New Incident Casts Doubt On Note 7’s Safety

It appears that Samsung’s Note 7 nightmare is far from over. After issuing a massive global recall, a new wave of replacement Note 7’s hit the market. Samsung hoped that these new steps would help them salvage their reputation. Unfortunately a new Note 7 incident is putting that vision up in smoke. A Southwest Airlines flight had to be evacuated due to a flaming Note 7. The worst part is the phone was issued post recall. Apparently the new Note 7’s are far from safe. As everyone scrambles for clues, it’s quite clear that this is going to be another financial disaster for Samsung.

Note 7 Replacement Explodes on Plane

Brian Green was ecstatic when he got his replacement Note 7. After receiving the revised model from ATT, he thought his worries were over. The new model had all the correct revisions, a green battery icon & epic specs. Even though it appeared to be the perfect sidekick, it would soon cause chaos.

Little did he know, he was holding a ticking time bomb. As Brian boarded a Southwest Airlines flight to Baltimore, he powered down his Note 7. Slipping it into his pocket, he prepared for a drama free flight. Suddenly the phone heated up & started billowing green smoke. Faced with this unexpected dilemma, Brian panicked. He grabbed the phone out of his pocket & threw it on the ground.

In a moment’s notice, the entire plane was evacuated. The smartphone continued smoldering, burning the carpet & subfloor of the plane. As the smoke cleared, it became apparent that this was terrible news. Not only was this a replacement Note 7, it had no other damage. Brian Green claims that the phone was only charged to 80% when it exploded. He had only used a wireless charger on the device, & it wasn’t charging at the time of the incident.

“Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Note7. We are working with the authorities and Southwest now to recover the device and confirm the cause. Once we have examined the device we will have more information to share.” Samsung said in a statement following the incident.

This new development is wreaking havoc on Samsung’s already tarnished reputation. Currently the burnt Note 7 is in the hands of the Louisville Fire Department’s arson unit. It’s also being investigated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. While the true reasons for it exploding remain a mystery, it’s clear that this was a replacement phone. The Verge ran the phone’s IMEI through Samsung’s recall eligibility checker. It came back positive as a post recall phone.

Surprisingly, Samsung isn’t the only company to have their products explode this week. An iPhone 7 exploded while being shipped to a bright eyed customer. When the client opened the package, he was greeted with the scorched remains of his iPhone 7. This has opened up numerous investigations in Apple & UPS. The smartphone BBQ’s didn’t stop there, an iPhone 6 plus recently exploded in a student’s back pocket. While these seem to be isolated incidents, they are shining the spotlight on the dangers of lithium batteries in smartphones. Hopefully Samsung will be able to brush this latest incident off as a fluke. If not the results could be disastrous…