Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Recall Update: AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Suspend Note 7 Sales

By Edwin Kee
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
An employee poses for photographs with Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 7 new smartphone at its store in Seoul, South Korea, September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji Photo: Kim Hong-Ji / REUTERS

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 might be an impressive phablet for all intents and purposes, but it comes with one fatal flaw -- a battery that has a propensity to blow up. Basically, there has been way too many incidents of the battery in a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 catching fire and/or exploding, and even a massive recall move has not stamped out this issue, as replacement Galaxy Note 7’s with a green leaf icon by the battery continuing in the same trend, prompting a geek outrage that has spread globally.

It is not that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is a bad phablet; far from it. In fact, it is a very good device that clearly occupies the flagship position in Samsung’s stable of mobile devices, but the unstable battery makes it a liability to the company. In fact, there are whispers that a second recall might be on the way, which does not bode well for the South Korean conglomerate at all. We do wonder whether the executives at LG are sniggering away, seeing how their rival is floundering at the moment. No matter, Samsung is sure to bounce back from this particular disaster, but there might be a far more cautious outlook in the coming financial quarters, not to mention future Galaxy Note devices and perhaps even affecting the Galaxy S8 (or whatever the next generation device is going to be named).

We do know that two major mobile carriers in the US: AT&T and T-Mobile, have suspended sales of the Galaxy Note 7 officially again, and Verizon Wireless has also suspended internal sales of the device, with an announcement forthcoming that there will be an official suspension of sales down the road.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere did tweet that "out of an abundance of caution for customers," they decided to err on the side of caution and not sell the Galaxy Note 7. After all, if a particular Galaxy Note 7 sold by T-Mobile was faulty on a flight which might then result in an air crash, the recriminations would be disastrous, not to mention the heaviness of guilt on the mobile carrier for playing an indirect role in sending that particular Galaxy Note 7 to the skies.

Not only that, T-Mobile has also decided to stop issuing replacement Galaxy Note 7 devices for Galaxy Note 7 owners, even as Samsung continues to look into numerous issues that have plagued the device since its launch.

Those who have purchased a Galaxy Note 7 will be able to send over the recalled device or replacement device and any other accessories, if any, to a nearby T-Mobile store to obta na full refund. Customers will then be able to pick any device from T-Mobile's inventory, and restocking charges will be waived. Not only that, if you picked up the Galaxy Note 7 from T-Mobile under the pre-order phase, the free Netflix subscription and Gear Fit or SD card is yours to keep. This must be the proverbial silver lining in a dark cloud!

AT&T too, have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note 7 and mentioned, “Based on recent reports, we're no longer exchanging new Note7s at this time, pending further investigation of these reported incidents. We still encourage customers with a recalled Note7 to visit an AT&T location to exchange that device for another Samsung smartphone or other smartphone of their choice.”

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