The Galaxy Note7 recall crisis has worsened as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Tuesday it is stopping the sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 smartphones worldwide.
Samsung, in a statement, said it was still investigating recently reported cases of fires in new Note7 devices.
“Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Galaxy Note7 device should power down and stop using the device,” the company said.
Samsung’s decision to pull Galaxy Note7s 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 Galaxy Note7s 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.
ARM gathered that Samsung had temporarily halted production of Note7s.
U.S. 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 Note7s.
The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards also said consumers should stop using Note7 phones and said it will work with Samsung on future steps.