Two more Galaxy Note 7 replacements caught fire this week

Unfortunately, that replacement Galaxy Note 7 which caught fire wasn’t just a one-off. There are now two more incidents of the ostensibly safer smartphone igniting and threatening the health of its users. To start, a teen in Farmington, Minnesota reports that her replacement Note 7 started burning up while it was in her hand on October 7th. She ‘only’ suffered a minor burn to her thumb, but tells KSTP that it could have been worse if it was in her pocket. Both Samsung and the Consumer Product Safety Commission say they’re investigating the issue.

The other incident is more concerning, however. Michael Klering in Nicholasville, Kentucky describes his replacement Note 7 catching fire in the early morning on October 4th, while it was sitting unplugged in his bedroom. While it didn’t set the bedroom on fire, it filled the room with smoke — a hospital diagnosed Klering with acute bronchitis following the blaze. He declined to give the phone to Samsung, but agreed to have it X-rayed for the firm’s investigation. It’s not clear if the CPSC is investigating this fire as well, although that seems probable given that it’s looking into the Farmington situation.

To make matters worse, a Samsung representative’s behavior raised eyebrows. One of the agents helping him accidentally texted him a message intended for another person at the company, indicating that the rep considered stalling Klering. “Just now got this,” it reads. “I can try and slow him down if we think it will matter, or we just let him do what he keeps threatening to do and see if he does it.” Klering now says that he’s looking into legal help.

We’ve asked Samsung for comment on both fires, particularly the one in Kentucky. However, it’s already safe to say that this doesn’t look good for the Korean tech giant. This represents three known fires in just the past week, and the Kentucky case happened the day before the Southwest Airlines fire that raised alarm bells. While the jury’s still out on whether these incidents are connected, there’s a mounting concern that the phone’s new battery isn’t any safer than before — or worse, that the Note 7 design is inherently flawed.

Via: The Verge (1), (2), Hatge (Twitter)

Source: KSTP, WKYT