Samsung announced on Friday that it will push an update to all remaining units of it’s Galaxy Note 7 handsets which will prevent them from charging, eliminating their ability to work as mobile devices.
The company says “more than 93 percent of all recalled Galaxy Note7 devices” have been returned. The devices were found to be faulty earlier this year, causing a number of fires while being charged. The December 19 update will ensure no other fires will be caused by charging the smartphone.
Consumer safety remains our highest priority and we’ve had overwhelming participation in the U.S. Note7 Refund and Exchange Program so far, with more than 93 percent of all recalled Galaxy Note7 devices returned.
To further increase participation, a software update will be released starting on December 19th that will prevent U.S. Galaxy Note7 devices from charging and will eliminate their ability to work as mobile devices.
If you have not yet returned your device, you should immediately power it down and contact your carrier to obtain a refund or exchange.
However, Reuters reports that Verizon Communications Inc said it would not take part in the update because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note7 users that do not have another device to switch to.
The South Korean electronics firm also announced it has expanded the recall of the Galaxy Note 7 — including both the original and replacement devices it first attempted to resolve the issue with — via cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and carriers and retailers across the country. Samsung customers can still receive a refund, or get another Samsung phone.
While Samsung issued a global recall for the Galaxy note 7 just before the release of the iPhone 7 lineup, the continued reports of original and replacement units catching fire became a public relations nightmare for the company.
