Samsung: 1 million customers now using safe Galaxy Note 7s

It may have taken a little while, but Samsung Galaxy Note 7 customers are beginning to feel a little easier about their handsets these days. Samsung has issued a statement announcing that 1 million customers around the world are now using safe Galaxy Note 7 handsets, as the worldwide recall moves into its final stages.

Samsung’s global voluntary recall began on September 2nd, but has kicked into high gear in the past couple of weeks after Samsung issued a mandatory updates to phones which prompt users to return their smartphones. The recall hasn’t gone entirely smoothly for Samsung though. After a couple of explosion reports in China, Samsung has reaffirmed on its Chinese website that the handsets on sale in the country are indeed safe, because they are using a different battery to those that can overheat. Samsung’s reputation has taken a hit in China despite not being affected by the battery issue, and the company has already dropped out of the top five manufacturers in the country.

Speaking of China, it seems that Samsung is simply swapping out the potentially explosive batteries from global models with cells that it is already using in safe Chinese handsets. So, all models of the Note 7 will end up with batteries manufactured by the country’s Amperex Technology Limited (ATL).

Currently, the brand new Note 7 products that have been swapped in overseas markets are using identical batteries to those that were supplied and used for the Chinese version,” – Samsung

While 1 million safe users is a good milestone to hit, at the time of the recall back on September 5th, Samsung needed to replace around 2.5 million Note 7s from around the globe. With 90 percent of customers opting for replacement models rather than a refund, that still leaves Samsung with some 1.25 million handsets to exchange.

Once the recall is complete, Samsung will begin shipping stock back out to store shelves for the rest of us to buy. The recall is expected to be completed in early October, with the majority of sales expected to restart before the end of the month. Samsung currently expects to recommence sales of the Note 7 on October 21st in the US and 28th in Europe.