This is how Samsung will be tweaking unreturned Galaxy Note 7 units

We’re not sure if you’ve heard but Samsung is in the middle of a massive recall of the Galaxy Note 7, due to its battery problems. There are several million phones out there, though, and not everyone is going to be bringing it back to Samsung. Samsung has a plan to get keep those Galaxy Note 7 users safe in the event that they stubbornly don’t want to exchange their phones for something less… pyrotechnic.

Associated Press, citing South Korean newspaper Seoul Shinmun, reports that Samsung will be issuing a software update for the Galaxy Note 7 which will cap the battery’s charge at 60%, a move that will hopefully prevent overheating. The same overheating that has been leading to exploding phones.

The update is scheduled to go live in South Korean from 20 September but the report hasn’t confirmed when a similar tweak will be heading to the international market. They’re not likely to neglect it, though, so we should see it heading overseas in short order. Keeping the handset from overheating is key to keeping it from going boom in user’s pockets.

It’s also possible that limiting the Galaxy Note 7 this way will force stubborn users to turn the potentially-dangerous phones in. As it’ll essentially be running flat far faster, it won’t be the same high-powered handset that users bought in the first place. Unless you, you know, decided to avoid the update by installing and running a completely custom operating system on the phone. But that would just be silly, now wouldn’t it?

Source: Associated Press