Samsung plans to issue a software update for its recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that will prevent them from overheating by limiting battery recharges to under 60 percent, South Korean media reports said Tuesday.
Citing Samsung Electronics, Yonhap News and other South Korean media reported that the company will issue a software update for any users of the Note 7 who may be disregarding its recall notice and continuing to use the smartphone. It was not clear when the update was planned for and if it would be global or just for South Korean users.
Samsung plans to begin issuing new Note 7s with batteries it says will not be prone to overheating beginning on September 19. It has recalled 2.5 million of the devices after dozens of reports that they individual phones exploded or caught fire. Samsung says the problem stems from a manufacturing glitch in the batteries.
The company has urged consumers to immediately turn off the phones and get them replaced with the new Note 7. But implementing such a large-scale recall is a challenge. Consumers have to visit Samsung service centers or retailers twice: once to get a replacement phone, not a Note 7, and have a safety check of their existing Galaxy Note 7, and a second time to get a new Note 7.
South Koreans are traveling for one of their two biggest national holidays of the year starting Wednesday, which complicates the recall plan.
Samsung did not answer emails and calls seeking confirmation of the reports.
Last-ditch plan?
Analysts said the update appears to be a last-ditch effort to contain the crisis.
Samsung "has to contain the battery explosions but people are not returning the phone," said Peter Yu, an analyst at BNP Paribas. The company "is taking a desperate measure."
Keeping the battery level low could reduce the risk of overheating, but would be equivalent to getting a downgrade of a top-of-the-line phone, said Kim Young Woo, an analyst at SK Securities. The Galaxy Note series is one of the most expensive handset lineups made by Samsung.
"It means that the phone has not been optimized before the release," Kim said.
Samsung is the world's largest smartphone maker, and analysts said the recall may leave a larger impact on its brand than earlier estimated. 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.
Canada issued a recall notice on Monday.
The company did not say how many more faulty batteries in the Note 7 have been reported since September 1, when 35 cases were confirmed. In announcing its recall, the Canadian government said one case was confirmed in Canada while Samsung received more than 70 reported cases in the United States alone.
