With the Galaxy Note 8 launch just a week away, the last thing Samsung needed was another recall controversy. Unfortunately, for the Korean firm, that’s exactly what they’ve got.
10,200 batteries for 2014’s Samsung Galaxy Note 4 have been recalled in the United States due to the risk of overheating.
However, before you go comparing this to last year’s Note 7 debacle, you should know this time it isn’t Samsung’s fault.
Apparently, phones refurbished via FedEx Supply Chain and sent out via US carrier AT&T’s insurance program, were refitted with counterfeit batteries. Naughty, naughty.
The affected units were sent out between December 2016 and April 2017.
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The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) pointed out these batteries were not manufactured by Samsung.
The recall description (via The Verge) says: “FedEx and Samsung have determined that some of the recalled batteries are counterfeit and show anomalies that can lead the batteries to overheat.
“The batteries are non-OEM, which means they were not supplied as original equipment by the phone’s manufacturer, Samsung.”
Perception problem
So far there has been one report of injury as a result of the counterfeit batteries.
Those affected users will have a new, official battery shipped to them free of charge by FedEx. The CPSC is advising all folks to immediately power down their devices.
This isn’t Samsung’s fault. However, there may be a prevailing perception this means there’s another problem with the range.
Last year, millions of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones were recalled after Samsung was unable to rectify an issue with faulty batteries.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
