New T-Mobile Update Kills Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Phones

BELLEVUE, WA — Locally based mobile carrier T-Mobile has begun sending out an update that kills Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

It's for a good reason: The phones have been recalled because the batteries are known to explode or catch fire. The T-Mobile update makes the phones useless by preventing the phone from charging its battery; the update also sends a reminder to owners to return their phone. The update was first reported this week by Android Authority.

T-Mobile isn't alone in trying to force users to give up the Note 7. Verizon and AT&T will send out a similar update on Jan. 5, followed by Sprint on Jan. 8.

Despite the risk, there are still a few Note 7 users who haven't given up their phones. Samsung said in mid-December that about 7 percent of the total number of phones sold are still out there.

The Note 7 — known as a "phablet," a portmanteau of phone and tablet — was launched on Aug. 19, but just two weeks later Samsung recalled it after the phones began to overheat, explode or catch fire. By October, Samsung gave up on fixing the problem and recalled every single device.

Image via Flickr user Mike Mozart