The firm has sold 2.5 million Note 7 phones in 10 markets including South Korea and the United States that are subject to the recall.
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Only a week after being released and many reports claimed that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was catching on fire or exploding.
In Korea, Samsung will also reimburse consumers for carrier fees, a possible reason for some to delay returning the Galaxy Note 7.
Samsung took out an ad on the front page of South Korean newspaper Seoul Shinmun to let customers know a software update is coming on September 20th. However, it is not clear when the software update will be rolled out to Galaxy Note 7 users in other countries.
Aviation regulators and airlines have deemed the Note 7 a flight hazard and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering an official product recall.
A Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is displayed at a store in Seoul on September 2. However, the affected units will henceforth run on reduced battery capacity of 2,100 mAh to prevent overheating and unexpected battery-explosions.
For those who are just about to purchase the phone, there’s only one cue to tell if the the Note 7 is part of the batch that causes fiery accidents. Samsung says the problem stems from a manufacturing glitch in the batteries.
In its report to the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, Samsung’s preliminary findings show a production error that pushed together negative and positive poles within battery cells, causing it to heat up excessively, according to Bloomberg.
“We are asking our customers who have the Galaxy Note7, to simply turn it off before entering an NJ Transit facility or boarding a vehicle”, said Dennis Martin, interim Executive Director.
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Samsung quickly set up an exchange program and strongly advised all Galaxy Note 7 owners to bring in their device and wait for a replacement once the battery issue is fixed.
