With the recall program for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to run in full progress, the South Korean giant plans to issue a software update that will prevent the phones from overheating by limiting battery recharges to 60 percent. The software update will be free for any users of the Note 7 who may be disregarding its recall notice and continuing to use the smartphone.

"It is a measure to put consumer safety first but we apologize for causing inconvenience," Samsung said. The update for South Korean users will start Sept. 20.

It was not clear when the update may be issued overseas. Also unclear was whether it will be forced on existing Note 7 phones regardless of user consent.

Samsung plans to begin issuing new Note 7s with batteries it says will not be prone to overheating starting Sept. 19 in South Korea. It recalled 2.5 million of the devices two weeks after their launch after dozens of cases in which batteries exploded or caught fire. Samsung says the problem stems from a manufacturing glitch in the batteries.

Keeping the battery level low could reduce the risk of overheating, but it would be equivalent to getting a downgrade of a top-of-the-line phone.