All US carriers will let you swap replacement Note 7
Not happy with the "safe" Samsung Galaxy Note 7? There are options at each carrier.
- SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners, the carriers are giving you an out.
Sprint said that any customers with a "safe" Galaxy Note 7 can trade it in for any other device at one of its stores. Verizon and AT&T later said that they too would let customers who felt uncomfortable with their replacement Note 7 exchange it for another phone. T-Mobile also updated its policy to fall in line with the rest of the carriers.
The carriers are taking action after a replacement Galaxy Note 7 allegedly caught on fire aboard a Southwest Airlines plane this week. (Samsung issued replacement phones after recalling its original batch of Note 7 devices because of a battery flaw that could lead to overheating.) The Federal Aviation Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are looking into the incident.
Sprint extended the trade-in period throughout the investigation window. A Sprint spokeswoman said customers can trade the Note 7 for any phone of equal or lesser value, but would have to pay the difference on a more expensive phone.
AT&T and Verizon now offer the trade-in option as well.
"Any Verizon customer concerned about the safety of their replacement Note 7 smartphone may take it back to the original point of purchase to exchange it for another smartphone beginning Saturday, October 8," the carrier said in a statement. "Verizon online customers may also exchange their replacement Note 7 smartphones at Verizon stores beginning Saturday, October 8."
T-Mobile customers previously got only two weeks after receiving their replacement Note 7 units. Afterward, they could have turned it in for "trade-in" credit, which is less than the full value of the phone. The carrier updated its policy Friday afternoon.
Samsung said it's looking into the Southwest incident and is in close contact with the CPSC.
"Samsung understands the concern our carriers and consumers must be feeling after recent reports have raised questions about our newly released replacement Note 7 devices," the company said in a statement.
"We continue to move quickly to investigate the reported case to determine the cause and will share findings as soon as possible...If we conclude a safety issue exists, we will work with the CPSC to take immediate steps to address the situation."
First published October 7, 7:22 a.m. PT.
Update, 10:07 a.m. and 12:02, 2:50 and 7:59 p.m.: Adds responses from AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.
Update, October 8 at 11:23 a.m.: Adds comment from Samsung.