Samsung today announced that over 96 percent of the Galaxy Note 7 units sold to the public across the world have been returned to it. The company notes that it has taken aggressive actions like completely disabling phone calling functionality by rolling out a software update for the phone by working closely with carriers. By limiting the functionality of the phone, Samsung left users who were still using the Note 7 as their primary device with no other option but to return it to the company.

The Korean company also notes that the U.S. Department of Transportation has removed the requirement of airlines making a specific pre-boarding announcement related to the Galaxy Note 7 being prohibited from being taken on an aircraft.

The Department of Transportation removed the requirement for air carriers to specifically notify passengers about the Note7 phone immediately prior to boarding due to the high degree of public awareness of the ban since issuance of the emergency restriction/prohibition order, as well as the extensive efforts by Samsung and U.S. wireless providers to make all Note7 users aware the phone is recalled and banned from transport on U.S. aircraft.  The awareness of the ban is evidenced by the significant rate of recall returns.

The Galaxy Note 7 fiasco led Samsung to lose billions of dollars and did an irreparable damage to its goodwill. However, the company seems to have bounced back if its latest quarterly estimate earnings are anything to go by. It has also set itself an aggressive target of shipping 60 million Galaxy S8 units in 2017 despite its delayed launched.