Irish Galaxy Note7 owners to get battery software safety update

20 Sep 2016

As Samsung continues the global recall of its potentially explosive Galaxy Note7 device, the company has revealed that it will begin rolling out its battery-limiting software update in Europe from 21 September.

Since the Galaxy Note7 was released in early September, a number of reports began to emerge of the device catching fire and, in some cases, exploding due to issues with the device’s battery.

While some reports estimated that hundreds of devices were affected, Samsung took the decision to issue a global recall on all devices. Irish and European customers are able to swap their Galaxy Note7 for a new one, as of yesterday (19 September).

Fearing that some customers will be slow to trade in their devices – or that they won’t immediately find the time – Samsung has now confirmed that a precautionary software update will roll out in Ireland and the UK on 21 September.

The update, which limits a device’s charging capacity to 60pc, will then gradually roll out across the rest of Europe throughout the week.

Samsung originally released the software update in its native South Korea.

Explosions in China denied

Samsung also admits that limiting the battery capacity to 60pc is intended as an added incentive for Galaxy Note7 owners to trade in their devices as soon as possible.

A separate software update will be pushed to replacement Galaxy Note7 devices, indicating that charging is safe by changing the battery icon to green. The icon will remain grey on devices that are yet to be traded in.

If users are unsure whether their phone is affected by the hardware problem, they are advised to enter the device’s IMEI number into Samsung’s dedicated web page.

Meanwhile, Samsung has denied that the first alleged cases of an exploding Note7 battery in China were the result of this original battery defect.

According to CNBC, Samsung said the two cases reported on social media were likely the result of external heating and thereby outside of its control.

Samsung Galaxy Note7. Image: Aaron Yoo/Flickr

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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