Samsung limiting Galaxy Note 7 battery to 30% in Europe starting December 15
Samsung has been urging people to return their Galaxy Note 7 for a few months now and while it says that a vast majority of customers have obliged, the company is now taking some serious steps to basically force people to give up the ill-fated flagship. Earlier today it confirmed that a software update will be released in the US on December 19 which will leave the Galaxy Note 7 incapable of charging and functioning as a mobile device. It’s going ahead with that plan even though the country’s largest mobile carrier, Verizon, has said that it’s not going to release this update on its network.
Samsung isn’t crippling the Galaxy Note 7 in Europe just yet but it has prepared a new update for this part of the world as well. Starting December 15, it’s going to release a new update for the Galaxy Note 7 in Europe which will limit the handset’s battery charge to 30 percent. The company has already sent out an update in many parts of the world which limited the Note 7’s battery to 60 percent. It said that this update “helped to drive a high rate of return.”
The company is yet to confirm whether it’s going to cripple the Galaxy Note 7 in Europe as well but it does seem odd why it’s choosing to let customers in this region just scrape by with a bit of battery life while remotely killing units for customers in the United States. Hopefully Samsung will provide some clarity on this soon.
Galaxy Note 7 owners in Europe need to keep in mind now that once their handset is updated after December 15 it will not be able to charge the battery beyond 30 percent. That would hardly be enough for half a day and will surely compel many owners to take part in the exchange and refund program.
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Still this cant be legal. It is still not Samsungs property and destroying some ones private property is still illegal in mot parts of The world.
Im from Malta and i had returned my note 7 to Samsung Malta since September but no refund yet .shame on this company .its nearly 900 euros
By now perhaps Samsung has realized that removable battery is an essential feature, so maybe for the next iteration they will avoid this mistake…
You were all given enough notice to return the phone. It’s better than it setting on fire potentially killing everything you care about in your life but by these comments show you only care about the phone
Is this evening legal?
Wait. Have there been any reported “explosions” from all those still holding out with their Note 7? None that I know of. What do we learn from this? The trolls have gone back into their holes having done their work. The Note7’s, well they are just as sweet as ever. Just remember to turn off auto-updates.
Unbelievable that Verizon (or anyone else) can think that not having a mobile phone is a personal safety concern.
Meanwhile, the rest of the sensible people in the world, happily continue our lives with no mobile phones, or turn them off when we leave work, and ENJOY not being able to contact or be contacted by people 24*7!
Why the heck can’t Samsung just leave the Note7 alone??? If people want to keep it then just let them! What’s with all this nonsense. I’ve been using my Note7 since 5 Aug and never had any issues. It’s very obvious to me that it will not catch fire.
Note7 is simply the best mobile device ever made. I sincerely hope Samsung is developing its successor.
You can not be serious…WHY..
Well let me guess, US Citizens are a litigious lot who will sue at the drop of a hat.
Good luck to you that your Note 7 is OK at the moment, BUT say what happened IF it caught fire and then burnt down your house and the lives inside it….what would you do??
Jeez, some people are just dumb, Oh, we have ‘rights’ in America…ffs, grow up.
I also don’t see what the big deal is. The initial Note 7 release gave me no problem. Sent it back for the second release and I have not have any issue with it.
Mine is a European released device.
Samsung has definitely been done in.
I also has two perfectly good Exynos Note7 devices. However Samsung must protect themselves from litigation and also at least try to protect customers even though they are blithering idiots who continue to hold on to a recalled device. If your car was recalled due to a possibility of an engine fire while you drive, would you still keep it? People can be so stupid it’s unbelievable. People should use their brain and take it back.
This. Any Note 7 can explode ANY time, unexpectedly. Samsung is just trying to prevent another explosion, can’t see anything bad in that.
1. Problem is not that your Note7 won’t catch fire. It’s very much possible that your unit is perfectly file. Less than 1% of devices had the issue. majority of devices are just fine.
2. Problem is that there is official investigation into the issue and if there is another incident, it could seriously cause lot of trouble for them.
3. Regulators will monitor how Samsung is managing the returns.
4. Also they won’t release any security or OS upgrade. Better just return the phone and wait for Note 8.
Be careful when the battery is not removable : lately, my macbook Air, which I had been using for 5 years, had its battery suddenly inflating and “exploding” (expelling chemical gas after a loud “pop” sound). This is another device which battery can’t be removed. This will happen to your note 7 eventually as well.