Buy a Note 7, and get a free fireworks show in your bedroom

Aug 31, 2016 08:52 GMT  ·  By

UPDATE, September 1: Samsung is preparing to start a recall for the Note 7 units sold in Korea and in the United States, with approximately 400,000 said to be included because of faulty batteries. Read more in the update at the end of the article.

UPDATE, August 31: Reports citing people with knowledge of the matter claim that Samsung is holding back some shipments of Note 7 in order to investigate the reasons causing a number of units to catch fire during charging. Original story below.

There’s no doubt that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is a stunning device, and you’ll definitely feel that when holding it in hand. But try not to hold it for too long because it appears that the Note 7 is quite an explosive phone. Literally. No kidding.

If you’re an iPhone user, and you know what we’re talking about already, try not to smile too much because this is getting serious, and it involves severe damage that could actually lead to people getting injured.

You'd better put firemen on speed dial

A report that has recently reached the web reveals that a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 caught fire while charging, even though the owner was using the USB Type-C charger that Samsung itself included in the box.

From the photos posted by the owner, it’s very clear that the phone exploded on the left side, but why it happened is yet to be disclosed. Obviously, Samsung has all the reasons in the world to be worried, so they have already contacted the owner to offer compensation and investigate.

And now it seems that Samsung has even more reasons to be worried because it turns out that a similar explosion impacted not one, not two, but several Galaxy Note 7s.

Photos and reports that have reached the web in the last few hours seem to point to similar cases, but it’s worth mentioning that we can’t tell exactly how many they are at the moment. Also, it’s hard to say whether some of the photos that have been posted lately and that allegedly refer to different cases are actually showing the first Note 7 that caught fire.

A report coming from BusinessKorea reportedly has a new case of an explosive Note 7, and it includes information that confirms Samsung is aware of the problem and is now investigating.

“There was another explosion of the Galaxy Note 7. It was my friend’s phone. A Samsung employee checked the site and he is currently in talks over the compensation with Samsung. You should use its original charger just in case and leave the phone far away from where you are while charging,” the aforementioned source writes citing someone who also got to see fireworks in their bedroom thanks to the explosive Note 7.

Happening with original Samsung charger

In most of the cases, owners who claim that their Note 7s caught fire say they used the genuine charger that Samsung offered in the box, so if this is true, the Koreans might really have a big problem here.

There are people out there who have already decided to hold off purchasing new phones just because they’re afraid the Note 7 can explode for them too.

And as compelling as Samsung’s buy-a-Note-7-get-a-free-fireworks-show offer might seem to be, the Korean firm is on thin ice right now. And it’s not all because of the damages that its explosive device could cause, but also because Apple is getting ready to take the wraps off the iPhone 7 in exactly one week.

The Note 7 is a direct competitor to the iPhone 7, and it’s pretty clear that these reports are hurting its sales. For more evidence of exploding Notes, you can check out the gallery below, as well as the video after the jump - they claim to be from separate cases, but as mentioned, this cannot be confirmed right now.

And, Timothy, you'd better stop smiling, you do know that this happened with some iPhones too, don’t you?

UPDATE: It appears that Samsung has intentionally delayed some Note 7 shipments in order to perform additional quality testing, as the company is aware of these explosions that some units are experiencing while charging.

For the moment, the company is yet to issue an official comment on this, but it's very clear that the South Koreans are well aware that some Note 7s are catching fire even when the Samsung charger is being used, so for safety reasons, the firm is holding back a number of shipments in key markets.

UPDATE 2: Sources are claiming that Samsung is getting ready to launch a recall in Korea in order to replace defective batteries. Approximately 400,000 units are believed to be affected and Samsung isn't planning to exchange any of them or to give consumers their money back, but only to replace the batteries for free in its service centers. A number of faulty batteries are also installed on phones sold in the United States and a similar recall is likely to start here too.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 exploded while charging (4 Images)

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 exploded while charging
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 exploded while chargingSamsung Galaxy Note 7 exploded while charging
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