There is no escaping the overheating batteries issue for the Galaxy Note 7. AT&T and T-Mobile have now ceased offering the Samsung phablet in the U.S. and the South Korean company has now stopped sending supplies to the Australian carrier Telstra. Fans and industry observers mused that this may be the start of the device's demise.
Samsung has started selling replacement units of their Galaxy Note 7 with "safe" batteries, but this new batch may have the same problem. According to Forbes, at least three reports of the phablet catching on fire have emerged.
U.S. Carriers Make The First Step
AT&T and T-Mobile have both issued statements that they are now halting the sales of the Galaxy Note 7 replacement units.
"Based on recent reports, we're no longer exchanging new Note 7s at this time, pending further investigation of these reported incidents," an AT&T spokesperson said. "We still encourage customers with a recalled Note7 to visit an AT&T location to exchange that device for another Samsung smartphone or other smartphone of their choice."
T-Mobile followed suit with a press release, stating that they are "temporarily suspending all sales of the new Note7 and exchanges for replacement Note7 devices" while the tech giant is investigating the issue.
Samsung Cuts Supply To Australia's Telstra
An internal memo from Telstra, which was acquired by The Verge, noted that Samsung has "temporarily paused" shipping to the Australian mobile carrier. The decision was made as a response to the reported incidents in the U.S., in which a Southwest flight was cancelled due to a smoking Note 7.
Additionally, the memo also mentioned that Samsung is still "confident in replacement Note 7 and says they have no reason to believe it's not safe."
Is This The Start Of Note 7's Discontinuation?
Following these reports, rumors have been flying around that Samsung is cutting off the problematic Note 7 entirely despite the positive attention it got from the consumers. Some are losing faith that the tech giant can still make their flagship work without hiccups, so the only logical thing left to do for Samsung might be to discontinue the product.
