Samsung had a previous wireless phone recall in 1994

What makes the "unofficial" recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 such a heartbreak for Samsung is that the phablet was selling extremely well. This was going to be a spectacular year for Sammy. The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge got the year off to a great start as the manufacturer was obviously listening to its customers. Popular features that had been removed on the Samsung Galaxy S6, like the IP certification for dust and waterproofing of the device, and the microSD slot, had returned on 2016's flagship phones. It quickly became apparent that the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge were the top Android handsets to beat in early 2016.

And the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 kept the momentum going. The first Note to offer a waterproof build, Samsung even added an iris scanner. But just as Samsung's shares hit an all time high on the back of a positive launch for the high-end phablet, news came out about two Galaxy Note 7 units that exploded while charging. 

While Samsung is getting mostly high marks for taking quick action to halt shipping and sales of the phone, and for helping carriers set up exchange offers, the company is taking heat from Consumers Reports for not making it an official recall. Doing so would get other governmental agencies involved, and would make it illegal to sell the phone for now. Samsung is going to take as much as a $1 billion hit on a phone that they should have been making big bucks with.

Interestingly enough, this is not the first time that Samsung has had to deal with a recall of a phone, official or not. In 1994, Samsung rolled its first wireless phone off of the assembly line. While the technology was widely lauded, 11.8% of these handsets were defective and 150,000 units had to be sent back to Samsung. 2,000 employees watched as the handsets were destroyed right in front of them, probably to drum in to their minds a lesson learned about product quality.

source: AndroidAuthority