Samsung tells Galaxy Note 7 owners to turn off devices and stops sales.

Samsung’s crisis deepened on Tuesday after it suspended sales of its Galaxy Note 7 and urged customers to turn off and stop using their devices.

The company urged mobile networks and retailers to cancel any sales or exchange programs while it was investigating the latest incidents of phones catching fire and exploding due to faulty batteries.
The halt is a further blow for Samsung, which has seen its reputation battered by multiple reports of defective phones. The company had hoped that the £739 Note 7 would be a superior rival to Apple’s iPhone 7, leading to a boost in sales, but it has instead been thrown into turmoil.

While Samsung first issued a global recall of the Note 7 a month ago, it has now been hit by repeated reports that the supposedly safe replacement devices are also vulnerable to the same faults.
Several mobile networks, including those in the UK, said they had stopped giving customers new devices on Monday and Samsung said it had suspended production.
On Tuesday morning the company said: “Because consumers’ safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 while the investigation is taking place.
“Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note 7 or replacement Galaxy Note 7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available.”