Samsung Galaxy S4 Fire Leads to Alleged Cover Up by Tech Giant
A Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone caught fire while it was charging and its owner was able to record the incident, but the tech giant has refused to issue him a new phone because the phone's owner posted the video of the phone damage on YouTube.
When the phone's owner, who goes by the name of GhostlyRich, posted the video on YouTube it caught the attention of Samsung, who took immediate action.
The company informed him that even though his phone was still under warranty they would not replace it until he took the video down.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Ghostlyrich, from Canada, decided to post a follow up video to expose Samsung's attempt to keep the incident form going viral. The second video was posted on Dec. 5 and it has earned nearly a million views.
"The other night we plugged it in and we're like, you know, letting it charge. Literally nothing different. And then the smell of smoke and fire and destruction," Ghostlyrich says during the video.
In the video you can see a close up of the burnt charging port and the phone case, which was also damaged due to the fire.
Although the internal components of the S4 were severely damaged, Ghostlyrich says the incident could have been much worse because the lithium-ion battery could have caught on fire and could have exploded.
He claims that the letter he received from Samsung requires him to remove the video in order to receive a new S4.
"I need to basically sign away the right to have my YouTube video up,'" he said. "I'm not allowed to tell you that this is a big thing."
Another stipulation in the letter is that he must not file any subsequent law suits against Samsung and must keep the details of his settlement confidential.
"They're trying to bandage it and keep people quiet," he said.
