Samsung Canada says 95 percent of Note 7s have been returned

After several months of investigation, Samsung has revealed that the Milky way Note 7'south overheating bug stem from two separate bombardment issues.

In social club to uncover the root cause, Samsung tasked a team of 700 engineers with examining 200,000 devices and 30,000 batteries. In addition, the S Korean tech behemothic outsourced research to third-party investigation firms, which came to similar conclusions. Two blueprint flaws were found: Ane in the upper right corner of the first run of the telephone's battery, and the second, a manufacturing defect that caused the bombardment to short circuit and ignite into flames.

During an interview with MobileSyrup, Paul Brannen, COO and executive vice president of mobile solutions at Samsung Canada, explained why his company needed to hold a press briefing to outline the result of its investigation into the Note 7's defects.

Q: Why hold a press briefing for a recalled smartphone?

Paul Brannen: I've been in the industry for 14 years and I've never seen anything like this. My comments are coming from a Samsung perspective and I thought it was really important to go out and actually get third party agencies involved. We actually used people who are experts in this field and wanted their stance. For me, it speaks to where we want to take the business organization longer term and how important it is to have a level of trust with the consumer.

What impressed me the nearly is that there were 700 Samsung researchers involved in this, with over 200,000 devices and 30,000 batteries. If you think that in that location were about 3 million devices in full, information technology's well-nigh ten percent of all devices we put out in the market, take gone through some level of testing.

"Nosotros owned up and will brand sure it does not happen in the hereafter."

Nosotros owned up and said in that location was a deformation on the battery itself and manufacturing issues, just we endemic up and will make sure it does non happen in the futurity. We take put in an eight-point check that volition are going to practice moving forward and have actually started that process with future products and products that will come up in the next couple months.

We not only want to ain this from a Samsung perspective but want to own it on behalf of the industry. We want to create and share, even with our competitors, our findings. I think our actions moving forwards volition merely demonstrate that we are better for this longer term.

Q: How has the Note 7 recall impacted your business?

Note 7

Brannen: In Canada, we had our best quaternary quarter from a sell through perspective than we've had in years. It'due south interesting with the Annotation 7 because at that place is such a loyal following of that product, I recollect for us making these steps allows us to only further demonstrate to consumers ultimately how nosotros experience about how the products we put out to the marketplace, and that they are in fact the most of import to us.

Sure, there was financial damage done to the business, but that is a brusque term thing equally I think the steps we took at present will help our make in the future.

Q: From a Canadian perspective, how many Note 7 devices have now been returned?

Brannen: There was near 67,000 devices out in the Canadian marketplace, between Battery A and Battery B. This includes product that was sold to consumers and retail outlets not yet sold.

We have taken 99 percent of the product off the carriers' networks. Even if you take returned your device, they actually disabled it on their network, outside of the GSMA blacklisting. Bell went above, Rogers went above, Telus went to a higher place, Wind/Freedom went above… every Canadian carrier went above and beyond to disable these devices on their network.

Q: How many Note seven devices in Canada are still outstanding?

Brannen: I have a number equally of Friday that there were merely over 200 devices still active on the Canadian networks. How that happens is that if you disable a device on the Bell network and move information technology over to Rogers, nosotros accept to go through the network by catching the IMEI and disabling it. I had a conversation with all the carriers and they are all committed to disabling those final 200 devices. We volition have 100 percent of the product eradicated from the Canadian networks soon.

"I'm getting downwardly to these small numbers across this vast land to become those products dorsum."

We take nearly 95 percent of the product back, the remaining in carrier or retail locations still waiting to be returned to united states of america. Believe it or not, equally a sidebar, there are seven units in the Northern part of British Columbia that UPS, because all units have to be land transferred, does not go to. So I have to find a service that can actually go and option up those devices that's certified to handle dangerous appurtenances. I'yard getting down to these pocket-size numbers across this vast land to get those products back.

If y'all remember virtually this device it'due south a communications device. We had a mode to communicate with the device and the consumers who had it. Nosotros made near xxx,000 phone calls in the Canadian marketplace.

Nosotros created 103 push notifications between October 15th and December 12th. We delivered fourteen,000 SMS messages and popular-upwardly messages of the Note 7.

When the Department of Ship banned the Note 7 on an airline, we installed airport kiosks in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal for customers to render your device and give you a GS7 or GS7 edge. Nosotros reached 1,380 people traveling this way and did immediate exchanges of 43 devices this way (YUL had 194 interactions and 7 devices exchanged; YYZ had 437 interactions and 16 devices exchanged; YUR had 749 interactions and 20 devices exchanged.)

Q: Does this hateful the Annotation line will continue?

Brannen: I tin't really comment on futurity product or and the product roadmap. I think some things were mentioned this summer that would ensure u.s. to believe that.

Clearly, our near-term focus is on the next flagship launch, which will happen in a couple months and information technology will be really critical for us. Nosotros will always be innovating and moving applied science forward.

In an interview with CNET, D.J Koh, the head of mobile at Samsung, stated that the Note line will continue.