Samsung to make 500,000 Galaxy Note 7 devices available in US for replacement

Korean smartphone maker Samsung has announced that over 500,000 new Galaxy Note7 replacement devices have arrived in the US which have been shipped to carrier and retail stores and will be available for replacement from 21 September. The number is still far lesser than the units recalled in US which were close to a million.

"Working hand in hand with the CPSC, we are delivering as promised and moving quickly to educate consumers about the recall and make new Note7s available," said Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, in a statement. "New devices will be in stores no later than tomorrow and we will continue to take the necessary actions to ensure users are powering down and immediately exchanging recalled devices."

The company is offering three choices to Note 7 users for the replacement programme:

• A complete refund for the price of the Note 7
• A complete replacement of the older Note 7 with a new one
• An exchange of the device for a brand new Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge and refund of the price differential amount

Additionally, the company has kept a fault checker on its website where users can enter the IMEI number on the Note 7 to find out if they are eligible for replacement. Those who purchased their handsets from carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile will need to deal with the carrier directly regarding the exchange.

Days after the Note 7's launch in mid-August, reports about the Note 7's explosion started to gain momentum and long before it could be branded as isolated incidents, Samsung had to launch an official recall programme. The recall process since then has come under scrutiny and criticism from authorities as well as consumers for being rather confusing with different procedures and policies to be followed in different markets.