Just 2 weeks after Samsung Electronics decided to recall the Galaxy note 7 blaming its Li-ion battery fires, Consumer Product Safety Commission of the U.S., or CPSC declared a U.S. government-initiated official recall order on Sept. 16 calling for Samsung to replace all Galaxy note 7 in use with new ones, or redeem them with cash depending on the phone owners’ will.
The consumer advocacy watchdog pointed out that the Galaxy note 7 sold ahead of Sept. 15 would risk catching fire, or getting overheated due to its built-in Li-ion battery system glitches, risking inflicting serious burns or setting fire to surroundings.
With the recall order taking effect from Sept. `16, the owners of Galax note 7 in the U.S. are required to replace or redeem their phones with cash.
The official recall order came 8 days after the sate-run consumer advocacy authority issued a warning not to use Galaxy note 7 on Sept 9.
According to CPSC, about 1 million units are to be recalled in the U.S alone. That amount to 97% of the estimated shipments of galaxy note 7 in the U.S. before Sept. 15
Following on the heel of the CPSC’s recall order is the official ban order by the Federal Aviation Authority, or FAA prohibiting the activation of the Galaxy not 7 on board. But the FAA also banned the phones from being loaded on the air cargo compartment.
The recall will start in the U.S. from Sept. 21.
The U.S. government’s official recall order risks sounding a death knell for the Galaxy note 7, endangering its commercial viability.
Prompting the warnings was the faster-and wider-than-expected spread of the battery fire cases.
Since Samsung announced a first voluntary recall on Sept 2, the battery fire cases have been spreading like wildfire, going beyond Samsung’s control. But they also even escalated into serious fire hazards
In the U.S. alone, according to CPSC, more than 92 Galaxy note 7 battery overheating or fire cases have been reported so far. Among them, 26 cases were reported to inflict burns on users’ bodies.
55 cases were found to set ablaze cars or garages, catching fires.
Back home in Korea, about 17 battery fire cases have been reported so far.
Spooked by the possible dangers of airborne fire, air control and safety authorities in EU and 10 other countries had already joined the succession of warning notices that urged passengers not to use their galaxy note 7 smart phones on board.
All the heck has broken loose so fast just in 2 weeks that Samsung has failed to keep the escalation l under its control. So, there are strong critics that its recall was too far–fetched and too hasty to have a contingency program ready to curb the spread of the battery fires. Software update should
At stake now is the commercial viability of the Galaxy note 7 smartphone as well as consumer confidence in Samsung’s Galaxy brand. As the first recall will start with Sept. 19 in Korea, all dust will settle eventually. But nobody is sure whether consumers keep buying Galaxy note 7 or not. Yet, one thing for sure is that consumers’ brand preference and loyalty toward Galaxy smart phone won’t be as good as before. It will take huge efforts and marketing expenses to bring consumer confidence back to what it used to be before. It will eventually deal a heavy blow to Samsung’s profitability.
In the worst case, Samsung’s Galaxy brand would degenerate into an also-ran.
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