The manufacturer has also asked owners to turn their phones off.......for good.

Photo: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
Photo: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
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A few weeks ago I flew to Chicago for a wedding.  The pilot came on to recite his usual announcements, people got settled into their seats and the flight attendants started to make the final announcements before takeoff.

Now I've been flying on commercial airliners since I was five, but never have I heard a flight attendant make the announcement that a specific phone may not be used while we're in the air and must be powered off.  However American Airlines stated that Galaxy Note7 models MUST be turned off for the duration of the flight, no questions asked.

I had heard of the problems with the phone before, but this was a real wake up call. Recently, Galaxy Note 7 models have been spontaneously catching fire. After numerous reports of incidents, the FAA began to take immediate action.

So why did it take Samsung until now to finally advise customers on powering the phones down for good and turning them in for different models?  How does this happen?

USA Today reports that the mobile company "advised Note customers to turn off their devices and to take advantage of available remedies, including a full refund." They deemed this to be the "safest course of action."

Samsung released a statement late yesterday.....

.....all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 while the investigation is taking place.

Needless to say, if you own one of these phones, it's probably a good time to head in to your wireless carrier for an exchange for a new model.

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