Samsung has been recalling nearly 2.5 billion phones due to the fear of battery explosion and the company had to incur loss of billion dollars for swapping new batteries with the faulty ones.
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This follows reports from other places such as Florida, South Carolina and Australia.
Both Samsung and the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission have urged owners to power down the devices and stop using or charging them.
Olivier Cassagnol, a lawyer in NY, is using his Note 7, despite the warnings, because he says a Samsung customer representative said it could be possible to replace his phone with another Note 7.
And also a jeep in St. Petersburg, went up in flames after the owner left his Note charging in the vehicle.
The ignition problem with the battery led Samsung to issue a global recall for 2.5 million smartphones.
“This is a measure we are taking for our customers’ safety but we apologise for the inconvenience caused”. Samsung announced the software update through a front page ad on Seoul Shinmun, a popular South Korean daily newspaper. In its home country, the aforementioned update will start rolling out on September 20.
The company has set up an exchange for people to replace their Note 7s.
It’s unclear whether the software patch will be voluntary or mandatory, and if it will come overseas or just be limited to South Korea.
Airline passengers were warned by USA authorities not to use or charge the phones while on board.
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On a related note, Yonhap News is reporting that Samsung will soon launch an apology media campaign with commercials that say, “We apologize for causing discomfort and concern to our customers”. But Consumer Reports criticized the company for failing to implement a formal recall procedure through the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an independent USA government agency, which meant that some retailers were able to continue selling the device.
