gerbick, there is a difference between a flaw that may incapacitate the device and a flaw that may threaten the life or property. Not that I condone Verizon's action but I can understand it.

juiceme, as I understand it, the firmware update came from Samsung, not Verizon. I do not know if it is possible to avoid a system update on Samsung devices; on Jolla it is kind of possible but the phone keeps pestering you to no end. Forwarding calls is a different matter altogether. I do not know about the US but I am sure it would be illegal in the EU. I would be rather peeved if my operator did that to me, especially if they charged me for the call. If that happened, I would leave them in a heartbeat.