It appears that Samsung is planning to shut down the remaining Galaxy Note 7 units in the United States through an update that will prevent the smartphones from charging.
For stubborn customers who have so far refused to send back their recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to have them replaced with another device, time is running out.
Upcoming Galaxy Note 7 Update
According to a report by The Verge, it was able to acquire an image of an alert that was received by a Galaxy Note 7 owner who is a subscriber of U.S. Cellular.
The alert states that, on Dec. 15, Samsung will be modifying the software of the Galaxy Note 7 to prevent the smartphone from charging.
"The phone will no longer work," the message stated, presumably meaning that after the current battery charge of the device runs out, users will no longer be able to recharge the Galaxy Note 7 to use it.
Samsung has so far declined to comment, while U.S. Cellular has not responded to a request for comment. It is also unclear whether all major carriers in the United States will release the same update, but that is likely the case.
Samsung's Efforts To Recall All Galaxy Note 7 Units
In September, Samsung released an update that places a limit of a 60 percent charge on Galaxy Note 7 batteries, in a bid to prevent the batteries of the smartphones from overheating and causing an explosion.
The upcoming update for the smartphone might seem somewhat drastic, but it shows how serious Samsung is in retrieving all remaining Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that are still out in the wild. The devices are fire hazards due to the risk they carry in their batteries prone to overheating and catching fire, and so the company is looking to ensure the safety of customers and the people around them by replacing the recalled device with another model.
The update that will prevent the smartphone from being charged is different from what Samsung will do in Canada though. Beginning Dec. 15, Samsung Canada will stop all network access to all the unreturned Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in the country.
For people who are still holding on to their Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, it is highly recommended that you take up Samsung's recall program offer and have the device replaced.
The Galaxy Note 7 you might own right now might not have exploded yet, but as hardware engineers have recently reported, the aggressive design of the smartphone's battery will eventually lead to massive swelling for the device's battery.
