All three will release the update only after Christmas

Dec 11, 2016 23:09 GMT  ·  By

As many of you have probably already heard, Samsung plans to push a software update that will prevent the Galaxy Note 7's battery to charge, but also from connecting to any mobile network.

The South Korean company announced it would start the rollout of the update on December 19, but the date applies only to unlocked Galaxy Note 7 units.

Assuming all major carriers in the country agree to distribute the update, all Galaxy Note 7 units in the United States should have been bricked by the end of the year.

However, in a surprising turn of events, Verizon has announced it will not release the update citing emergency contact concerns. The Big Red will not allow Samsung to cripple the Galaxy Note 7 units sold through its official channels, at least not for the time being.

On the other hand, the other three major carriers in the country, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, agreed to distribute the update, just not at the same time Samsung said it would.

For example, CNET reports that T-Mobile has confirmed it will start pushing the update immediately after Christmas: “We always want to do the right thing and make sure our customers are safe, so on December 27 we will roll out Samsung's latest software update, which is designed to stop all remaining Note 7 devices from charging.”

Sprint will be the last major carrier to push the update in the U.S.

AT&T has already issued an official statement that informs customers a software update meant to limit the Galaxy Note 7's functionality will be rolled out beginning January 5.

As of 1/5/2017, Samsung's software update to prevent the Galaxy Note 7 battery from recharging will be pushed to your Note 7. The battery will no longer recharge.”

Last but not least, Sprint has officially confirmed that it will allow Samsung to push the software update announced last week by the South Korean company, effective January 8.

To drive increased participation in its U.S. Note7 Refund and Exchange Program, Samsung will release a software update beginning on January 8, 2017 that will disable all remaining Sprint Note7 devices from being able to hold a charge. This software update will eliminate the ability of these Galaxy Note7 to work as mobile devices.”