Samsung to halt global sales, exchanges of Galaxy Note 7

[SEOUL] Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday it will ask all global partners to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, further deepening the smartphone company's recall crisis.

Samsung, in a statement, said it was still investigating recently reported cases of fires in new Note 7 devices. "Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note 7 or replacement Galaxy Note 7 device should power down and stop using the device," the company said.

Samsung's decision to pull Note 7s off the shelves for the second time in two months underscores the South Korean firm's struggles to fix its problems. It had already recalled 2.5 million Note 7s due to faulty batteries, but the latest reports of damage on the replacement devices is raising fresh doubts about the firm's quality control abilities.

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday Samsung had temporarily halted production of Note 7s.

US Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Elliott Kaye said in a separate statement Samsung was making the right decision by halting sales and exchanges of the device and also urged consumers to stop using all Note 7s.

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards also said consumers should stop using Note 7 phones and said it will work with Samsung on future steps.

REUTERS