Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Friday said it would release a software update for Galaxy Note7 smartphones by December 19 in the United States, which will stop the devices from charging or functioning as phones. US provider Verizon Communications Inc stated it will not participate in the update on account of the “added risks” Galaxy Note7 users who do not have backup devices could face, Reuters reported.

The South Korean manufacturer said more than 93% of the recalled Galaxy Note7 phones had been returned during its United States US Note7 Refund and Exchange programme. The US transportation department and other agencies in October ordered Galaxy Note7 owners to refrain from carrying their phones or to store them in their checked baggage during flights following reports of fires in replacement Note7 devices.

The company had posted a 30% drop in its operating profit (profits before interest and taxes on business operations) to 5.2 trillion won (approximately $4.6 billion or Rs 30,762 crore). Analysts had estimated that Samsung’s second recall and subsequent halt in production of the Note7 had cost the company up to $17 billion (approximately Rs 1.13 lakh crore) in lost revenue. Samsung had launched the Galaxy Note7 in South Korea on August 19, but it was forced to declare an international recall of 2.5 million units in September following several reports of the phone exploding.