Here’s how you can tell a safe Galaxy Note 7 from an explosive one

As we finally approach the arrival of Samsung’s new-and-improved, non-explosive Galaxy Note 7 units, Samsung is now officially detailing how you can identify these new devices from those which were manufactured before the recall which are prone to combust.

Due to the fact that the Note 7 has a sealed battery and won’t have any cosmetic differences following the recall, most of these changes are in its software. The most noticeable change is the new green battery icon in the status bar. This replaces the previous white color and also appears in other areas of the operating system such as the Always-On display. Likewise, Samsung has also added a new green battery icon to the power off prompt screen. Adding to the confusion, however, it seems that this change won’t be available out of the box; instead, it’s coming in a software update, likely headed to devices based on the IMEI for affected units.

Along with the battery icon change, Samsung is also making a slight tweak to the Note 7’s packaging. A small black square will be added to the box near the bar code (as pictured below). It was previously reported that a circle with an “S” in the center would be used in this same way, but that may have been a local change only and not applicable to all markets.

These changes, as small as they may be, should assist both retailers and officials in better determining if a customer is using a safe device. In the case of the Note 7 being banned from use on airplanes by the FAA, these changes should make it easier for flight crew members to identify a Note 7 vs. Samsung’s other devices. Note 7 owners can also verify that their device is safe by running the IMEI or serial number through Samsung’s official tool.