Expert discusses Consumer Product Safety Commission warning about Samsung Galaxy Note 7

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ByKatie Marzullo KGO logo
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Expert discusses warning about Samsung Galaxy Note 7
Expert discusses warning about Samsung Galaxy Note 7In an unprecedented action, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Friday that anyone with a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 should turn it off and stop using it immediately.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- There are new details on a very serious and rare warning about a smartphone. In an unprecedented action, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Friday that anyone with a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 should turn it off and stop using it immediately. This follows several fires and explosions.

There have been 35 reported fires involving the phone and at least one of them went well beyond the phone. A Florida man says the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 caught his Jeep on fire.

RELATED: Family claims Samsung Galaxy Note 7 set their jeep ablaze

"It was very surprising to me how quick the dash caught on fire," said Nathan Dornacher. "Once it got the dash, the airbags went and started exploding."

Dornacher says his Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was charging in his Jeep Cherokee when it caught fire. The end result was the vehicle fully engulfed in flames.

The CPSC is now telling owners of this device to power down their phone immediately -- don't charge it, don't use it.

"This is one of their flagship, high end phones," said Bay Area tech analyst Larry Magid. "Highly anticipated, well reviewed."

Magid says not all Samsung Galaxy Note 7s are at risk.

"It's only in the Galaxy Note 7," he said. "And it's only in some of them because not all the batteries came from the same factory."

Still, he says there's no reason to take a chance. And Samsung is promising to give customers a replacement phone or a refund.

RELATED: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 users told to stop using devices

The CPSC is working with Samsung on an official recall.

"The first time we saw it on headlines it's like, the Note 7 on fire? Thinking like, hot sales, right?" said Minhthe Nguyen, who owns U Break I Fix stores in the South Bay.

He says it's rare for phone batteries to catch fire, even when they overheat.

"Different manufactures have different ways of dealing with the batteries," said Nguyen. "But for the most part all the batteries have a safety mechanism that's built in."

The Note 7 fires have been frequent enough to prompt the FAA to ask travelers to not turn on or charge their Note 7s in flight or to put them in a checked bag.

Click here for details on the warning from the CPSC.

For more news about Samsung and its products, click here.

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