Samsung : 90% of Galaxy Note 7 recovered, and new measures for the other [SHIFT] – ZDNet France

Article updated 17h

The long way of the cross of Samsung to end with the case of Galaxy Note 7 explosives continues. The various programmes of recall/exchange launched in several countries of the world seem to be bearing fruit, as 2.7 million units would have been recovered, or 90% of the models sold, according to the Korea Herald that figure, therefore, approximately 3 million the number of phablets running sold.

But 10% of Note 7 in circulation, it is still too much for Samsung, which intends to prevent any new incident. The world’s number one smartphones are multiplying so the measures, more and more radical, to convince the last holdouts to make their smartphones.

the First lever, the deactivations remotely rendering inoperable the Note 7 on the network operators. After New Zealand and Australia from the 15th of December, the giant intends to conduct a similar operation in the United States (there would still be 7% Note 7-outstanding).

Only problem, if AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile US have agreed to carry out this operation, this is not the case of Verizon. “We don’t want to make it impossible to contact the family, first aid, or medical professionals in an emergency situation,” noted the operator in a press release. The world number one has not yet reacted officially to the refusal.

Second lever : clamping of the battery remotely. This measure has already been applied via updates to OTT in various countries to protect consumers : the patch prevented the battery to recharge to more than 70%. Samsung is going further today with a new update which flange the load to 30%. This update will be rolled out gradually in the next few days in Europe (from 15 December), and therefore in France.

once Again, Samsung justifies that decision for questions of security : it is “to reduce the risk of customer (and) push to replace their device within the framework of the programme of replacement”.

Samsung has promised to deliver before the end of the year a clear explanation about Galaxy Note 7 of which the battery has a tendancy to overheat and ignite. In the meantime, the independent engineers also looked into this matter and communicate today their conclusions. They seem to confirm the first few tracks-namely, that the battery is not the only cause.

We are facing a conjunction of elements : the battery has been rendered dangerous because of the design “aggressive” of the smartphone. By “aggressive”, it means “too late”. In this race to the finesse (the Note is only 7.9 mm thick, Samsung is perhaps going too far since the chassis would place pressure on the battery, as the compartment that receives the battery has been reduced to the maximum.