Samsung has staunchly encouraged Galaxy Note 7 owners to hand over their devices back to the company given the faux pas everyone is probably all-too-familiar with by now. However, the effort has apparently been less effective than the company hoped, as some are still averse to returning their devices for undetermined reasons.
Even after numerous reports pitting Note 7 handsets as hazardous explosives, the threat to peril isn't convincing enough for some, apparently. Verizon, in fact, still has "thousands" of Note 7 units out there, even after issuing a software update that deliberately incapacitated the phone and halted its recharging function.
Several users have apparently bypassed the upgrade and have since resumed using their Note 7 devices, much to Verizon's dismay, the Big Red says.
"In spite of our best efforts, there are still customers using the recalled phones who have not returned or exchanged their Note 7 to the point of purchase," a spokeswoman from Verizon told Fortune. "The recalled Note 7s pose a safety risk to our customers and those around them."
Some Users Still Aren't Returning Their Note 7
As a result, Verizon is set to uphold extra measures to essentially force users out of their relentless preference to possess a potentially life-threatening device. The company is poised to relegate these devices in a specific category that'll effectively reroute every outgoing call — save for 911 calls, of course — to customer service. What's more, since Samsung has already handed out these users' due recompense, Verizon is also saying that it could potentially bill the unreturned devices at full retail cost.
Galaxy Note 7 Fiasco
Samsung along with wireless carriers implored all owners of Note 7 devices to return their handsets in September in light of reports of fires caused by exploding Note 7 devices surfaced fervently — and most owners did as told, as anyone is probably wont to do, given the serious hazards associated with the device.
Samsung said on Jan. 10 that more than 96 percent of all Note 7 devices have been successfully returned. To ensure that remaining devices won't cause further problems, Samsung alongside handset carriers decided to distribute a "kill switch" software update over that was meant to bar the phones from networks, or being recharged. Some units, however, successfully circumvented it.
Samsung is poised to disclose its findings after investigating what caused Note 7 devices to explode this month. Logically, it behooves the company to also ensure consumers that its forthcoming flagships, such as the Galaxy S8, will not suffer the same fate as the Note 7's.
Verizon says owners who hand over their Note 7 device are still eligible for up to $100 in bill credit with a waived upgrade fee, according to the carrier.
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Jan. 10 lifted its Note 7 ban, finally removing the pre-boarding notification requirement in every flight that announced the hazardous nature of Note 7 devices.
The company's next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, is in the grand position to repair damages in loyalty — and, well, in profit — incurred by the Note 7's embattled stint. But that remains to be seen once the device is released in the next few months.
