Samsung changes Note 7 output schedule after fire reports
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung’s crisis with its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone hit a new low on Monday as the company confirmed that it has made changes to its production of the disgraced phones to ensure safety following reports that even its replacements for the fire-prone phones were overheating.
In a statement, Samsung Electronics said it is “temporarily” adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule to “ensure quality and safety matters.” In a separate regulatory filing, Samsung said it was adjusting the Note 7’s production volumes. The company added in the filing that it will issue an update when more details are available.
But Samsung fell short of confirming or denying earlier media reports that it had halted production following multiple reports that newly released Galaxy Note 7 phones after its global recall emitted smoke or caught fire.
Earlier in the day, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency was first to report that Note 7 production was suspended. The move came after decisions by U.S. phone retailers AT&T and T-Mobile to stop giving new Note 7 replacement smartphones to consumers.
Samsung and the U.S. authorities are investigating reports of the new Note 7 replacement smartphone catching fire but the move poses fresh trouble for Samsung because it had promised that its new Note 7 with a green battery icon is safe.
The reports of replacement phones catching fire raise doubts whether the battery is the only problem in the fire-prone smartphone as Samsung initially said. When it issued a global recall on Sept. 2, Samsung blamed the batteries supplied by one of its two battery suppliers and assured consumers that other parts of the smartphones were fine.
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