The phones will be refurbished, broken down for parts, or recycled pending Regulators Approval

Ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S8 launch, the company has released a statement regarding its plans to recycle Note 7 devices. Following the battery problems and worldwide recall of the Note 7 last year, Samsung has now revealed what will happen with all the returned phones – they’re going to be refurbished and resold. The company also plans to recover and use or sell reusable components such as chips and camera modules and extract rare metals used in Note 7s such as copper, gold, nickel and silver.

In a brief press release, Samsung said it will announce where it will offer the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 phones, along with release dates, after it has discussed the matter with wireless carriers and regulatory agencies in various markets, along with a look at the possible demand for such a phone. Last year though, the company had said that they will not be bringing out refurbished unit

It will be interesting to see how the market responds to this, many consumers who owned the Note 7 were disappointed and generally everyone loved the device. But with the recent fear of explosions and faulty batteries, it has to be seen how Samsung aims at marketing such a controversial product. It also has to be noted that the move is a risky one, as Samsung has been over the humiliation of pushing replacements / updates as well as a complete recall.

The process comes in three parts: save salvageable components such as camera modules and semiconductors, extract metal parts with the help from “eco-friendly” third-party companies, and sell refurbished devices “where applicable.”

In January 2017, Samsung’s official report confirmed the batteries in the Note 7 was the reason the handsets exploded and burst into flames during 2016. The report added that batteries made by its own company Samsung SDI were too small in one corner, causing electrodes to be bent and increase the chances of the device short circuiting.

Source: Samsung