The update will roll out on Monday to prevent further Note 7 explosions
At a glance
Price £699
Release date 2 September 2016
CPU Octacore Exynos 8890
RAM 4GB
Storage 64GB
Battery 3,500mAh
Display 5.7in QHD
Samsung will cap all remaining Note 7 batteries at 60% of their maximum charge in a bid to prevent further explosions.
The update is due to hit devices in Europe on Monday, 31 October, and is targeting phones that customers haven't returned to the South Korean firm under its recall programme, which allowed users to exchange the faulty devices for another model.
The Galaxy Note 7 Replacement Programme urged Note 7 owners to return the smartphone and replace it with other Samsung products.
Samsung offered customers the choice of whether to return the phone for a full refund, or exchange it for an alternative Samsung Galaxy smartphone, originally including new Note 7s, until they too were found to be faulty.
Note 7 smartphones have also been banned by almost all of the world's air travel authorities, and Samsung has provided exchange points in some airports, where Note 7 smartphones could be substituted with other models.
To date, around two-thirds of Note 7 devices in Europe have been replaced with other products, but some customers have not yet expressed their intention to return their Note 7s.
Conor Pierce, VP of IT and mobile at Samsung UK & Ireland, said: "This new battery software update is specifically designed to remind all Galaxy Note7 customers to replace their device at their earliest possible convenience through their local Galaxy Note7 Replacement Programme.
"We once again would like to apologise for not meeting the standard of product excellence that our customers have come to expect from Samsung and we sincerely thank them for their continued understanding and cooperation."
24/10/2016: Samsung has asked YouTube to take down parody videos of the Galaxy Note 7 merged with Grand Theft Auto.
In one of the videos, "GTA 5 Mod - Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (Bomb)" by Modded Games, the Galaxy Note 7 becomes a bomb, just like one of the weapons used in the popular game.
The takedown notice, issued by Samsung Electronics America and its affiliates, said: "Due to a copyright takedown notice that we received, we had to take down your video from YouTube."
As a result of the notice, Modded Games also received a copyright strike. If it gets multiple strikes, the account could be suspended. However, the account holder filed a counter-claim and this particular video has subsequently been resored.
Other similar videos that have also been removed have not been so lucky, however. The owner of YouTube channel DoctorGTA told The Telegraph he has had restrictions placed on his account that prevent him from live streaming.
20/10/2016: Customers whose Note 7 smartphones exploded have accused Samsung of not offering an adequate compensation for damages.
A man called John Barwick, from Marion, Illinois, told his experience in an interview with the Guardian. After his wife’s Note 7 exploded on the nightstand, the man estimates it did $9,000 worth of damage in their room.
Barwick told the Guardian that he called several times and emailed Samsung pictures of the damage. Samsung, however, did not get back to him for a while, and when it did, it forwarded him to its insurance company, which did not provide any compensation.
Other Note 7 owners reported similar incidents, as well as others that had more serious consequences on their private property. The ending they described was very similar to that told by Barwick, with an insurance company referral but no damage refunded.
Although Samsung was previously said to be providing substitution phones, coupons, or the possibility to exchange the phone with another product, it does not seem to be compensating users for physical damage done by the explosive smartphone.
The Note 7 has recently been banned by several airlines, and the company will be opening stalls in different airports, where owners can swap or get a refund on their smartphone.
IT Pro has approached Samsung for comment.
19/10/2016: The inevitable backlash from the fire-prone Note 7 has finally reared its head, as Samsung now faces a class action lawsuit over their handling of the device recall, according to a filing at a federal court in Newark, New Jersey.
Three customers in the states of Nevada, Pennsylvania and California have brought the filing against Samsung. They claim the company continued to charge monthly fees despite also warning them to stop using the combustible devices.
The litigation, which seeks to represent a "Nationwide class" of customers, states that "consumers discontinued using their Note 7s only to find out that Samsung did not have replacement smartphones available".
The South Korean firm issued two recalls of the faulty Note 7 device, after widespread reports of fires caused by overheating, before terminating it permanently just two months after release.
Damages are not being sought for the faulty device, but instead for the mistreatment of customers who were forced to pay bills for a faulty device. The filing argues that customers in the US have been subjected to "millions of dollars" of unjustified fees.
IT Pro has approached Samsung, but the company will not comment on "pending litigation matters."
The lawsuit, filed on 16 October, comes after Samsung was heavily criticised for its alleged attempts to cover up evidence of exploding Note 7s. After a film emerged showing the resulting damage from a Note 7 fire, Samsung tried to bribe the 23-year-old customer in China with $900 to keep the video private, according to the New York Times.
In a statement to the NYT, Samsung said it “would like to apologize for any misunderstandings this may have caused the Chinese consumers due to an unclear communication in the process.” It said its quality control was the same in all countries. “To Samsung, China is one of the most important markets and a crucial destination for foreign investment,” it said. “Samsung never holds a double standard against them.”
18/10/2016: Samsung may add some of the features from its Note 7 to its S7 and S7 Edge devices, according to the BBC.
The South Korean firm has confirmed it will 'enhance' the latter devices with new features, with a spokeswoman saying: "We have issued a software update delivering certain feature enhancements to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, which offer a more convenient and customisable mobile experience."
An analyst speculated that these features would be taken from the defunct Note 7, which Samsung has stopped producing because of a fault causing the device to explode.
Taking innovations from the disaster-struck Note 7 and moving them onto its flagship phones may appease users forced to exchange their faulty devices for Samsung's others.
"They want to take some of the innovation they had on the Note 7 and add it to the S7, but the challenge is that they have different hardware," IHS Markit analyst Ian Fogg told the BBC.
"The Note 7 had a stylus and an iris scanner for unlocking the device. They might manage to add some software features to other Samsung phones but not everything will be possible."
Popular features on the Note 7 now on the S7 include an always-on screen that can display photographs, clock and notifications.
It comes as a Change.org petition demands Samsung to give a $1,000 gift card to customers who exchanged their Note 7 for an S7 or S7 Edge, and a $250 gift card for those who exchanged their device for another brand of smartphone.
The petition, which currently has 792 supporters, reads: "This solves multiple things. We get compensated for your failure and our forced downgrade. It gives us, the owner of a N7, the ability to purchase the next S series device or Note for free. It allows us to purchase accessories such as screen protectors and cases for said downgrade or future phone purchase. It also encourages users to stay with Samsung, thus lessening the impact the N7 recall will have."
17/10/2016: Airlines around the world have banned Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 from their flights.
The US Federal Aviation Authority was the first to ban the phone, followed by Japan’s transport ministry.
Several Asian airlines have now also strictly prohibited passengers from carrying the exploding phone, including Asiana, Singapore Airlines, China Airlines, EVA Air, AirAsia and Cathay Pacific.
The Note 7 has also been banned for passengers travelling from Hong Kong’s International airport, with airlines such as Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express refusing to accept passengers carrying the device.
Other Asian airlines such as Korean Air ask passengers to turn off Note 7 smartphones during the flight and transport them in their hand-luggage, excluding flights from and to the US, Canada and Hong Kong, where the phone is entirely forbidden.
The phone has also been banned by Australian and New Zealand airlines.
In Europe, passengers will not be allowed with a Note 7 phone on all AirBerlin and Alitalia flights. Lufthansa banned the device on flights to the US, but will soon be extending the ban to all other flights.
British Airways prohibits the use of the smartphone on flights to the US, Canada and Hong Kong.
One of our reporters encountered the announcement this morning while boarding a British Airways flight to the US.
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