Samsung could soon have a big mess on its hands if it doesn't take an official position on the incidents involving replacement Galaxy Note 7 units. There have been multiple reports in the past week about the supposedly safe Galaxy Note 7 devices exploding in exactly the same manner as the recalled devices. Samsung hasn't confirmed yet if there's a widespread battery cell issue with the new units as well but the company hasn't ruled out the possibility of a safety issue in its most recent statement, it's yet to say anything of substance regarding these reports other than it takes all reports “seriously.”
Samsung's handling of the Galaxy Note 7 recall has already come under fire but this latest incident will make you question whether the company's claims about customer safety being above all really have some weight to them. Michael Klering from Nicholasville, Kentucky woke up at around 4AM earlier this week to find his Galaxy Note 7 on fire and his bedroom filled with smoke. “I was scared to death for a minute,” Klering said. Later that day he started feeling sick and “vomiting black” so he had to go to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis caused by smoke inhalation.
If that's not troubling enough, consider the fact that Klering's Galaxy Note 7 caught fire on Tuesday and Samsung knew about it. They reached out to him to take possession of the device but he declined. Samsung did pay to have the phone x-rayed. Klering had his replacement Galaxy Note 7 for little more than a week before it caught fire. He initially felt that Samsung was helping him until the company representative inadvertently sent him a text message that was meant for someone else. The text read:
Just now got this. I can try and slow him down if we think it will matter, or we just let him do what he keeps threatening to do and see if he does it
Samsung hasn't commented on this yet and Klering now says that he's seeking legal help. This is the fourth such incident of a replacement Galaxy Note 7 catching fire this week alone. An airplane needed to be evacuated when the first handset exploded, Klering's phone came next and it was never disclosed by Samsung, the third on Friday in the hands of a 13-year-old girl and just yesterday a fourth explosion was reported in Taiwan.
Clearly there's a pattern developing here and Samsung has to offer an explanation to the public soon. Hollow statements reiterating its commitment to customer safety just won't cut it anymore.
