Dubai: Samsung Gulf on Thursday said it will allow owners of the recalled Galaxy Note 7 to get either a full refund or a new Galaxy S7 Edge. The difference in price between the Note and the S7 will be refunded in cash, but users can also use the refund to purchase additional Samsung products, the company said in a statement on its website.
More specific details on how to get a refund or exchange the Note 7 have not yet been announced but are expected.
“We are putting in place a process to facilitate the exchange and refund of devices and will inform the Galaxy Note 7 users of the next steps at the earliest,” the website said.
The technology giant announced the recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in early September following reports of the phones’ batteries catching fire. On Tuesday, the manufacturer decided to stop producing Note 7s for the sake of consumer safety after the second recall.
In the UAE, all retailers stopped selling Note 7s from Tuesday itself after the official statement from Samsung.
Samsung has issued a total recall in certain major markets globally, advising consumers to return all of the Note 7 smartphones for a refund or replacement devices such as the Samsung S7 or S7 Edge and cash incentives.
Samsung had sold 19,000 Note 7s in the UAE so far.
The Korean conglomerate, which is the world’s largest phone-maker, will need to ramp up its production of S7 phones if customers are willing to accept it as a replacement device.
“We are working with relevant regulatory bodies to investigate the recently reported cases involving the Galaxy Note 7. Because consumers’ safety remains our top priority,” website said.
