Samsung should officially recall exploding phone: Watchdog

Samsung should officially recall all of its new Galaxy Note7 smartphones, following reports of the devices exploding or catching fire while charging, a top consumer watchdog says.

{mosads}Consumer Reports, the consumer advocate and product-tester, declared that Samsung did not go far enough Friday in announcing it had stopped selling the Note7 and promising to replace phones that consumers had already bought.

But Samsung’s actions did not amount to an official recall, “which would have involved the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and would have made it illegal to sell the phones,” Consumer Reports said in its statement. 

The watchdog said it sent test shoppers to multiple retailers on Friday morning and found the Samsung phone in question for sale at some of them.

“Samsung should immediately initiate an official recall with the Consumer Product Safety Commission given the serious nature of the safety problem it identified with the Galaxy Note7,” said Maria Rerecich, Consumer Reports director of electronics testing.

“We are particularly concerned that phones continue to be available for sale today.”