The firm had already reduced Galaxy Note 7 production volumes.

Owners are expected to be able to return the phones for a refund or an exchange for a different Samsung phone.

The firm had earlier said it would stop sales of the phone.

“We recently readjusted the production volume for thorough investigation and quality control, but putting consumer safety as top priority, we have reached a final decision to halt production of Galaxy Note 7s,” the company said.

“For the benefit of consumers’ safety, we stopped sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 and have consequently decided to stop production.”

Earlier, consumer tech analyst Caroline Milanesi of Creative Strategies told the BBC that Samsung should “call it a day” on production of the Galaxy Note 7 to limit long-term risk to the brand.

However, South Korea’s finance minister had warned that the country’s exports would be hurt if the phone model was scrapped.

Smoke emissions

In September, Samsung recalled around 2.5 million phones after complaints of exploding batteries.

It later insisted that all replaced devices were safe.

However, that was followed by reports that those phones were catching fire too.

A Kentucky man said he woke up to a bedroom full of smoke from a replaced Note 7, days after a domestic flight in the US was evacuated after a new device started emitting smoke in the cabin.

Even as late as Monday evening, a spokeswoman insisted the phones were safe to use.

But on Tuesday, the company said it would stop Galaxy Note 7 production.

Authorities in the US and South Korea are investigating why even the replacement Note 7 phones that Samsung equipped with a safer battery reportedly caught fire.

An official at the South Korean safety agency said the replacement phones might have a defect that was different from the problem with the original Galaxy Note 7s.

‘Brand damage’

Samsung could suffer “a considerable loss of consumer faith,” said Greg Roh at HMC Investment Securities.

“If it’s once, it could be taken as a mistake. But for Samsung, the same thing happened twice with the same model,” he said.

“The reason consumers prefer brands like Samsung and Apple is because of product reliability. So in this case, brand damage is inevitable and it will be costly for Samsung to turn that around again.”

At least five fires were reported in replacement devices in the US.

Samsung said it had sold about 45,000 Note 7s through pre-orders in Europe.

The handset was never released for sale in the UK.

Analysts are suggesting the recall and now scrapping of the Note 7 could cost Samsung in the long run, particularly coming just as rivals including Google and Apple have announced new high-end smartphones.

Richard Windsor, from Edison Investment Research, said: “As a result of making a complete mess of the Galaxy Note 7 recall, Samsung is more likely to lose a large number of high-end users to other Android handsets rather than to Apple.

“The real issue is brand and reputation. As long as Samsung carried out the recall smoothly and kept users very happy, the issue would eventually blow over.

“Unfortunately, this is very far from the case, and the fact that Samsung appeared to still be shipping defective devices could trigger a large loss of faith in Samsung products.”

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Source: BBC

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The airline confirmed one of its planes, due to fly from Louisville, Kentucky, to Baltimore, Maryland, was evacuated before take-off on Wednesday.

The Note 7 was subject to a mass recall in September, but Samsung said it had identified and fixed the problem.

Samsung has yet to comment on the reports.

A Southwest Airlines spokesperson told the BBC: “A customer reported smoke emitting from an electronic device. All customers and crew deplaned safely via the main cabin door.”

The owner of the phone, speaking to Jordan Golson from The Verge, said it was bought on 21 September.

Brian Green added that there was a black square icon on the device’s packaging, a symbol which Samsung added to distinguish old, certified unsafe devices from the replacement models.

But late last month, after assuring customers – and safety officials – that the fixed devices were safe, Samsung confirmed it was looking into new reports that devices were still overheating.

“There have been a few reports about the battery charging levels and we would like to reassure everyone that the issue does not pose a safety concern,” the South Korean firm said at the time.

Mr Green said his device was powered down, not charging, when it began to overheat in his pocket.

After tossing it on to the floor of the plane, it started to emit a “thick grey-green angry smoke”, according to The Verge.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued a warning to the public saying Note 7 devices should be powered down and not charged while on planes.

It also advised against packing the phone into hold luggage.

The FAA is yet to comment on whether further guidelines will be issued after this latest issue.

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Source: BBC

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The ban took effect from Monday 26^th September, 2016.

According to the GCAA the ban follows recent safety reports following the use of Samsung Galaxy note 7.

Phone manufacturer Samsung recently recalled over 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 devices due to several reported cases of overheating or outright explosions during charging.

The GCAA joins several other aviation regulators across the world, that are also caring out similar moves, against the use of the phone on board airlines.

Per the ban all airline passengers as well as crew in possession of a Galaxy Note 7, cannot travel with the phone from Ghana and are prohibited from caring the device, while passengers coming from other countries to Ghana cannot turn on the device or charge them on board an aircraft.

A statement issued from GCAA said ‘following these recent events, the GCAA directs that all passengers and crew in possession of these devices should not turn on or charge them on board aircraft.

Passengers and crew are also herby prohibited from stowing these devices in any checked baggage, even when turned off’.

The GCAA adds ‘the directive shall form part of the safety briefing to passengers on board all airlines operating in Ghana and operating into and out of Ghana until otherwise directed by the Authority’.

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By:  Vivian Kai Lokko/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

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The Note 2 handset was smouldering and spitting sparks, according to a statement from airline IndiGo.

The crew’s prompt action meant the aircraft landed safely at Chennai, its intended destination, said IndiGo.

The incident comes as Samsung recalls millions of new Note 7 devices because of faulty batteries.

IndiGo said no-one was hurt during the incident, on flight 6E-054 from Singapore to Chennai.

Passengers told the aircraft’s cabin crew about smoke emerging from an overhead luggage compartment which, when opened, revealed the smoking phone in a piece of hand luggage, it said.

Damaged property

Once doused with an extinguisher, the sparking phone was put in a bucket of water in the plane’s toilet and kept there until the aircraft landed.

“The aircraft made a normal landing at Chennai airport, and all passengers were deplaned as per normal procedure,” IndiGo told Reuters.

In a statement, Samsung said: “We are aware of an incident involving one of our devices. At Samsung, customer safety is our highest priority.

“We are in touch with relevant authorities to gather more information and are looking into the matter.”

Earlier this month Samsung issued a worldwide recall for its new Note 7 phones because faulty batteries can make the devices catch fire while the handset is charging or being used. Samsung is offering free replacements or refunds.

Before now, no similar problems with the older Note 2 have been reported.

The problems with the Note 7 have led many airlines to tell passengers to keep the phones turned off during a flight.

In the US, the Consumer Products Safety Commission said it had received 92 reports of faulty Note 7s overheating. Of those, 26 involved left owners with burns and 55 caused property damage.

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Source: BBC

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The device was taken off the market after people complained on social media that some models were either setting on fire or exploding.

Samsung was eventually forced to issue a global recall for the Galaxy Note 7 as it found that issues with some of the batteries in phones caused the explosions.

The recall is still ongoing, but Samsung has now released updated Galaxy Note 7 models that are free of the battery issues. The Verge reports that Samsung has released 500,000 safe phones, and they’re now on sale through US carriers Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T. Samsung told Business Insider that it was unsure when the Galaxy Note 7 will be released in the UK.

That’s not the end of Samsung’s issues, though. It’s caught up in a row in China over the Galaxy Note 7 there.

Consumers reported a similar issue: The phone exploded. But this time Samsung said it wasn’t to blame, and instead it said it was because the phones are too hot.

It’s refusing to issue a recall, and that has reportedly angered some Chinese social media users.

“Samsung doesn’t dare raise a fuss overseas but in China as soon as explosions are mentioned they blame other people,” one user said.

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Source: Business Insider

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