Verizon is redirecting Samsung Note 7 owners' calls because they refuse to give up their phones

Some people really, really don't want to give up their Samsung Note 7 smartphones.

The devices are subject to a global recall because they can explode - but months later, some die-hard customers are still refusing to give them up.

According to a report from Fortune, US telecoms giant Verizon is planning to take extreme measures against these hold-out users: The company is forcibly redirecting all their (non-emergency) calls to Verizon's customer service department.

Apparently, "thousands" of customers on the network are still holding onto their Note 7's, despite the best efforts of Verizon, Samsung, the United States government, and everyone who cares about consumer safety.

"In spite of our best efforts, there are still customers using the recalled phones who have not returned or exchanged their Note 7 to the point of purchase," a spokesperson for Verizon told Fortune. "The recalled Note 7s pose a safety risk to our customers and those around them."

In the US, the major mobile networks have pushed out update that prevent the phones from charging - but apparently even that wasn't enough to convince some customers to surrender their precious devices.

And in Europe, Samsung has used an update to limit Note 7 customers' batteries to 30% of capacity to encourage them to hand them in.

This weekend, Samsung plans to hold a press conference to announce its findings into what went wrong with the doomed smartphone - and how the South Korean electronics company intends to make sure it won't happen again.