South Korean tech giant Samsung issued a final notice to owners of the doomed Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in the US, giving them 10 more days to return the busted device. This as Samsung pointed out that it will remotely kill the ill-fated Note 7 device on December 19.
"A software update will be released starting on December 19th that will prevent U.S. Galaxy Note 7 devices from charging and will eliminate their ability to work as mobile devices. If you have not yet returned your device, you should immediately power it down and contact your carrier to obtain a refund or exchange," the company said in a statement on its website.
Samsung reiterated the safety risk of the overheating Galaxy Note 7 while giving owners the chance to return the device to the carrier or retail outlet where they purchased them. In partnership with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Samsung disclosed that more than 93 percent of Galaxy Note 7 in the US were already recalled. Of the 1.9 million units sold in the US, only about 133,000 remains unaccounted for.
But the company has different approach in Europe. Instead of remotely killing Galaxy Note 7, Samsung said the units will get a new battery software update that will limit the maximum charging capacity to 30 percent. This is to minimize the risk to customers while the Galaxy Note7 Replacement Program is ongoing.
It is not clear why Samsung takes different approach in handling the Galaxy Note 7 blunders in the US and UK. But owners of the doomed device were given the choice to replace their Galaxy Note 7 with a Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge, with a refund of the price difference, or get a full refund.
Samsung issued a global recall of the ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in September following reports of explosions and overheating especially when the device is charging. Amid attempts to resolve the glitch through exchange programs, Samsung permanently halted the sales of Note 7 on October 10.Watch the events the led to the global recall program of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 here: