Samsung Note 7 users urged to turn them off due to fire risk

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/09/09/samsung-note-users-urged-turn-them-off-due-fire-risk/VwX7ghRQYlesYZ0DyZaIuI/story.html?s_campaign=email_BG_TodaysHeadline&s_campaign=

By Alan Levin Bloomberg News September 09, 2016

A US consumer agency has urged users of Samsung Electronics Co.’s Note 7 smartphones to immediately turn off and stop charging them, and aviation authorities around the world ordered passengers not to use them during flights.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Friday that it is talking with Samsung about undertaking an official recall of the devices as soon as possible. About three dozen of the devices, released just three weeks ago, had batteries that caught fire or exploded.

“This consumer warning is based on recent reports involving lithium-ion batteries in certain Note 7 devices that have resulted in fires,” the consumer agency said. “These incidents have occurred while charging and during normal use, which has led us to call for consumers to power down their Note 7s.”

The South Korea-based company has already announced a voluntary, worldwide recall of all 2.5 million of the smartphones it has shipped, at a cost estimated at as much as $1 billion.

The federal action came as aviation regulators in several countries and airlines advised passengers against turning on or charging the devices during flights.

The European Aviation Safety Agency on Friday issued such a warning and cautioned against packing them in checked bags, according to a posting on its website. That followed a nonbinding warning issued Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration.

•••••