There must be an easy way to at least remove the battery. I would pursue the option to buy a smaller, thinner battery for the phone in a back alley from an ex Samsung Employee. Or I would still keep using the S7 Note, and just keep it in a bomb proof shelter while wearing a bomb vest and gas mask.
But what if someone has the source of the original smaller capacity battery, and replacing it does fix the issue? Completely fixed Galaxy Note 7's popping up on the market would be priced ludicrously high, and people would buy them. It will become a collectors item, possibly holding its value for some time.
Uh, individuals in their basements are not going to be able troubleshoot this with any accuracy. If Samsung themselves couldn't do it after weeks of looking at these phones and investigating their own production facilities, why do you think some phone geek with 3 Note 7 units in his bedroom is going to be able solve the mystery?
Would you really trust some guy on Kijiji telling you that the Note 7 he has for sale there is fine because he swapped in a different battery? Really? The only way this would make any sense at all would be Samsung came right out and said that was the specific problem, and that was the permanent fix, but I highly doubt that's going to happen.
I just don't understand why people are being so irrational about the Note 7. The phone design appears defective somehow and we already know they are going up in smoke. And, Samsung is telling people to return them, NOW. They are also offering refunds and replacements, so the decision is easy. Return it and get your money back or get a replacement with another phone.