The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted a requirement for airlines to make pre-boarding announcements related to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone just ahead of the company’s planned release of its report detailing the device’s battery issues.
In a note posted last week, Samsung said the U.S. Department of Transportation will no longer require airlines to warn customers against bringing their Note 7 devices on flights thanks to “exceptionally high” rates of participation in the device recall program.
According to Samsung, more than 96 percent of Galaxy Note 7 phones have been returned to date. Additionally, the company recently released a device update – pushed by the four major U.S. wireless carriers in December and earlier this month – that essentially bricks any outstanding devices by rendering them unable to charge.
Reuters this weekend reported Samsung is expected to announce the results of its investigation into the Note 7’s overheating and fire issues on Jan. 23, the day before the company’s fourth quarter earnings results are released. According to Reuters’ source, the report concludes the battery was the main reason for the failures, as the fires could not be explained by “hardware design or software-related matters.”
Reuters indicated the head of Samsung’s mobile business, Koh Dong-jin, will share the new measures Samsung is taking to prevent a repeat of the Note 7 failures in future devices during the Jan. 24 earnings call.
The news comes as follow up to the recall of approximately 2.5 million Note 7 devices in September and a second recall of replacement Note 7 devices in October. The company eventually halted production of the device altogether, and pledged to look into what had caused the issue.
All told, the recall debacle was expected to cost the company at least $5.3 billion.
Filed Under: Devices
