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Samsung’s quick fix for Galaxy Note7 is no full recharge

SEOUL — Samsung plans to issue a software update for its recalled Galaxy Note7 smartphones that will prevent them from overheating by limiting battery recharges to 60 per cent.

Customers wait for recall of their Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note7 smartphones as powered-off Galaxy Note7 smartphones are displayed at the company's service centre in Seoul, South Korea.  Photo: AP

Customers wait for recall of their Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note7 smartphones as powered-off Galaxy Note7 smartphones are displayed at the company's service centre in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: AP

SEOUL — Samsung plans to issue a software update for its recalled Galaxy Note7 smartphones that will prevent them from overheating by limiting battery recharges to 60 per cent.

The front page of the Seoul Shinmun, a South Korean newspaper, carried a Samsung Electronics advertisement on Tuesday (Sept 13) announcing the software update for any users of the Note7 who may be disregarding its recall notice and continuing to use the smartphone.

“It is a measure to put consumer safety first but we apologise for causing inconvenience,” the advertisement said. The update for South Korean users will start Sept 20, it said.

South Korean media earlier reported the software update plan, citing Samsung.

It was unclear when the update may be issued overseas and if it will be forced on existing Note7 phones regardless of user consent. Yonhap News Agency reported that Samsung is in talks with global mobile carriers to deliver the same update to keep battery power at 60 per cent or below at all times.

Samsung plans to begin issuing new Note7s with batteries it says will not be prone to overheating from Sept 19 in South Korea. It recalled 2.5 million of the devices just two weeks after their launch after dozens of cases in which batteries exploded or caught fire. Samsung says the problem stems from a manufacturing glitch in the batteries.

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 Note7 a flight hazard and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering an official product recall.

The company has urged consumers to immediately turn off the phones and get them replaced with the new Note7.

But implementing such a large-scale recall is a challenge. Consumers have to visit Samsung service centres or retailers twice. First, to get a replacement phone — not a Galaxy Note 7 — and have a safety check of their existing Note7, and a second time to get a new Note 7. South Koreans are travelling for one of the two biggest national holidays of the year starting on Wednesday, which complicates the recall plan.

Samsung offered free pizza as an apology to workers at mobile carrier shops who have been handling the unprecedented recall. Some will work during the holidays this week as Samsung plans to keep its service centres open.

Mr Lee In-tae, an employee at a SK Telecom shop in central Seoul, said two pizzas were delivered to the shop during lunchtime on Tuesday with a letter from Samsung that included an apology for causing inconvenience with the recall. South Korean media said Samsung gave free pizzas to all employees at local handset shops and mobile carriers.

“We ate the pizza among a few of us,” Mr Lee said by phone. He and his co-workers have been handling complaints from Note7 consumers. “We have to do all the recalls here, do all the work and listen to all the bad things. But it feels like (Samsung) is trying to make up for it with that,” he said, referring to the pizza.

Samsung did not answer emails and calls seeking comment on Tuesday. Offices were closed in South Korea on Wednesday for the holiday.

The software 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 phones”, said Mr Peter Yu, an analyst at BNP Paribas. “It 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 Mr Kim Young Woo, an analyst at SK Securities. The Galaxy Note series are among the most expensive handsets made by Samsung.

“It means that the phone has not been optimised before the release,” Mr Kim said.

Canada issued a recall notice on Monday.

The company did not say how many more battery fires in the Note7 have been reported since Sept 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. AP

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