Samsung ends Note 7 exchange compensation this month

By Lee Min-hyung

Samsung Electronics plans to end compensation programs for Galaxy Note 7 users here to speed up the exchanges of the ill-fated smartphone whose sales and production were terminated last month over its safety concerns.

This comes a month after the Seoul-based handset giant started the “Galaxy Upgrade Program” for Note 7 users, following its worldwide recall due to unconfirmed battery fires.

Late last month, the company announced a series of compensation measures to prompt its users to exchange their devices with new ones or get a refund, amid the lingering safety concerns and recommendations from regulatory agencies here and abroad.

Under the program, they can be compensated by 100,000 won ($85.59) if they exchange their devices with other Samsung handsets ― including the Galaxy S7, S7 edge or Galaxy Note 5 ― no later than Nov. 30.

When Note 7 users buy the S7 or S7 edge on a two-year installment plan and pay half, they can get upcoming Galaxy devices ― the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 ― without paying installment fees.

The mobile industry estimates only half of the total of some 500,000 Note 7 devices in Korea have been returned so far. The figure is far short of Samsung’s expectations, as the exchange rate in the United States market reached some 90 percent for some 1.9 million devices.

To speed up the exchange for Korean users, Samsung recently added a blue coral color to S7 and S7 edge models.

Meanwhile, the Korea Agency for Technology and Standards last month urged Note 7 users not to use and power down the device, citing safety concerns. Following the announcement, Samsung Electronics has since run the refund and exchange program for the device since Oct. 13.