It’s been over a month since Samsung finally decided to pull the plug on the Galaxy Note 7. The company’s latest phablet just wasn’t meant to be, so after two recalls and over a hundred reports of battery fires across the world, the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer concluded that the cost of trying to save this phone just wasn’t worth it. That decision is entirely understandable since it seems that Samsung still hasn’t identified the cause of the issue. It’s been exactly one month since the company launched a thorough investigation into the matter in collaboration with the South Korean government, but no particular findings have been announced to date.
In the meantime, Samsung is doing everything it can to recall all of the remaining Galaxy Note 7 units that are still out in the wild. While recent reports suggest that most devices have already been refunded or replaced, a smaller portion of consumers has yet to return their potentially dangerous phones to Samsung. This is why the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer recently started introducing updates which limit battery capacity of its latest flagship. These updates have so far only been rolled out in certain territories, but more countries are now being added into the mix.
Over in Canada, Bell has just introduced a similar Galaxy Note 7 firmware update which doesn’t limit the functionality of Samsung’s latest flagship but instead prompts users to get a replacement or a refund. An official changelog published by Bell states that the Galaxy Note 7 firmware version N930W8VLU2APK1 includes “indicators” designed to encourage consumers to get in touch with Samsung regarding a replacement or a refund. It’s still unclear how aggressive these indicators are, though it’s probably fair to presume they’re rather eye-drawing. After all, it’s been over a month since Samsung officially recalled the Galaxy Note 7, so anyone who still hasn’t complied with the recall probably needs a strong reminder to do so.
Health Canada recently revealed that 39,000 of Galaxy Note 7 units were sold in the country before the device was recalled for the second time. More than 70% of them have already been returned to Samsung by early October, but it’s to be presumed that at least a couple of thousands are still out in the wild as it’s unlikely Bell would bother with this update otherwise.