The Galaxy Note 7 was discontinued, but not all buyers brought in their brand new phablets for exchange or refund. Since discontinuing the product, Samsung issued an update that limits the maximum battery charge to 60% of its original capacity, a move meant to decrease the explosion risk. But the company will not stop there to prevent you from using the phone. Samsung’s next move is to brick the handset.
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The company will work with mobile operators to prevent Galaxy Note 7 units from connecting to their cellular networks. Samsung already did this in New Zealand, and now the company will expand the program to Australia.
The network discontinuation will start on December 15th in the region, the company said in an announcement, but customers will start receiving notifications about the change on December 1st. “On-going communication and updates” should follow in the next three weeks.
Once the procedure is complete, you won’t be able to use the phone on any wireless network. Sure, it’ll work on Wi-Fi, but this won’t be enough for most mobile users.
Samsung urges customers in Australia to swap their Galaxy Note 7 units for a different device or seek a refund. Customers who exchange the Galaxy Note 7 for either the Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge will receive a “specific partner offer to the value of $250,” on top of any refunds for any differences in resale prices.
No matter what argument you’d use to defend your Galaxy Note 7, we still encourage you to stop relying on a potentially hazardous device for your daily mobile needs.
A report from earlier this week claimed that Samsung will tell us what went wrong with the Galaxy Note 7 by the end of the year.
