Carriers are offering replacements for Note 7 replacements in wake of latest incident

Exploding phones are really bad PR. But when one of the post-recall replacement reportedly starts to spontaneously smoke inside a customer’s pocket on a plane, you’ve got a veritable code red disaster on your hands. In light of that most recent story, customers are becoming understandably wary about their Galaxy Note 7 devices, even as Samsung cheerily noted high retention rates during that initial recall.

Some of the country’s biggest carriers have taken notice of concern around the fiery phablets, issuing plans designed to let consumers trade their Notes in for less problematic devices while Samsung and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission attempt to figure out what the heck is going on with the devices intended to replace that earlier bunch.

Sprint was one of the first to respond to the issue, explaining that it was working with Samsung on the issue and adding helpfully that it will let users exchange their handset for another product. Here’s the statement,

At this time, CPSC has not specifically said if customers should or should not use the replacement model. If a Sprint customer with a replacement Note 7 has any concerns regarding their device, we will exchange it for any other device at any Sprint retail store during the investigation window.

T-Mobile has responded as well, though the Uncarrier’s timeline is more finite that Sprint’s nebulous “investigation window,” instead citing its “remorse” policy, which gives users a standard two-week window with which to exchange a product, whether due to explosion concerns or any other reason they might feel like they’ve made a terrible mistake.

AT&T has also let it be known that it will allow customers to exchange their device, though the specific parameters around such a plan have yet to be revealed. As far as Verizon, the company has yet to detail any such exchange plan.

Verizon, for its part, will also be offering up an exchange program, though exact details are still forthcoming. Here’s a note we just received from the carrier,

For any Verizon customer concerned about the safety of their replacement Note7 smartphone, they will be able to exchange it for an alternate smartphone.  We will provide additional details later today.

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