Total recall: Samsung tells Note 7 users to switch off phones over fire fears

Samsung has halted production and sales of its Note 7 phone worldwide, telling owners to switch them off, amid fears that the devices can catch fire.

Anyone who owns an original or replaced device has been urged to stop using it and switch it off following fresh reports of fire damage in some devices.

The company has stopped further sales of the device and said on Tuesday it had reached a “final decision” to halt production of the handset after recently “readjusting production volume for thorough investigation and quality control”.

Samsung formally recalled 2.5 million devices after dozens exploded or caught fire, and was in the process of replacing them.

But there have been multiple reports that the “safe” replacements provided have also overheated, emitted smoke or caught fire.

One user’s replacement device caught fire on his nightstand.

Images of charred Note 7 phones have been posted by users on social media.

One user’s replacement device caught fire on his nightstand in Richmond, Virginia, on Sunday.
Shawn Minter said it “sounded like a spaceship about to take-off”, adding the phone was unplugged and had 71% battery charge at the time.

Another replacement Note 7 reportedly ignited inside a Southwest Airlines flight in the United States last Wednesday.