Galaxy Note 7 banned in office

A man walks past an advertisement for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in London, Britain, September 2, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

A government department in Chengdu, Sichuan province, banned its employees from using Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in the office, following moves by domestic airlines and national civil aviation authorities to ban the use of the phone model on airplanes.

Chengdu Service, the micro blog account of Chengdu's Government Affairs Service Center, posted a notice to employees on Monday that it would ban the use of the smartphones for safety reasons.

The notice said monitoring would be increased in an area outside its office that was set up to provide free internet and recharging services for visitors.

"If visitors are found recharging Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, you should persuade them to stop," the notice said.

However, after some media outlets reported that the ban was targeting visitors to the service center, the post was removed with an explanation that the rule is an in-house policy for employees, not visitors.

Jing Rong, an office worker at the center, said on Tuesday that she has been informed of the new policy, and she would use her old phone, an iPhone 5, to replace her Galaxy Note 7.

"My superior said the center's decision-makers thought the phone's battery might cause a fire or explosion when it is recharged," she said.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has banned passengers from using or recharging Galaxy Note 7 cellphones on domestic flights. It has also banned them in checked luggage.

At least five Galaxy Note 7 users in China have reported that their phones exploded, although it's unknown whether the incidents were related to battery issues.

The latest incident was reported on Tuesday, with Liaoning TV reporting that a resident experienced his Galaxy Note 7 vibrating, becoming hot and burning.

Samsung said it will recall 1,858 Galaxy Note 7 cellphones that were manufactured between July 20 and Aug 5 and distributed in China through a Samsung website as part of a trial before the official Sept 1 launch date, according to the country's product quality watchdog.

Globally, since the debut of the Galaxy Note 7 last month, there have been about 100 reported incidents of battery explosions.

On Taisheng South Road in downtown Chengdu, which is the busiest street for cellphone transactions in the city, almost all stores specializing in Samsung cellphones sell the Galaxy Note 7 for 5,988 yuan ($898).

"Few buyers are showing interest in the model," said Ke Xiqian, a sales representative at a Samsung store.