After confirming the battery cell defect earlier this month Samsung announced that it will voluntarily replace all Galaxy Note 7 phones shipped since the handset was released. The global replacement program is underway and yet it appears to not be performing as well as it should be in Samsung's own backyard. Local news reports suggest that Galaxy Note 7 users in South Korea don't appear to be in a hurry to replace their units which pose a potential fire hazard, many of them are actually planning to exchange them next year.
This is obviously making Samsung uncomfortable. The longer these faulty units stay out there the more chance there is of additional battery-related incidents taking place. It was the company's aim to quickly get done with the replacement program and resume sales of the Galaxy Note 7 once again. Samsung has already had to extend the refund deadline in South Korea and even delay the resumption of sales in is home country because people just don't seem to be in a hurry to take part in the replacement program.
According to estimates, almost 70 percent of all Galaxy Note 7 owners have exchanged their handsets in South Korea even though the replacement program was launched nearly three weeks ago. In other markets like the United States more than 50 percent of Note 7 owners exchanged their handsets within the first few days. Samsung will be resuming sales of the Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea starting October 1. In the meantime it's making phone calls to remaining users in South Korea to urge them to participate in the replacement program.
