Samsung Could Reportedly Remote Brick Your Defective Galaxy Note 7 If You Fail To Decommission It
It's a pretty scary thing when an electronic gadget is prone to exploding and catching fire, as has been reported to happen several of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 devices out in the wild. Adding fuel to the fire (see what we did there?), Samsung's been criticized for the way its handled the subsequent recall. It's still figuring out how best to handle the situation, and one option it has is to remotely deactivate potentially defective Galaxy Note 7 devices after a certain date.
A user on reddit claims that Samsung's France division is planning to do exactly that. He was told by someone at Samsung that the South Korean electronics firm that it's in the process of calling every single Galaxy Note 7 owner to initiate a free replacement, and that it will flip the kill switch on every recalled handset after September 30.
"It means that we practically have no other choice than following the procedure. Some of us requested a commercial gesture for the inconvenience, which will be looked at," the user added.
This appears to be a regional thing; it's not clear if Samsung plans to implement the same or similar procedure in other parts of the world. But as it pertains to Galaxy Note 7 owners in France, it doesn't matter where they purchased their handset from, whether it was direct from Samsung or a wireless carrier, they're all getting a new one by mail starting next Monday. The package will also include a Gear VR, which was already promised for U.S. preorders.
It's an unfortunate situation for Samsung and its customers. The Galaxy Note 7 is a great device, expect for that pesky exploding issue. In the grand scheme things, the number of affected handsets is probably pretty small relative to how many were sold, but this isn't a case of the media being hypersensitive to a situation. In just a short period of time, there's been a report of an fire breathing Galaxy Note 7 causing $1,400 worth of damage in a hotel, setting ablaze a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and burning a child's hands.
Since reports started to surface of Galaxy Note 7 devices catching fire, three Australian airlines have banned the gadget altogether, while the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement strongly advising customers not to turn on the device during flights.
A user on reddit claims that Samsung's France division is planning to do exactly that. He was told by someone at Samsung that the South Korean electronics firm that it's in the process of calling every single Galaxy Note 7 owner to initiate a free replacement, and that it will flip the kill switch on every recalled handset after September 30.
"It means that we practically have no other choice than following the procedure. Some of us requested a commercial gesture for the inconvenience, which will be looked at," the user added.
This appears to be a regional thing; it's not clear if Samsung plans to implement the same or similar procedure in other parts of the world. But as it pertains to Galaxy Note 7 owners in France, it doesn't matter where they purchased their handset from, whether it was direct from Samsung or a wireless carrier, they're all getting a new one by mail starting next Monday. The package will also include a Gear VR, which was already promised for U.S. preorders.
It's an unfortunate situation for Samsung and its customers. The Galaxy Note 7 is a great device, expect for that pesky exploding issue. In the grand scheme things, the number of affected handsets is probably pretty small relative to how many were sold, but this isn't a case of the media being hypersensitive to a situation. In just a short period of time, there's been a report of an fire breathing Galaxy Note 7 causing $1,400 worth of damage in a hotel, setting ablaze a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and burning a child's hands.
Since reports started to surface of Galaxy Note 7 devices catching fire, three Australian airlines have banned the gadget altogether, while the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement strongly advising customers not to turn on the device during flights.
