The credit can be used to purchase other members of Samsung’s Galaxy family. People who exchange a Note7 for any Samsung smartphone will receive up to $100 in bill credit. Alternatively, Samsung will offer $25 to customers who choose to replace their Note with a device manufactured by a different brand.
The announcement came after the expansion of the Galaxy Note7 voluntary recall program to include all phones in the public’s hands. Samsung wants every Note7 device to be returned to the company after admitting that replacement phones from the original recall appear to be suffering the same battery explosion issues as the first handsets.
Despite the serious safety concerns surrounding the Note 7, some customers are choosing to run the risk of continuing to use their device. Some Samsung super-fans have said they have no intention of exchanging their Note 7. Samsung urged all its customers to bring their phone back in the interest of public safety. The $100 bill credit appears to be an incentive to this group of users who are still using Note7 handsets.
“Customers’ safety remains a top priority and we ask consumers with an original or replacement Galaxy Note 7 to power down and take advantage of the remedies available,” said Tim Baxter, president and chief operating officer of Samsung Electronics America.
Samsung is now working with the CPSC, carriers and retailers to get the Note 7 recall campaign as widely known as possible. It is using a combination of direct communications with owners, in-store promotions and social media marketing campaigns to get the message to its customers.
In recent days, the company has begun to send out fire-proof boxes to owners. The return kit provides four layers of protection for the device, consisting of an anti-static bag and three boxes. The outer box warns shipping handlers that the contents must be transported by land or sea and cannot be taken onto an airplane.
Earlier this week, Samsung announced it has revised its third-quarter earnings guidance to take into account the fallout caused by the Note 7 recall. It cut its profit forecast by a third, saying it expects the recall to cost it around $2.3 billion. Some analysts have predicted the total cost of the disaster will eventually amount to over $10 billion.
“We appreciate the patience of our consumers, carrier and retail partners for carrying the burden during these challenging times,” said Baxter. “We are committed to doing everything we can to make this right.”
Samsung has confirmed it intends to “dispose of” every Note 7 handset. It will be making no further effort to refurbish the devices or attempt to find the fault for a third time. According to recent reports, Samsung’s engineers still have no idea what is causing the battery explosions in replacement phones. The New York Times said sources inside Samsung revealed the company has been unable to get test devices to explode.
Samsung thought it had remedied the problem by switching to battery cells manufactured by ATL, rather than the defective ones built by Samsung SDI. The continued issues have left the company unable to run the risk of keeping the Note7 on sale. It is widely expected Samsung will now drop the Note brand entirely next year.
