Samsung launched an exchange program Friday, after dozens of reports that the Galaxy Note7 devices can catch fire.
There have been more than 30 reports of the phone catching on fire since the device was unveiled last month.
Samsung now says it’s recalling 2.5 million phones. The company is placing the blame on a faulty battery from a supplier.
The company is voluntarily replacing Galaxy Note7 devices with new phones, as early as next week.
“We are encouraging customers to exchange their Note7 by taking advantage of our Product Exchange Program. The safety and satisfaction of our customers is Samsung’s top priority,” said Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America.
The U.S. Product Exchange Program will offer consumers the following options, according to the company’s new policy:
- Exchange current Galaxy Note7 device with a new Galaxy Note7.
- Exchange current Galaxy Note7 for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge and replace it with any Note7 accessories with a refund of the price difference between devices.
The company is also offering consumers a $25 gift card or bill credit from select carrier retail outlets as a token of their appreciation when choosing a Galaxy S7 family device or Galaxy Note7 within the program, according to a Samsung report.
As for the company, CNET’s Dan Ackerman says this happened at a bad time for Samsung because the phone was getting good reviews. It had updated features that included an iris scanner and the device was water resistant.
“I can’t even imagine how expensive and time consuming and how much effort it’s going to have to go into replacing all these phones,” said Ackerman. “This is the worst possible time for Samsung. They finally have a hit on their hands and it looked like they were finally going to outmatch Apple and look what happened.”
Photo By Ariel Gonzalez/Youtube
