The fallout from Samsung’s not-so-little problem concerning the Galaxy Note 7’s tendency to get a little hot under the collar just seems to keep on getting worse for them. Earlier today, we covered the news that there are more reports of the Galaxy Note 7 exploding, catching fire or otherwise failing throughout the world than Samsung were originally letting on. Of course, the figures released from Samsung a couple of weeks ago were bound to increase over time, especially as this has yet to become a mandatory product recall. While Samsung has apparently identified and fixed the issue with the Galaxy Note 7’s battery, the South Korean firm has a global recall to roll back and repair. As the company keeps working on repairing the damage, the firm has apparently come up with a “quick fix” in the form of an OTA software update, but some users definitely aren’t going to like it.
The update in question will limit the amount of battery that users can put back into their Galaxy Note 7 when recharging to 60%. This has no doubt been put in place in order to reduce the amount of heat generated while charging, therefore reducing the risk of an exploding battery while recharging all the way to 100%. The news hit the front page of South Korean newspaper Seoul Shinmun and advises users that the update will be rolled out for those that don’t quite believe how serious the product recall really is. Samsung Electronics, the firm responsible for the mobile side of things, said that “It is a measure to put consumer safety first but we apologize for causing inconvenience”. Said update will start to hit Galaxy Note 7 devices starting September 20th at 2AM, which is assumed to be 2AM South Korean time. Whether or not this update will roll out in other countries is unclear right now, but given that the recall is underway throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and a number of other key markets for the firm, it’s more than likely.
According to analysts, as well as those “familiar with the matter”, Samsung has done all they can to encourage users to send in their devices for a replacement, but it appears as though a lot of them simply aren’t turning in their phones. Using this method, limiting the battery life of the phone, appears to be Samsung’s way of upping the ante, and making sure that those in risk of danger have little choice to exchange their device for a working model.