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.
