In a bid to persuade the remaining Note 7 phone owners to give up their devices, Samsung has issued a new update that limits the battery to 60% of its capacity.
Limited Battery Update
Samsung is planning on issuing a new software update for customers in Europe on the 31st of October this year. Samsung made the announcement on 25th October, Tuesday, stating that the update would limit the charging of the battery to 60% of the full capacity.
Defunct Note 7
The Note 7 is no longer being produced by Samsung and the company has asked all owners of the device to relinquish their devices. However, there are still some users who are clinging on to their phones. The Note 7, as is well known by now, had started to catch fire due to the lithium ion batteries present in it. The update will limit the charging of the device.
The update has already been issued one month back and the company has made several attempts at asking users to return their devices, but some are still hanging on to the phones doggedly.
Latest Step
The new update is the latest step taken by Samsung in order to reduce the risk to device owners. It is also a desperate attempt for driving the owners of all the remaining Note 7 devices in Europe to come forward and get an exchange for their devices. In a press release, Samsung stated that around 2/3rds of the Note 7 in Europe had already been replaced but a third of them were still with the users.
Risk to Owners
There have been two recalls of the phone, but there are still some customers who are using their Note 7 devices, and they seem to be quite happy in continuing to do so. The risks of using the device have been well publicized and they will definitely not be allowed to take the phone with them on a flight.
Providing an Incentive
Samsung is offering another incentive to those hanging on to their Note 7 devices by limiting the battery life of the device to 60% with this update. The company is trying to prevent any other incidents of fire and further damage to its reputation.
September 13th Update
If you can recall, Samsung had issued the same type of update that limited the battery on the Note 7 on the 13th of September this year. This was at the time of the first recalling of the device. The update had resulted in reducing risks to users and there were no reports of fire from the devices that had received the update limiting the battery capacity, according to Samsung.
Exchange Offer
The company is offering an exchange to all users of the Note 7, whereby they can exchange the Note 7 for any other Samsung phone or alternatively, get a complete refund. Those who are still in possession of the said device would have received notifications from their retailer or from the network regarding the exchange procedure.