It’s been a few months since Samsung was forced to issue an unprecedented second recall of the Galaxy Note 7, but this saga is still far from over. As it turns out, a small but determined group of people who bought the company’s latest phablet aren’t willing to turn over their device in spite of a worldwide recall and Samsung’s insistence that the Galaxy Note 7 is a potential fire hazard. Due to that turn of events, the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer was forced to resort to more aggressive means of increasing participation in the Galaxy Note 7 recall program. For example, Samsung recently started bricking most of the remaining Galaxy Note 7 units in the United States. As it turns out, the company is now planning a similar course of action in its home country of South Korea.
Earlier today, Samsung announced it’s considering pushing out a new software update for the Korean variant of the Galaxy Note 7. This update would be the last one issued for the device as it would be designed to render the phone unusable, i.e. prevent it from charging. With that in mind, this OTA patch would mark Samsung’s final attempt to recall the Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea as the company previously limited the phablet from charging over 60%. Given how more than 90% of people who bought Samsung’s defective flagship in South Korea have already returned their purchases, the Seoul-based tech giant is apparently eager to wrap up this recall as soon as possible.
With that in mind, it’s not surprising that Samsung is planning to extend the Galaxy Note 7 exchange program until January 31st, according to sources close to the company. SK Telecom, the largest wireless carrier in South Korea reportedly already agreed to pushing out an update designed to remotely disable the Galaxy Note 7, while other mobile service providers in the country will allegedly follow that lead shortly. As things stand right now, there are still around 100,000 of active Galaxy Note 7 units in South Korea. Samsung is also currently offering loyalty credits to people who are yet to return the device. Customers can use those credits to get a discount on the upcoming Galaxy S8, though the Seoul-based company is apparently only offering this incentive by the end of the month.