Early this morning Samsung announced plans to finally extinguish the on-going fire that is the Note 7 once and for all here in the States by way of a software update that won’t allow the troubled phone to charge at all. Apparently not everyone involved is onboard with the move.
Verizon (the parent company to TechCrunch’s parent company) quickly issued a follow up statement, citing the potential risks involved in killing the phone altogether. By Samsung’s count, around only 7 percent of Note 7 owners in the U.S. have clung to their devices, but the carrier is concerned with the safety of those last few.
Here’s the key part of this morning’s statement:
Verizon will not be taking part in this update because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note7 users that do not have another device to switch to. We will not push a software upgrade that will eliminate the ability for the Note7 to work as a mobile device in the heart of the holiday travel season. We do not want to make it impossible to contact family, first responders or medical professionals in an emergency situation.
Of course, the mere mention of the Note 7 and travel in the same sentence brings to mind some other potentially troubling scenarios. Maybe this saga has a little life left in it, after all.
Update: Sprint is on-board with the update and is reiterating its replacement plan. T-Mobile, for its part, is declining to comment for the time being. We’ve also reached out to AT&T and are waiting to hear back.
Update 2: Looks like AT&T is on-board with the update, as well. The company will be notifying customers with the following text message,
As of 1/5/2017, Samsung’s software update to prevent the Galaxy Note7 battery from recharging will be pushed to your Note7. The battery will no longer recharge. This Note7 was recalled and is banned on all flights in both checked and carry-on luggage. Your safety is our priority, please return your Note7 to the place you purchased for an exchange. For more details go to att.com/note7
Update 3: And then there was one. Here’s T-Mobile’s official statement,
We always want to do the right thing and make sure our customers are safe, so on Dec. 27 we will roll out Samsung’s latest software update, which is designed to stop all remaining Note7 devices from charging. These devices were recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Oct. 13 and should no longer be used. T-Mobile customers who still have a Note7 should immediately power down and stop using the device, and bring it back to a T-Mobile store for a full refund and a replacement device.
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