Reuters/Erik De Castro
A reveller blows fire to celebrate Lunar New Year at Manila's Chinatown February 19, 2015. The Chinese Lunar New Year on February 19 will welcome the Year of the Sheep (also known as the Year of the Goat or Ram).
In September, Samsung was forced to issue a global recall of Note 7 devices amid dozens of reports that a faulty battery was causing them to explode. Over the past several days, five different reports have indicated that the replacement Note 7 devices were plagued by the same problem.
Several major carriers had already paused sales of the Note 7. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are making exemptions to their exchange policy and allowing Note 7 owners to return it for a new phone.
Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.