Those affected will certainly know that something's up. Owners are reporting that they've received text messages telling them that their phone will stop working in late January (the dates vary), and that they'll be charged if they don't return the phone within as little as 5 days. It's not certain that Verizon can charge customers under US recall rules, but the provider appears bent on trying.

It's not immediately clear how these owners managed to evade the charging update. We've reached out to Verizon to see if it can elaborate on what's happening, and you can look below for its current statement acknowledging the holdouts. However, not all Note 7 users are keeping their devices out of stubbornness. Verizon is asking users to return the phones in their original boxes, but that's not always an option -- the carrier may be leaving some customers no choice but to pay for the phone even if they do take it in. While there are certainly people who outright refuse to turn in their handsets (we've seen a few hoping to spoof phone IDs), you can't paint all of them with the same broad brush.