Nevertheless, the announcement, which brings an end to the requirement that has been in place since October, comes as a welcome development for both Samsung and Galaxy Note 7 owners.
The Department of Transportation initiated the announcement requirement at the same time that the FAA banned the devices from both passenger carry-on and checked luggage following reports that the devices were spontaneously exploding, sometimes while in flight.
Shortly after the Note 7 launched last summer, owners began complaining that the batteries in their phones would either catch fire or explode. Samsung was forced to initiate a product recall in September, and even took the unusual measure of asking all Note 7 owners to immediately power down their devices and exchange them for replacement units.
The problem with the phone stemmed from a faulty battery that had a tendency to overheat. In some cases, the batteries exploded, injuring consumers. The fault was eventually attributed to a problem in the phone's lithium-ion battery, one which the company said affected an estimated 2.5 million units.
"Lithium-ion batteries pack a lot of power into a small package. When these batteries overheat and burst, the results can be serious. This is why the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging all consumers who own a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to power them down and stop charging or using the device,?EU? the CPSC said in a statement issued in...