14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung's recall of the Galaxy Note 7 may have some serious consequences for the smartphone model, as a new rumor suggests that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) could ban the Galaxy Note 7 from being taken on an airplane.
Samsung announced its decision to recall 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 units due to faulty batteries that had the potential to ignite and cause harm to owners. The South Korean giant's decision was mainly motivated by its concern for user safety, although reportedly, only 0.0024% of Note 7 batteries are potentially faulty.
Now it seems that Samsung's recall decision could have even greater implications. Gizmodo has reached out to the FAA, TSA, and major US airlines to see whether Note 7 devices are restricted from flights.
The FAA is currently investigation the matter, no official decision has been made
It seems that no official decision has been taken on the matter, but that the FAA is investigating the situation and that, normally, recalled devices aren't allowed in the cabin of an aircraft or in carry-on and checked luggage.
The interesting thing is that Samsung recalled the Galaxy Note 7, but it didn't follow the standard procedure, which says that the manufacturer should have gotten the US Consumer Product Safety Commission involved.
If the Commission had been involved, then the FAA would have surely taken an official decision by now, and Note 7 smartphones would have most likely been banned from flights. But considering that Samsung intends to replace faulty Note 7 units with new ones, the ban could be just temporary.
Thus, it's a bit unclear how the FAA would distinguish between a replaced model and the original one after the ban is lifted. In addition, in order to ban a smartphone model from all international and domestic flights, the FAA would need solid and indisputable evidence from Samsung that all such models pose a definite risk.
In all cases of Galaxy Note 7 units bursting into flames, the smartphones were charging when that happened. A good rule of thumb would be not to charge your Note 7 in an airplane, better yet power it off completely.