Realistically, what would happen if I decide to keep this?

[4truegrit]

I'm still using mine, Got it on release day, never returned it after the first batch. Paid subsidize price with verizon, so only paid the 299 plus tax . Still running great no heat issues absolutely fantastic phone. I factory reset it yesterday just to see if it would run better and Improve battery performance and sure enough is even running better smoother and battery life is improved. I don't travel, not worried about it Verizon restored my upgrade so I could get the pixel xl now if I wanted to, but don't think so. Going to keep it unless they kill switch it or blacklist imei. If I had paid full price for it probably the decision to return it would be easier for me to make.

 

[jsgiv]

Rather than getting deeper into all of the legalities, I will just leave it as my opinion that Samsung would not go to the extreme of bricking a Note 7 without any further government involvement.

To your point, doubt they'll brick it... they'll just make it completely unusable to use as a phone/digital device.

Carriers will eventually block all the IMEIs..

If you leave it on the network, they may push an update to make the device unusable...

At that point it might as well as be a brick....

 

[iOS Gravity]

I still have my Note 7 and Verizon hasn't terminated service. I will get my return box with my Pixel XL on the 28th.

 

[u71n4444]

What is i just wanted to use it to take pictures and videos with the 2nd 256GB microsd card I got from them?

 

[natehoy]

Aside from not being able to fly with it... What are the other downsides?

It will never receive any further Android updates, including security updates.

At the moment, Samsung is begging people to bring them back, and is offering incentives for you to do so. The instant the recall period is over, all liability for damages (including the value of the phone itself) is off Samsung and on you personally. That means that if you continue using it, you will (a) find it much harder for Samsung to even give a hoot about replacing it for you, and (b) be liable for potentially very large amounts of money in damages, including additional penalties for negligence should it hurt someone else or damage their property, should the unfortunate happen and yours decide to go Thermite on you.

Carriers are going to need to limit their liability soon, and that means that Note 7s will either be put in banned IMEI databases, or they will send out a kill switch firmware update. While I'm certain some third party will come out with a custom ROM to bypass the kill switch and keep it up to date, the instant you load a custom ROM that becomes a "user modified device" and you own all liability for damages from that point forward.

Basically, the current guesswork seems to indicate that any specific device has about a 1 in 25,000 chance of going Thermite. If it happens on a nonflammable surface, you and anyone around you will just be sucking in some toxic fumes. But it could start a serious fire and hurt or kill someone - and you would be 100% liable for all damages to property and people.

It's possible you could load up some third party firmware, go with the odds, use it for several years, and be quite happy with it. But understand that from this point forward it has no resale value whatsoever. It is illegal under US law to sell a recalled product, and the penalties start at $100,000 for attempting to do so. If you do manage to sell it and it blows up on your buyer, you remain personally liable for any damages it causes. So as soon as you tire of it your only legal option is to throw it away.

 

[keepnitreel]

But understand that from this point forward it has no resale value whatsoever. It is illegal under US law to sell a recalled product, and the penalties start at $100,000 for attempting to do so. If you do manage to sell it and it blows up on your buyer, you remain personally liable for any damages it causes. So as soon as you tire of it your only legal option is to throw it away.

Question: So if it's illegal to sell a recalled product, does this mean the carriers cannot charge you full price for the device if you don't return it?

 

[James Beam]

Question: So if it's illegal to sell a recalled product, does this mean the carriers cannot charge you full price for the device if you don't return it?

I'm guessing so. Of course, they aren't going to come right out and admit it that there probably isn't much they can do if you don't return it. They're likely assuming most people can't wait to send them back with a quickness because of the potential hazard. As it stands for me, I haven't even got any notification that I even need to return it. I got a message saying "we strongly encourage" you to return it and upgrade to something else. I don't want anything they have, so I just reactivated an old phone and haven't heard squat from Verizon since then. Nothing about a return box being shipped and the IMEI on the note hasn't even been blacklisted like I have read about happening for those that initiated the upgrade/return process.

 

[Makad]

Thank you

 

[dvarapala]

What legal basis would Samsung or any carrier use to remotely disable a phone that they do not own (for those of us who paid full price and not on some payment plan/lease plan with a carrier). Sure, a carrier could block the use of the device based on the IMEI number.

Well, denying service to the device is pretty effectively disabling it, wouldn't you say?

As for legality, "we don't have to care - we're the phone company."

 

[natehoy]

Question: So if it's illegal to sell a recalled product, does this mean the carriers cannot charge you full price for the device if you don't return it?

Interesting question. Probably depends on whether you have bought/financed the phone or are leasing it. In either case, either have already purchased the phone, which means they can continue charging you payments on it because the sale happened before the recall, or you are leasing the phone, which means it's not your property to keep.

Of course, some carriers may choose (and have chosen) to simply cancel the contract so they are absolved of liability quickly. I think several Verizon people have basically had their contracts cancelled and reset, and been told that they can just come in and pick a new phone on a new contract with their same phone number. No mention was made of a requirement to return the old phone, because at that point you are solely liable for damages anyway so they don't really care if it hurts someone - that's your problem.

That's the big key, though. If you accept compensation for the phone and do not return it, your liability should something go wrong is 100%. Someone gets hurt, they go after your savings account, your checking account, your house, your retirement, your income directly. No one else owns the problem, even your insurance company is going to laugh and hang up on you if you attempt to file a claim after continuing to use a recalled product that you have already been paid to decommission.

The upshot is that the carrier probably doesn't care whether you return it. The phone is of no value to them - they have to pay to dispose of them. They only care that THEY are off the hook if it hurts or kills someone. As soon as you accept the recall compensation, you are the one who is subject to large negligence lawsuits with it.

To each their own, but to me carrying that much personal liability? There's not a phone experience in the world that is possibly worth that kind of risk.

 

[James Beam]

I agree with you Natehoy. I just found it odd how Verizon handled my situation. I randomly discovered that my initial monthly payments I had made on the Note had been refunded and my contract had been voided when I went to pay my bill. Also the Note 7 was listed as “Paid in full” I never got an official notification by email or text as to why this was done. This was a day before the official recall was announced. Now obviously, I don’t live under a rock and pretty much knew it was due to impending recall. But the only real notification from them after that, was a text and email saying they “strongly encourage” me to power down the note and participate in the exchange program by upgrading to a new device. I didn’t want to do that though. Verizon currently doesn’t have anything in their lineup that I want, or anything coming down the pipe any time soon that I want either. So my choice was to simply reactivate an old phone, which I did online myself with no human interaction. By doing it this way, I never received any sort of instruction whatsoever as to what I should do with the Note now that I’m no longer using it. So it’s currently still in my possession. There is no indication that I even owned a Note 7 on my account anymore. It’s like it never happened. Now I’m smart enough to know that I could just call Verizon and likely request the return box and send it on its way back to Samsung. But what about the people who have activated old phones and don’t really have a clue? Do you think Verizon is still on the liability hook since they gave no indication on how to send it back when not doing an upgrade/exchange? They don’t even list how to do this on their Note 7 recall FAQ on the Verizon website. I think they forgot to cover all their bases in this case. If something were to happen and the phone goes up in flames on someone who just reactivated an old phone the way I did, I think Verizon is still going to be holding the bag… I’ve taken precautions to prevent anything serious from happening while it’s in my possession (I ran the battery dead and have it stored in a small fire safe). Personally, I’d like to hang onto if they don’t ever actually come "looking" for it on their own. I like to collect stuff and want to keep it just for the novelty of it all. I’m assuming all of the risk by keeping it and I’m not placing anyone in danger but myself. I don’t ever intend to power it back up and continue using it for any purpose other than a collection piece, so I think the risk is very minimal at this point.

 

[jgraves1107]

Actually in a recall all liability falls to Samsung no matter what. Spoke with an attorney and he says the only way they get out of it is if they get the phone back. If you fail to return it after a period of time it falls to you then. The only way you could get your carrier to let you continue to use it on their network is by waiver. If you acknowledge and accept responsibility in writing they can let you use it. As he said they more than likely would not. He went on with a list of things that could happen, with, if carriers left them as is and no more fires happened it could also prove 6 months down the road the recall was unnecessary.

 

[jamesrick80]

Actually in a recall all liability falls to Samsung no matter what. Spoke with an attorney and he says the only way they get out of it is if they get the phone back. If you fail to return it after a period of time it falls to you then. The only way you could get your carrier to let you continue to use it on their network is by waiver. If you acknowledge and accept responsibility in writing they can let you use it. As he said they more than likely would not. He went on with a list of things that could happen, with, if carriers left them as is and no more fires happened it could also prove 6 months down the road the recall was unnecessary.

No reason to take yourself through an ordeal like this....why pack on the stress...get rid of the device...it's just a gadget and new gadgets are released every year...no matter how much u love it or hate it

 

[ab304945]

You will never get any updates. No security or os.

 

[jgraves1107]

Truthfully I don't even care if it gets updated. It is fine like it is. I will use it for what I need it to do. Video, pics, mp3 player, social media, notes, playing with the iris scanner. I have a new s7e and it just feels like a phone to the N7. It's a glorified paper weight with some useful tools.

 

[jfoofoo]

Kill switch??? Is that ethical? I mean it's a recall. I can choose not to pursue it, right?

If you consider keeping a device that may cause fire and burn down your house, your neighbor's house ethical...
I see nothing wrong with Samsung just kill the phone...

 

[jgraves1107]

If you consider keeping a device that may cause fire and burn down your house, your neighbor's house ethical...
I see nothing wrong with Samsung just kill the phone...

The problem right now with that is they can't make any catch fire from normal use. If Samsung and the cpsc fail to make them burn even using vr then everyone has freaked for nothing. No my neighbor is not even close enough for that to happen. My phone is either on me or on glass that will withstand the fire and keep it contained. This isn't everyone's first rodeo. I have an extensive background in containment of such situations. Yes if I was not so into lithium batteries all over my desk and house with vaping gear I might fear the N7 a bit. I got bigger batteries than 3500mah. For the average user yes turn it in and be done I agree.

 

[rkierstead8]

I agree with you Natehoy. I just found it odd how Verizon handled my situation. I randomly discovered that my initial monthly payments I had made on the Note had been refunded and my contract had been voided when I went to pay my bill. Also the Note 7 was listed as “Paid in full” I never got an official notification by email or text as to why this was done. This was a day before the official recall was announced. Now obviously, I don’t live under a rock and pretty much knew it was due to impending recall. But the only real notification from them after that, was a text and email saying they “strongly encourage” me to power down the note and participate in the exchange program by upgrading to a new device. I didn’t want to do that though. Verizon currently doesn’t have anything in their lineup that I want, or anything coming down the pipe any time soon that I want either. So my choice was to simply reactivate an old phone, which I did online myself with no human interaction. By doing it this way, I never received any sort of instruction whatsoever as to what I should do with the Note now that I’m no longer using it. So it’s currently still in my possession. There is no indication that I even owned a Note 7 on my account anymore. It’s like it never happened. Now I’m smart enough to know that I could just call Verizon and likely request the return box and send it on its way back to Samsung. But what about the people who have activated old phones and don’t really have a clue? Do you think Verizon is still on the liability hook since they gave no indication on how to send it back when not doing an upgrade/exchange? They don’t even list how to do this on their Note 7 recall FAQ on the Verizon website. I think they forgot to cover all their bases in this case. If something were to happen and the phone goes up in flames on someone who just reactivated an old phone the way I did, I think Verizon is still going to be holding the bag… I’ve taken precautions to prevent anything serious from happening while it’s in my possession (I ran the battery dead and have it stored in a small fire safe). Personally, I’d like to hang onto if they don’t ever actually come "looking" for it on their own. I like to collect stuff and want to keep it just for the novelty of it all. I’m assuming all of the risk by keeping it and I’m not placing anyone in danger but myself. I don’t ever intend to power it back up and continue using it for any purpose other than a collection piece, so I think the risk is very minimal at this point.

The same has happened to my account, but I plan to keep it and continue to use it. It is called a voluntary recall for a reason.

 

[jhimmel]

The problem right now with that is they can't make any catch fire from normal use. If Samsung and the cpsc fail to make them burn even using vr then everyone has freaked for nothing. No my neighbor is not even close enough for that to happen. My phone is either on me or on glass that will withstand the fire and keep it contained. This isn't everyone's first rodeo. I have an extensive background in containment of such situations. Yes if I was not so into lithium batteries all over my desk and house with vaping gear I might fear the N7 a bit. I got bigger batteries than 3500mah. For the average user yes turn it in and be done I agree.

People keep talking about houses burning down. One post even asked "How many more houses have to burn down before people get it". Have any houses burned down? I know there was a jeep fire that got called into question about the actual cause. I'm pretty sure a nasty smoke is emitted when it burns up. I assume under the right circumstances it could burn something down. I guess a house burns down somewhere in the world like every 2 minutes from cigarette use (careless use).

 

[LeoRex]

If Samsung and the cpsc fail to make them burn even using vr then everyone has freaked for nothing.

Actually, the fact that they may not have isolated a root cause and steps to reproduce the conditions that caused the failures makes this more troubling, not less. If they can reliably force the failure, they can issue more directed warnings for those who are refusing to follow the recommendations of numerous government agencies world-wide and Samsung to shut down the device and return it.

This is coming from someone who has been working in QA and QC for 20 some odd years... the critical faults that we can't reproduce, THOSE are the ones we freak out over.