Samsung said Wednesday it would limit recharging of batteries for its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to lower the risk of explosions in a measure apparently meant to jolt users into returning their devices following a recall. However for some reason there are still customers who believe that they aren’t affected by the problem.
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Samsung said it’s planning to roll out a fix next week for Note 7 phones in its home market of South Korea that will prevent the batteries from charging above 60% of their capacity.
The next step may be to issue an over-the-air (OTA) update that limits battery charging of the phone to just 60% in an attempt to keep phones from overheating and then catching fire.
Now the company has made a decision to roll out an OTA update which will limit maximum charge of the defective Note 7 batteries.
Samsung “has to contain the battery explosions but people are not returning the phone”, said Peter Yu, an analyst at BNP Paribas.
A production error caused pressure on the battery’s plates, generating heat and causing some phones to combust, it said.
Kadim’s grandfather John Lewis describes how terrified his grandson was as the Samsung phone exploded.
Samsung is now investigating the incident but suggests that there may have been an issue with an unauthorized charger being using.
Samsung is the world’s largest smartphone maker, and analysts said the recall may leave a larger impact on its brand than earlier estimated.
Samsung told The Washington Post in a statement Tuesday that any steps it takes in the United States must be approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New Jersey Transit are telling its customers with Galaxy Note 7 phones to shut off their devices before entering a subway station or boarding a train or bus. It seems that 70 incidents were reported in the USA alone and Samsung intends to launch apology ads.
