It turns out that using the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on US airlines is illegal.
The Federal Aviation Administration has warned airlines that their passengers shouldn’t be using the Galaxy Note 7 in-flight. The guidance comes after Samsung issued a global recall for the phone on September 2, when an internal investigation uncovered a serious battery fault that was causing some users’ handsets to spontaneously catch fire.
According to the FAA, airlines that don’t enforce a ban are breaking the law:
“US hazardous material regulations prohibit air cargo shipments of recalled or defective lithium batteries and lithium battery-powered devices, and passengers may not turn on or charge the devices when they carry them on board a plane.”
The FAA also says that passengers need to “protect the devices from accidental activation”, including disabling features like alarm clocks. They’re also not allowed to pack them in checked luggage.
The Galaxy Note 7 was announced on August 2, and features a 5.7-inch QHD display, an octa-core Exynos chip, 64GB storage, 4GB of RAM, and a 12-megapixel ‘DualPixel’ camera. It also boasts an S-Pen stylus, a waterproof body and, for the first time ever, an iris scanner.
Sales of the Galaxy Note 7 are currently halted in the UK, but are expected to resume on September 28.
