14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung discontinued its latest smartphone a few months ago and has taken many measures to retrieve all units sold globally, but it’s not out of the woods yet. The company did start pushing out updates to brick the device, but not in its home country.
Today, Samsung has announced that it will soon release a software update to brick Galaxy Note 7 phones in South Korea. Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold in the country are currently restricted to charging beyond 60%.
However, such smartphones in Europe and the US have already started receiving updates that prevent them from charging all together, thus making the units unusable. The update was pushed out on December 19 and should be distributed within 30 days, until all such units receive it.
A spokesperson from Samsung stated that “Samsung is considering to push the software update to the Note 7 in Korea that can limit the battery charge of the device as the exchange rate has exceeded 90 percent here,” according to The Investor.
Samsung would extend the exchange program in South Korea
The company is also considering an extension of the exchange program, allowing Note 7 owners to return the device until the end of January. The decision was made together with some of Korea’s largest mobile carriers, and others like LG Uplus and KT are expected to follow. Indeed, out of almost 1 million units sold in South Korea, about 100,000 have not yet been returned.
The exchange program was launched right after Samsung announced the discontinuation of the Note 7 in October, and in order to convince users to return the phone, the company announced that it would offer credits for the purchase of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 next year. However, Samsung stated that the credits wouldn’t be offered to participants of the exchange program after the end of December.