Spark, Vodafone, 2degrees blacklist Samsung’s Note 7
Hundreds of Kiwis still using the fire-prone phone, telco boss tells NBR. Now it's getting "bricked".
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Hawke’s Bay
Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees are blacklisting the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 from their networks, effective November 18.
From that date, remaining Note 7 users – and, remarkably, there are still a number out there with the fire-prone phone – will no longer be able to connect to any mobile network in NZ.
The move is being made under the Telecommunications Carriers Forum (TCF), in coordination with Samsung.
The Korean company won’t say how many Note 7s were sold here, or how many are in the market – only that there are some still being used despite a pop-up message that was forced to owners’ screens.
TCF head Geoff Thorn tells NBR, “The number of Note 7’s out there is reducing daily.”
The telco body doesn’t have an exact figure, “but we believe it is in the hundreds rather than thousands.”
The blacklisting is possible because every handset sold has a unique identifying number called an IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number and the TFC has a list of all those pertaining to Note 7s.
The TCF has a free IMEI checker here, which can also be used to check if a second-hand phone has been stolen.
On most models of phone, you can see the 15-digit IMEI number by hitting *#06# on its keypad.
Tens of thousands of dodgy phones have been blacklisted after complaints stolen handsets have been placed on Trade Me, and so forth, but Mr Thorn says this is the first instance of a model being outright blacklisted.
Note 7 buyers can claim a full refund or a replacement phone from Samsung's S7 series at their point of purchase.
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Spark, Vodafone, 2degrees blacklist Samsung’s Note 7
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