Sprint has officially stated that Samsung Galaxy Note 7 replacements will begin happening next week, on September 21st. Samsung has already informed the public that U.S. replacements for their latest device would be happening on this date, but this comes as an official confirmation from Sprint that they will be following this time frame and getting safe Galaxy Note 7 devices into the hands of their subscribers as soon as they can. The news also follows an earlier announcement from Samsung and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that a formal recall of the Galaxy Note 7 was taking place, with the CPSC again requesting that customers return their phones to the location of where they were purchased.
The Galaxy Note 7 which was first launched back on August 19th, had a short-lived patch of success with great reviews from the consumers and the media, as more and more reports began coming in that customers were having issues of overheating batteries, which in some cases were causing property damage and burns. To date, Samsung has received a total of 92 reports in the U.S. of the Galaxy Note 7 overheating and causing these hazardous situations.
Sprint, which reiterates that this affects anyone who purchased a device at Sprint or through their website before September 15th, says that anyone who is still using their Galaxy Note 7 should immediately call a Sprint store and make an appointment to come in on the 21st to have the phone replaced with a safe unit. It’s also worth mentioning that September 21st is the absolute latest that customers can expect replacements to be available in the U.S. according to Samsung’s earlier statement on the matter. This means it will potentially be possible to pick up a replacement phone before that date, however, customers will most likely only know if this is possible if they’re keeping in contact with the local retailer where they purchased the phone, which is another reason to set up the appointment. Of course, a formal recalls does not mean customers are required to turn their devices in, but it is in their best interest to do so. In the earlier report from the CPSC, it was mentioned that there were about 1 million devices in the U.S. affected with the overheating batteries, of which only around 130,000 have been returned.