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Samsung won’t kill your Galaxy Note 7’s battery life to stop it from exploding

Updated Sep 14th, 2016 8:03AM EDT
Galaxy Note 7 Recall Battery Update
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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The Galaxy Note 7 recall soap opera is far from over, as Samsung still has a lot of work to do to deal with this mess and clear its name. Reports on Tuesday said that Samsung is looking to limit the maximum battery charge of the phone’s battery to 60%, to diminish explosion risks. But it appears that Samsung won’t just kill battery life on all Galaxy Note 7 units just yet.

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Reports earlier this week revealed that more than 70 Galaxy Note 7 units exploded in the USA alone since launch, a number that’s more than double the cases that Samsung confirmed in its initial recall announcement in early September. Samsung is urging customers to bring in all faulty Galaxy Note 7 units and secure a replacement, but not all customers are willing to do so, and the phone remains a fire hazard.

Reducing the maximum battery charge seems like a way to handle the matter, although this is just a temporary fix. However, Samsung won’t take such measures in the USA where the company is finally working with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission on the recall, after initially circumventing the procedure.

“In the US, Samsung is continuing to work with the CPSC and our carrier partners to develop and evaluate solutions that are best for US Note 7 owners,” Samsung told xda-developers. “No action will be taken without the approval of the CPSC. Customer safety remains our top priority.”

The CPSC has not announced anything on the matter, which means that Samsung won’t push any battery-related updates to its US carrier partners just yet.

However, there’s no point getting excited about it. You’d be a lot better off handing in your Galaxy Note 7 as soon as possible and wait for the proper replacement.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.