Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 is blowing up, and not just because it’s the one of the best smartphones ever made (according to Yours Truly, anyway). No, it’s been blowing up quite literally, with at least 35 units reported to have caught fire by Samsung’s official count (and probably more in reality).
So Samsung issued a voluntary recall for free replacements, and now T-Mobile US is providing a complete refund. The company has stopped sales of the device after the official recall, and customers can get a refund for anything they paid for the device, including accessories. You won’t be charged restocking or shipping fees, and you can even keep the free Netflix subscription offered with the pre-order.
The issue so far appears to be related with the charging mechanism; the original incident appears to have happened while charging with a microUSB to USB-C adapter. If you don’t feel like recalling your device, make sure you’re using the original charger and adapter, though you should definitely just accept a replacement for peace of mind.
No word on how long the refund offer will last, but I imagine it’s probably be until soon after the recall is over. T-Mobile expects Note 7 replacements will be available in the next two weeks, but you can also just switch to another device on the network.
On the plus side, maybe you’ll be able to get a scratch-free phone out of it.
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