Samsung has decided to temporarily suspend production of the Galaxy Note 7 flagship, after reports of exploding units marked as safe started making the rounds across the world.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting via sources who remained anonymous that the company halted production of its Note 7 in order to investigate cases of phones catching fire, especially due to the fact that owners also suffered minor injuries caused by devices that exploded.
The company hasn’t yet provided a statement to confirm this, but it instead offered comments on the previous cases, explaining that it’s looking into possible explosions suffered by phones labeled as safe.
“Samsung understands the concern our carriers and consumers must be feeling after recent reports have raised questions about our newly released replacement Note 7 devices,” the company has said.
US carriers have also stopped selling the Note 7 and are no longer offering units marked as safe in exchange for models that are believed to be defective and included in the recall program.
AT&T, for example, claims that Note 7 owners can still bring in their phones, but instead of getting a new one, they can only opt for other handsets manufactured by Samsung, including the S7 Edge. This is also a temporary solution until Samsung and US authorities investigate phones that caught fire and determine whether safe units have a problem or not.
“We’re no longer exchanging new Note 7s at this time, pending further investigation of these reported incidents,” a company spokesperson said.
Verizon and T-Mobile are also halting exchanges of the Note 7 and said that customers could ask for a different phone or be refunded.
Samsung, on the other hand, says it’s working with experts, including the CPSC, to determine whether safe units are defective or not, adding that it “respects the decision” of carriers to suspend exchanges.
“We are working diligently with authorities and third-party experts and will share findings when we have completed the investigation. If we determine a product-safety issue exists, Samsung will take immediate steps approved by the CPSC to resolve the situation,” the firm said.
There’s still no confirmation that a second recall is planned, but if the investigation determines that safe units are faulty too, there’s no doubt that this is the only option for the South Korean firm.