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Verizon will disable the Galaxy Note 7 on January 5th

If you were holding out, you won't get much of a reprieve.

If you were hoping that Verizon's decision against disabling the Galaxy Note 7 would give you a long while to use the ill-fated smartphone, you're in for some disappointment. The carrier has revealed that it's pushing the phone-crippling update on January 5th, 2017, or just over two weeks after it reaches devices on other US networks. As before, the later-than-usual cutoff is about making sure that you can contact family and emergency services over the holidays if you still haven't turned in your Note 7.

This isn't exactly a shocking move, since the writing was on the wall the moment that Samsung started disabling Note 7 charging features. About 93 percent of American buyers had already returned their units before the news, and that ratio is only likely to climb in the days ahead. However, the January 5th Verizon push is still notable. Think of it as an official end date for the Note 7's brief, turbulent life in the US -- it's the day when Samsung can stop worrying about battery fires and focus on mending its image.