April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics said on Dec. 11 it is considering extending restrictions to make the discontinued Galaxy Note 7 unusable amid the ongoing recall of the fire-prone smartphone.

The Korean tech giant said it plans to upgrade software to prevent the phone’s charging in the US, while limiting the ability to 30 percent in Europe.

It is also in talks with countries like Canada and Australia to shut down the network connection of the phone. The same measure has already been implemented in New Zealand.

With the enhanced restrictions, the company said the recall program is expected to gain fresh momentum before it completes at the end of this month.

Currently, almost 90 percent of the 3.06 million Note phones sold globally have been returned. In the US where the phone sold the largest -- 1.9 million units -- the return rate stands at about 90 percent, while the figure for Korea is at about 80 percent.

The company added that in countries where the return rate was higher, a ban on the phone’s in-flight use is being lifted. Following recommendations by the European aviation safety authorities, airliners including British Airways, Lufthansa and KLM have stopped airing warnings on the phone’s use.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)