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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Starting December 19, Samsung will begin distributing a software update that prevents the phones from charging and "will eliminate their ability to work as mobile devices." The software update will be rolled out over 30 days.
[...] Samsung is encouraging anyone who has not yet returned their device to power it down and contact their carrier to obtain a refund or exchange, or visit its Note 7 recall website for more information. The company recalled the device earlier this year because the battery on some units overheated and caught fire. Samsung also permanently stopped production of the phone.
But leading US mobile carrier Verizon has decided not to push out the update, citing safety issues. Here's the statement it released:
"Verizon will not be taking part in this update because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note 7 users that do not have another device to switch to," the statement read. "We will not push a software upgrade that will eliminate the ability for the Note 7 to work as a mobile device in the heart of the holiday travel season. We do not want to make it impossible to contact family, first responders or medical professionals in an emergency situation."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 13 2016, @03:51AM
so what happens in this case:
american guys lives overseas. comes back here, brings back like 10 of these things from Best Buy for people since electronics are about 1/3 less here. How exactly are you supposed to return and exchange this crap?
and yes, this use case happens a lot.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Tuesday December 13 2016, @03:54AM
Do people actually save money like that?
Serious question. When I used to live in China, the country where a ton of those sorts of things are made, there was no savings to be had for buying it there. In many cases, like with Apple products, you'd actually pay a premium over what you'd pay in the US. I know people would bring in iPhones and immediately sell them to the locals because that was cheaper than buying them locally.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 13 2016, @04:08AM
You're missing his point. He's talking about buying in the US, where electronics are typically cheaper, then returning to their overseas home.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday December 13 2016, @04:29AM
You would think in a case like this, any retailer of Samsung products would buy-back the affected phone; getting reimbursed by Samsung - regardless of where the phone was purchased. Its not like one is expecting the retailer to take the hit for this. Personally, I would expect Samsung to reimburse the retailer the set price for the phone ( publicly announced ) along with a premium for handling the transaction - thereby getting the problem phone off the streets.
Kinda like taking used motor oil back to any retailer participating in the recycling of used motor oil. Failing to involve businesses to encourage individuals to recycle the stuff only causes the stuff to end up in inappropriate places, greatly increasing the costs of dealing with it.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 13 2016, @04:39AM
You would think that but it isn't so. Samsung doesn't treat Canadian customers as good as US customers wrt replacing exploding washing machines. Fuck Samsung.
(Score: 2) by hamsterdan on Tuesday December 13 2016, @11:24AM
I'd like to know, because someone I know is getting theirs fixed for free, which is exactly what they are doing in US
(Score: 2) by quacking duck on Tuesday December 13 2016, @02:22PM
It's if you *don't* want it fixed, and try going for the rebate, where Canadians get screwed.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/samsung-note7-galaxy-washer-electronics-exploding-phones-1.3887154 [www.cbc.ca]
So that's a double "screw you" to Canadians by Samsung if you want to dump them. Sadly for us Canadians, getting screwed on remediation compared to the US is not new, nor limited to Samsung.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 13 2016, @07:18PM
We invited you to join our revolution; in return you burned our capital. So yes, screw you, Canadians. You brought this on yourselves when you refused to assimilate.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Wednesday December 14 2016, @06:04AM
PLEASE, disregard the AC response and come back and burn our capital now, only this time get it right and do it when congress is IN SESSION.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 2) by jimshatt on Tuesday December 13 2016, @09:18AM
(Score: 2) by quacking duck on Tuesday December 13 2016, @02:34PM
A little harder to do with electronics, especially expensive ones. They surely check against the serial number.