Samsung pauses sales of the Galaxy Note 7 to investigate issues

Yesterday we started hearing about a potential issue/ recall with Samsung premium Note 7 device with reports surfacing of Samsung Galaxy Note 7’s catching fire while charging. Today we are seeing that the Note 7 has been removed from online retail and carrier sites.

The Galaxy Note 7 is also being listed as ‘Unavailable’ or temporarily out of stock on Samsung’s Australian website, as well as the websites of carriers Telstra, Vodafone and Virgin Mobile. Retailers Harvey Norman, JB Hifi and Bing Lee are also either no longer listing the phone or showing as having no stock.

In addition, we have confirmed with sources that JB HiFi staff have been issued a notice to cease all sales of the embattled Galaxy Note 7.

The phone does remain up for sale through The Good Guys, and Optus however – but they may just be late getting notice as the Optus stores we spoke to had been advised to pull the phone from sale – at least temporarily.

If indeed there is an issue with the Galaxy Note 7 that results in a wider recall, it will be a loss to the current Android ecosystem. In our review of the Note 7 we found it to be a truly great device. These types of large consumer recalls are quite rare, and unfortunately, traditionally difficult to recover from. I for one will be lining up for a replacement Note 7; if there’s an issue, and that issue is identified and fixed, the Note 7 is and remains a great device.

Samsung were unavailable for comment at the time of first publication on the removal of Note 7 stock or the nature of any potential recall.

Update 1 (13:44 2/9):
The Note 7 is confirmed removed from sale at Optus and Telstra stores:

Update 2 (13:51 2/9):
Optus has now pulled the phone from their website with a ‘Temporary Stop-Sell’ label (Thanks Stuart)

Update 3 (14:06):
Samsung Australia has issued this statement with regards to the temporary stop-sell that’s being issued to retailers and carriers in Australia:

Samsung is fully committed to providing the highest quality products to our consumers.

We are conducting a thorough inspection with our partners. We will share the findings as soon as possible.

Sales of the Galaxy Note 7 have been paused while we investigate.

Update 4 (16:33):
Vodafone Australia has released their statement on the temporary stop-sell, noting that no issues with the Note 7 have been reported in Australia at this time. The statement reads:

Vodafone Australia confirmed it has paused sales of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 while Samsung completes its investigation into reports of issues affecting Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones globally.

Vodafone will contact customers if Samsung’s investigation finds there is a fault with the device.

Update (18:48):

Samsung Australia has issued a follow-up statement, advising:

Samsung is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue.
 
To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally. There have no reported incidents in Australia. However, because our customers’ safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note7.
 
For customers who already have Galaxy Note7 devices, we will provide a resolution of their choice including a replacement, repair or refund over the coming weeks.
 
We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the customer experience is as convenient and efficient as possible. We will have an update for Australian customers early next week.

Developing…