In the latest in the Note 7 recall, a 6-year old boy in the US has allegedly been burnt by a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 as it burst into flames while using it.
According to the boys grandmother, the boy was watching videos on the phone, a situation a lot of parents are familiar with, when the phone burst into flames, setting off the fire alarms in the apartment. The boy has been treated at a hospital in NYC and released, a lucky end result for all involved, though details on his condition weren’t released the child is understandably loathe to pick up a phone again.
According to the article, the boy’s family has been in contact with Samsung however there isn’t any word on follow-up at this stage.
Samsung for their part has been quite pro-active about the recall at this stage, sending out recall information, advising major news outlets Samsung has even been sending push notifications to the phone warning people to power down the device and return it for replacement or refund at their place of purchase.
I think at this stage we’ve made our perspective clear on people continuing to use the Galaxy Note 7, in short if you’re still using it you’re a bloody idiot. It’s a phone, not a pacemaker, whilst most of us may think we’d prefer to have our arm amputated than give up our high-end phone for a few days, it’s getting to the point that it’s just not worth the risk.
I think given that real chance we may choose a few weeks with a lesser device over a permanent injury. Samsung and carriers appear to be offering users either a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge as a loaner, or a Galaxy J1 Mini as a keeper for those returning their Note 7 under the recall. They may not be a Note 7, but face it people, these devices are burning while people use them.
We don’t know what causes the devices to burst into flames, but heat SEEMS to be a common thread. We have two Note 7’s here at Ausdroid, both of them have been boxed and we’ll be replacing them when the replacement stock starts to arrive on September 21.
The message from Samsung is clear to owners: “power down their device and return it to its place of purchase”.
If you see someone on the street, on the bus or anywhere using a Note 7 do the right thing and inform them of the risk. Don’t be a jerk but make sure they know, and if they don’t turn it off, swap buses.
If you think it won’t happen to you, just ask did the 6 year old’s grandmother think the same thing? A Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini may not be flash but it will make calls, receive texts and do other smartphone things, but most importantly, it won’t set you on fire either.
