Samsung changes Note 7 output schedule after fire reports

By: 8 years ago

South Korean high school students try out Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphones at the company’s shop in Seoul in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung’s crisis with its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone hit a new low on Monday as the company confirmed that it has made changes to its production of the problem phones to ensure safety.

The move follows multiple reports that even the newly released Galaxy Note 7 phones, which had been offered as replacements for the recalled fire-prone phones, also overheated or caught fire.

In a statement and in a regulatory filing, Samsung Electronics said it is “temporarily” adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule and production volume to “ensure quality and safety matters.” The company added that it will issue an update when more details are available.

But Samsung fell short of confirming or denying earlier media reports that it had halted production.

Earlier in the day, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency was first to report that Note 7 production was suspended.

The move came after decisions by U.S. phone retailers AT&T and T-Mobile to stop giving new Note 7 replacement smartphones to consumers.

Samsung and the U.S. authorities are investigating reports of the new Note 7 replacement smartphone catching fire but the move poses fresh trouble for Samsung because it had promised that its new Note 7 with a green battery icon is safe.

The reports of replacement phones catching fire raise doubts whether the battery is the only problem in the fire-prone smartphone as Samsung initially said. When it issued a global recall on Sept. 2, Samsung blamed the batteries supplied by one of its two battery suppliers and assured consumers that other parts of the smartphones were fine.