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FAA May Ban Galaxy Note 7 On Flights Due To Exploding Batteries (gizmodo.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Samsung has recalled roughly 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after it was discovered that at least 35 of the devices had spontaneously burst into flames due to faulty batteries. As a result, the FAA is deciding whether or not to ban the devices on planes. "The FAA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are working on guidance related to this issue," an FAA spokesperson told Gizmodo over email. "If the device is recalled by the manufacturer, airline crew and passengers will not be able to bring recalled batteries or electronics that contain recalled batteries in the cabin of an aircraft, or in carry-on and checked baggage." Gizmodo reports: "If this sounds confusing, that's because it is. Samsung has already "recalled" the Galaxy Note 7, but the South Korean company hasn't actually recalled it the right way. The proper way to institute a recall is to get the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission involved from the beginning. Samsung didn't do that. And now, federal agencies like the FAA are left scrambling and days behind, trying to figure out what to do."
As I understand it, the recall effot on the Note 7 has been for the cell service providers to tell their customers to return their phones to the store they bought them from, and then exchange it for a new Note 7 without the problem battery in it. How do they plan on telling ones that have undergone the recall (and thus are safe) from those that haven't, even months later when the recall is "over"?
Now I don't mind if you have your gizmos but if it has a significant chance of overheating and causing a fire where they are incredibly deadly (because were else are you going to go to get away in a jet). I have to say im siding with the FAA on that one.
You know just because they have the same stuff in them does not mean the design is obviously faulty like this device. I would consider any fire on a jet to be a very serious situation and its not worth the risk so somebody can check facebook.
Has a battery exploded yet?
You know just because they have the same stuff in them does not mean the design is obviously faulty like this device. I would consider any fire on a jet to be a very serious situation and its not worth the risk so somebody can check facebook.
So you're proposing banning all phones from all planes (in both checked bags and carry-on)?
I would consider any fire on a jet to be a very serious situation
You don't bring your flamethrower with you when you travel!?
IT'S LIKE YOU WANT THE TERRORISTS TO WIN!
I hope Samsung takes one HELL of a financial beating over this, because most of the cost will be well-deserved punishment for taking away removable batteries. Had the N7 allowed batteries to be swapped, they could have given anyone who agreed to surrender their defective battery two or three free replacements (total cost to Samsung: about $5-10 at eBay Chinese battery prices) and used customers as a vast, unpaid labor force to do the battery swaps. Instead, Samsung is going to have to eat the cost of a recall (including shipping) AND pay employees to swap the batteries & re-package the phones.
onboard the fiasko called the Boeing Dreamliner. They're right at home.
I wouldn't call the Dreamliner a fiasko (sic), they've sold 1100 and delivered 445 of them. Sales are below expectations, but I'd hardly consider is a fiasco, despite the early problems.
Sales are below expectations for the past year or so, but that tracks an overall drop in widebody orders. It's also to an extent not all that relevant whether the 78 project makes money (and it likely will in the long run) given the amount of research done. There's a forthcoming 757 replacement, and the company's committed to replacing the 737 in the next decade with a full redesign. Expect a lot of recycling design factors from the Dreamliner that'll save money.
The rollout really went incredibly smoothly, too. *All* new airframes have substantial issues going out the door, and Boeing substantially changed the character of a greater than normal set of systems than normal.
1) 35 incidents over 2.5 million devices (thus far). So what are the odds of something happening ever to any one person, much less on a plane (how many have the phones that are NOT recalled, then see #3 below)?
2) How are they supposed to know which GN7's have been swapped with new models or not? (Hint: They can't.) So they will ban anything that looks like a GN7 forever?
3) Can't find proof, but I bet most of the incidents were during high-power charging. How many are going to be charged while on a plane, much less in high-power mode?
4) How many OTHER devices have similar problems, just not well publicized?
Nope just ones that catch fire.
There is no way they can Ban them and actually implement this since they would have to train employees on how to detect a GN7 vs any other phone. The TSA can't even keep bad things from getting through security, let alone airline employees knowing anything.
Hell they can't even keep people from making calls during take off and landing.
It took the FAA most of a decade to finally get a ruling regarding all cellphones, and now you want Mongo the Microencephalic TSA Screener to make advanced technical decisions regarding consumer electronics?
Oh, this is going to be rich...
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If my Surface can be mistaken for an iPad, I don't see why my Note 7 can't be an iPhone.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I personally find cell phone batteries in general dangerous. I remember a number of years ago when apple was going through something similar with Cell batteries catching fire. If I remember correctly there was an Iphone that did catch fire on the plane and burned a seat. All you need to do is simply damage almost any kind of cell battery and it can go up in smoke.
Samsung has always been trying to beat apple's launch date to grab customers... but this time it blows up in their face because the recall is not timely enough and Apple has ordered an increase of their production to compensate for the delay on Samsung's side.
The ban only makes sense... I don't care if the phone has been replaced or not because passengers can simply lie and get on the plane, then blow the damn thing out of the sky. If you ask me... banning Note7 versus safety of few hundred passengers... my answer can be given anytime without hesitation.
Because Samsung was in a hurry to beat apple on the launch date, they didn't do a good enough job on their battery and they deserve the consequences.
Then I can afford two instead of one much sooner. To me it isn't negative press but rather positive. The company actually takes accountability for it's products without prodding. And for the idiots that look at this as negative and would rather to an iPhone: good riddance. It will hopefully make the phones cheaper sooner which means more people will buy them. It's an amazing product.
I like removable batteries but those have hard thick outer cases which means less battery capacity. Integrated batteries are soft and flexible and thinly shielded. I like the new backpacks for the note which serve the purpose of a swapable battery. They are battery in a snap case which wirelessly charges the phone. This means you can have multiple backpacks and it's even easier than swapping batteries. Low on battery? Switch from your usual case to the backpack. Couldn't be easier.
Matter of fact they have done just that until Boeing redesigned the battery containment.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
Punish literally millions of people because Samsung fucked up on a small fraction of one brand new product, which they are attempting to make right (even though they are making a hash of it).
Yeah, that's not an overreaction that would normally draw consternation around here.
Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
No what means the device is obviously faulty is catching fire.
All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
Speed tape in this case.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap