a third chance.

It’s been more than a month since Samsung first issued a global recall of its Galaxy Note 7 phones and began replacing them as a result of a battery flaw that caused the devices to explode. As of today, at least five of those replacement phones have overheated or caught fire.

Now, AT&T — which originally said it would allow its customers to replace their Samsung devices with any other phone — will no longer offer replacement Galaxy Note 7s until the investigation into the overheating of the “safe” phones is complete.

The federal agency overseeing the U.S. recall of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 says it is now investigating the replacement devices previously deemed safe, after one of the new models apparently overheated on board a Southwest Airlines flight Wednesday.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said late Wednesday that it is investigating the incident, though it didn’t specifically say whether or not it recommends consumers continue to use the replacement models.

Well, this can’t be good for Samsung.

A Southwest flight was canceled on Thursday after a Galaxy Note 7 overheated as the plane was getting ready to take off. What’s worse, according to The Verge, the phone’s owner says it was not one of the recalled models, but a replacement model with a supposedly safe battery.

Samsung said Tuesday that it is working with U.S. carriers on a software update that will allow Galaxy Note 7 owners to easily see if their phone is one that has been recalled or one with a newer battery unaffected by the recall.

Those still using an older model will see a warning to let them know their phone has been recalled, urging them to power down and exchange the device. That warning will show up each time a user powers on or charges the device.

Despite the risk of fire or explosion, the vast majority of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners in the U.S. have been holding on to their devices.

Only about 130,000 units have so far been returned as part of an exchange program that Samsung kicked off nearly two weeks ago. On Thursday the company formally recalled the device in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency charged with overseeing safety-related product issues.

Samsung, along with federal regulators, on Thursday formally recalled the company’s Galaxy Note 7, whose batteries have been linked to fires and explosions.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there have been 92 incidents of the phones overheating in the U.S. among the million devices that have been sold here.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Friday that it is working with Samsung to soon announce a formal recall of the Galaxy Note 7.

In the meantime, the agency and Samsung are urging consumers to neither use nor charge the phones, whose batteries have been linked to a fire risk. Samsung has offered to replace all Note 7 phablets globally.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has strongly advised flyers to neither use nor charge a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 while on a plane. However, the agency did not actually ban the transport of the devices.

Samsung is replacing all Note 7 devices globally after 35 reported incidents in which a battery flaw led to fire or explosions.

Although Samsung moved quickly to stop shipments of its Galaxy Note 7 amid reports the batteries could catch fire or explode, federal officials expressed concern Friday that the company opted not to follow traditional procedures.

Typically, recalls in the U.S. that involve safety issues are handled in conjunction with a federal agency known as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Samsung said Friday that it will replace all of the Galaxy Note 7 “phablets” it has sold amid reports that some batteries on the phones have exploded.

In what could be the biggest smartphone recall ever, Samsung said it will replace all devices in the coming weeks. The company said it has confirmed an issue with the battery cells used in the phone and has halted sales globally.