Just recently, reports came out that U.S. Cellular customers who use the American mobile network on Samsung Galaxy Note 7 handsets will no longer be able to use the phone starting December 15th.
This report came in after Samsung had sent out a press release confirming that users of the Galaxy Note 7 in Canada will not be able to use their phones to make calls, text, access the internet or transfer files over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for that matter. In short, the update, which is scheduled to start next Monday, will render the Note 7 useless.
Well, it appears that Samsung is ready to start rolling out the same update in the U.S. Following the leaked message from a U.S. Cellular user, other carriers including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon have moved in with their own public announcements. While the first three have confirmed that they will be complying with Samsung’s idea to make the Galaxy Note 7 unusable, the latter, which is also the largest carrier in the U.S., is against this idea.
Those using Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on T-Mobile can expect the device to stop working shortly after Christmas, beginning December 27, while Sprint and AT&T will roll out this program beginning January 8 and January 5, 2017, respectively. Up to date, 93% of all Note 7 units sold in the U.S have been returned, with Samsung vowing to remove all the remaining 7% out of the market. However, Verizon’s decision might be a hindrance to this effort.
According to the American carrier, making Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices unusable might hurt those with the device in that they might not be having another phone to immediately switch to. The carrier cites the busy holiday travel season as the main reason behind this decision as it could spell a hard time for people, especially when in emergency situations.
Samsung started rolling out stringent measures to force people to return the Galaxy Note 7 in New Zealand and then moved to Australia. After confirming the same update for the Canadian market, it was just a matter of time before the same came down to the U.S. Nonetheless, Verizon’s decision could also be a risky one since Samsung says that it is only looking out for its valued customers that could be potentially hurt with an exploding Note 7 unit.
Current Samsung Galaxy Note 7 users can still return it to where they bought it in exchange for a newer device or cash refund. At some point, Samsung was even offering $100 incentives for those who take the phone back in exchange for another Samsung phone.