Samsung is updating Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in Europe that are still in use despite a fire risk, to prevent them being charged past 30%.<\/p>\n
The update aims to encourage the few owners who have not yet returned the faulty devices to hand them in.
\nSamsung issued a global recall for the Galaxy Note 7 in September following complaints about exploding batteries.<\/p>\n
It estimates that in Europe about 10% of Note 7 owners have yet to return their devices.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Samsung, which plans to begin the changes on 15 December, said the update it issued in September that limited charging capacity to 60% “helped to drive a high rate of return”.<\/p>\n
“This new battery software update is specifically designed to reinforce to the remaining minority of customers to immediately replace their device,” it said.<\/p>\n
Radio communications cut<\/strong> Reports suggest Samsung is taking different steps in other regions to encourage people to turn in their phones.<\/p>\n In Canada, an update reportedly turns off all the radio communications on a phone, including phone, wi-fi and bluetooth, rendering it useless.<\/p>\n In the US, Samsung said it would issue an update on 19 December that would stop devices charging and “eliminate their ability to work as mobile devices”.<\/p>\n It said about 93% of all faulty phones had been returned in the US.<\/p>\n Verizon has said it will not apply the update because of safety concerns for people who have no other phone.<\/p>\n “We do not want to make it impossible to contact family, first responders or medical professionals in an emergency situation,” it said in a statement shared with tech news site The Verge.<\/p>\n After the battery debacle, Samsung stopped global production of the Note 7.<\/p>\n Reports of fires led to Samsung issuing a warning and asking owners to turn off their devices and hand them in.<\/p>\n Profits at the electronic giant plunged following the recall.<\/p>\n In late October Samsung announced that its operating profit for the three months between July and September was 30% down on the same period in 2015.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Samsung is updating Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in Europe that are still in use despite a fire risk, to prevent them being charged past 30%. The update aims to encourage the few owners who have not yet returned the faulty devices to hand them in. Samsung issued a global recall for the Galaxy Note 7 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":275849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[106],"tags":[14203,8864,205],"yoast_head":"\n
\nCustomers can swap their phones via local replacement programmes, it added.<\/p>\n