Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Australian owners forced to surrender potentially exploding handsets

Samsung is forcing Galaxy Note 7 users in Australia who still haven’t surrendered their potentially dangerous handsets to finally give them up. The tech giant officially announced that it’s working with Australian telecommunication companies to shut down all remaining Galaxy Note 7 units’ network access to render them useless.

Despite Samsung’s efforts to remind Galaxy Note 7 users to hand over their devices, there are still a number of the potentially combusting phones currently being used. In a desperate attempt to force Note 7 owners to finally surrender their handsets, Samsung is teaming up with local providers like Optus, Telstra and Vodafone to completely block all network connections from the device starting Dec. 15.

Once network access is removed from the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 units, it will no longer be possible for its users to accomplish basic functions like calling and texting. The South Korean company did the same thing to Note 7 handsets in New Zealand.

Following the exploding Galaxy Note 7 controversies, Samsung has issued a series of global recalls, battery improvements and unit replacements. It eventually stopped the defective smartphone’s production and distribution in October. The company followed that up by implementing a charging scheme that limited the battery life of early Galaxy Note 7 releases to just 60 percent. The network disconnection is Samsung’s last desperate attempt to force Note 7 users to relinquish their phones.

Samsung is also prepared to hand out a $250 gift card to Galaxy Note 7 owners in Australia should they turn in their phones. They could also trade in their Note 7 handsets in exchange for a Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge unit. Samsung will offset the price difference in sale prices and also add $250 worth of account credit. The credit offer will only be available until Dec. 22.