To combat issues Galaxy Note 7 owners traveling overseas are having with the new and permanent flight ban placed on the smartphone, Samsung has begun setting up exchange points at airports to allow users to easily surrender their devices.
Such exchange points have already been set up at airports in Korea , Australia and San Francisco. Galaxy Note 7 owners can expect to find these exchange points in "high-traffic terminals" before security screening, according to Samsung. At these points they will be able to backup their information before giving up their smartphone.
Since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) once again banned the Galaxy Note 7 from U.S. flights, bringing the smartphone onto an airplane is now considered a federal crime, punishable through fines or prison time.
Until Samsung set up it’s exchange points, many travelers were experiencing issues at airports and didn’t have clear instructions on what to do with their Galaxy Note 7 devices before a flight. While Samsung and some carriers have also suggested travelers ship handsets back to the U.S. in fireproof boxes, some other Galaxy Note 7 owners have gotten counterproductive advice from carriers, such as attempting to smuggle the device onto a plane in a sock.
Galaxy Note 7 owners who fail to comply with the ban risk a $179,933 or prosecution and imprisonment for up to 10 years.
