SEOUL, South Korea – Samsung’s crisis with its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone deepened Monday as the company confirmed it has adjusted its production following reports that newly released versions offered as replacements for recalled fire-prone devices have also overheated or caught fire.

The company, however, did not confirm or deny a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency earlier Monday that it has suspended production of the phones.

In a statement and in a regulatory filing, Samsung Electronics said it is “temporarily” adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule and production volume to “ensure quality and safety matters.” The company added that it will issue an update when more details are available.

Before the reports of a production suspension emerged, U.S. phone retailers AT&T and T-Mobile had already opted to stop giving new Note 7 replacement smartphones to consumers.

Samsung and U.S. authorities are investigating multiple reports of new Note 7 replacement smartphones catching fire, including a Samsung phone that emitted smoke and forced a Southwest Airlines flight in Kentucky to evacuate passengers. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the incident.

The production change suggests fresh trouble for Samsung as it awaits the U.S. authorities’ investigation into the replacement phones. It had promised that its new Note 7 devices with a green battery icon were safe.

The reports of replacement phones catching fire raise doubts over whether the battery is the only problem as Samsung has said. When it issued a global recall on Sept. 2, Samsung blamed batteries provided by one of its two battery suppliers.

and assured consumers that other parts of the smartphones were fine. </s> SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics has temporarily halted production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Monday, following reports that replacements for phone that had been catching fire were also overheating.

Citing an unnamed official at a Samsung supplier, Yonhap reported that the tech giant took the unprecedented measure for consumer safety.

The latest report shows that Samsung’s troubles with the Galaxy Note 7, which was recalled last month after reports of its batteries catching fire, may not be over.

Samsung Electronics did not respond to a request seeking confirmation.

The Note 7 recall, Samsung’s first smartphone recall, and its handling of the incidents have left the company facing its biggest crisis in years.

The premium phone was hailed by critics as one of the best Android phones when it made its debut in August. Two months later, some consumers called the expensive device “Death Note” after reports that dozens of the smartphones overheated or caught fire, in some cases damaging property or causing injuries.

Samsung seemed to have the trouble under control when it swiftly announced a global recall two weeks after the phone’s launch and promised consumers to replace their existing phone with a new Note 7 with a green battery icon that shows it is safe to use.

But consumers started to report that even the new Note 7 with the green battery icon were catching fire.

Last week, authorities had to evacuate a Southwest Airlines flight in Kentucky when a replacement phone began emitting smoke.

Passenger Brian Green, 43, said the device was a Galaxy Note 7 he had picked up from an authorized AT&T retailer Sept. 21 as a replacement for another Note 7 phone he returned when the global recall was announced. Samsung had promised that the replacement models were safe.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is still investigating the incident and had no further information as of Friday.

Before the report of Samsung’s production suspension emerged, AT&T, one of the largest phone retailers in the U.S., stopped giving consumers replacement Note 7s and encouraged customers with Note 7 phones to exchange them for other devices. </s> SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SMSN.L, SSNNF.OB, SSNLF.OB) has temporarily halted production of its troubled Galaxy Note 7 following reports of fires in replacement devices, according to media reports, citing person familiar with the matter.



The decision may include Samsung's plant in Vietnam which is responsible for global supply of the device, Yonhap said. The decision was made considering global consumers' safety, the unidentified official said, according to Yonhap.



AT&T Inc. (T) and T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) have both halted sales of the devices following reports of fires from the replacement devices.



On Sept. 2, Smartphone producer confirmed that it has stopped the sales of Galaxy Note 7 due to a battery cell issue. The company said it plans to replace the devices with faulty batteries with new one over the coming weeks.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX </s> SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Samsung said it is halting sales of the star-crossed Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after a spate of fires involving new devices that were supposed to be safe replacements for recalled models.

Separately, South Korean safety authorities said they found a new product defect in the Note 7 and urged consumers to stop using them. The officials did not publicly identify the defect.

In a statement issued late Monday, Samsung Electronics Inc. said consumers with original Note 7 devices or replacements they obtained after the recall should turn off the power and seek a refund or exchange them for different phones.

Officials from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission echoed that advice in their own statement, adding that they are continuing to investigate at least five incidents of fire or overheating reported since a formal recall was announced Sept. 15.

"No one should have to be concerned their phone will endanger them, their family or their property," said Elliot Kaye, chairman of the safety commission, in a statement. He called Samsung's decision to stop distributing the device "the right move" in light of "ongoing safety concerns."

The announcement follows several new incidents of overheating last week and deals a further blow to the world's largest smartphone company. Leading wireless carriers have already said they would stop distributing new Note 7 phones as replacements for the earlier recall.

Samsung said it would ask all carriers and retailers to stop selling the phones and providing them as replacements for recalled devices. It said consumers should return their phones to the place where they purchased them. They can also get information from the company's website .

Analysts say the new problems pose a crisis for the South Korean tech giant, which is locked in fierce competition with Apple and other leading smartphone makers.

"This has been a real black eye on the product," said Ben Bajarin, a consumer tech industry analyst with the Creative Strategies firm.

The new reports also raise questions about the cause and extent of the problem. Samsung blamed the battery problem on a manufacturing defect, although the company hasn't said which of its two battery suppliers made the faulty batteries or clarified whose batteries are used in which Note 7 smartphones.

"What's happened in the last few days just complicates things enormously," said analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research. "It calls into question their ability to manage quality control and everything else that goes into that."

Samsung gave no indication that it knows what caused the latest problems.

"We are working with relevant regulatory bodies to investigate the recently reported cases involving the Galaxy Note7," the company said in its statement, adding that "consumers' safety remains our top priority."

Earlier, a spokesman for the U.S. safety commission said his agency is investigating five Note 7 incidents reported since Sept. 15, although he said investigators had not confirmed whether all five involved recall replacements. But four consumers have told the Associated Press that their replacement phones caught fire — including two in Kentucky, one in Minnesota and one in Hawaii.

Dee Decasa of Honolulu had just visited the Samsung website on her new Galaxy Note 7 when it began smoking Sunday morning. She was double checking that the replacement phone she received was OK. She took a screen shot of the page confirming her new phone was fine.

"Then boom, there was like a pop. I had it in my hand and then smoke started spewing out, this green yucky thing," said Decasa, a bookkeeper.

She screamed for her husband and ran out of her bedroom. He grabbed an aluminum pan from the kitchen and told her to the put the phone in there. They called 911, and the phone was still sizzling when a policeman came about 20 minutes later.

Decasa said she thought "What happened? We were reassured these were the replacement ones." No one was injured.

Her husband said the plastic protective case his wife had around her phone may have protected her. Part of the plastic case appeared to have melted and got stuck to the aluminum pan.

The Decasas said Samsung is sending a representative to Honolulu Tuesday to meet them and examine her phone.

The Note 7 is not Samsung's most popular device; Samsung sells far more units of its Galaxy S7 phones than the more expensive Note 7 device. But analysts say the issue could hurt the company's reputation and overall standing with consumers.

Samsung sells about a third of all high-end smartphones priced above $400, while Apple sells slightly more than half, according to Credit Suisse investment analyst Kulbinder Garcha. He predicted in a report Monday that the new Note 7 problems will help Apple increase its share of the market.

Consumers can get more information from Samsung at http://www.samsung.com/us/note7recall/ or by calling (844) 365-6197. </s> Samsung has halted sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and urged owners to switch them off following reports that handsets issued as replacements for faulty models had caught fire.

The Korean technology giant’s share price tumbled seven per cent yesterday, wiping billions of pounds off its value, as the future of the flagship handset was thrown into jeopardy.

The £740 smartphone was due to relaunch in the UK at the end of October after sales were delayed amid concerns that the mobiles were at risk of overheating or catching fire.

Samsung said it was confident it had overcome an issue with the devices’ battery after a reported 2.5 million handsets were recalled worldwide. The manufacturer said it is ‘working with relevant regulatory bodies to investigate the recently reported cases involving the Galaxy Note 7’.. “Because consumers’ safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while the investigation is taking place,” the firm added in a statement.

US officials said they were probing at least five incidents of fire or overheating reported since Samsung first recalled the devices in September. Meanwhile authorities in South Korea said they had found a new product defect in the Note 7, but did not identify the issue.

Samsung said it remained ‘committed to working diligently with appropriate regulatory authorities to take all necessary steps to resolve the situation’.

“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,” the firm said.

The UK release date for the Note 7 had been moved to October 28 after Samsung ordered the recall following dozens of reports of devices overheating worldwide. The firm then began a programme offering replacement phones to consumers who had pre-ordered the device in the UK.

The company said 45,000 Note 7s had been sold in Europe through the pre-order campaign - the majority in the UK - and more than 75 per cent had since been replaced with either a Note 7 or another Samsung handset.

Samsung said in September that it was’confident’ it had completely overcome the problem and was ready to launch the device. However, concerns were raised over further defects beyond the battery cell, following several reports in the US of phones catching fire that showed the green battery icon Samsung added to replacement phones to mark them as safe. </s> Samsung has halted sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and urged owners to switch them off following reports that handsets issued as replacements for faulty models had caught fire.

The Korean technology giant's share price tumbled seven per cent yesterday, wiping billions of pounds off its value, as the future of the flagship handset was thrown into jeopardy.

The £740 smartphone was due to relaunch in the UK at the end of October after sales were delayed amid concerns that the mobiles were at risk of overheating or catching fire.

Samsung said it was confident it had overcome an issue with the devices' battery after a reported 2.5 million handsets were recalled worldwide.

The manufacturer said it is 'working with relevant regulatory bodies to investigate the recently reported cases involving the Galaxy Note 7'..

"Because consumers' safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while the investigation is taking place," the firm added in a statement.

US officials said they were probing at least five incidents of fire or overheating reported since Samsung first recalled the devices in September.

Meanwhile authorities in South Korea said they had found a new product defect in the Note 7, but did not identify the issue.

Samsung said it remained 'committed to working diligently with appropriate regulatory authorities to take all necessary steps to resolve the situation'.

"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," the firm said.

The UK release date for the Note 7 had been moved to October 28 after Samsung ordered the recall following dozens of reports of devices overheating worldwide.

The firm then began a programme offering replacement phones to consumers who had pre-ordered the device in the UK.

The company said 45,000 Note 7s had been sold in Europe through the pre-order campaign - the majority in the UK - and more than 75 per cent had since been replaced with either a Note 7 or another Samsung handset.

Samsung said in September that it was'confident' it had completely overcome the problem and was ready to launch the device.

However, concerns were raised over further defects beyond the battery cell, following several reports in the US of phones catching fire that showed the green battery icon Samsung added to replacement phones to mark them as safe. </s> Samsung recalled its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on Friday after finding some of their batteries exploded or caught fire.

Samsung's Note 7s are being pulled from shelves in 10 countries, including South Korea and the United States, just two weeks after the product's launch. Customers who already bought Note 7s will be able to swap them for new smartphones in about two weeks, said Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's mobile business.

He apologized for causing inconvenience and concern to customers.

The recall, the first for the new smartphone though not the first for a battery , comes at a crucial moment in Samsung's mobile business. Apple is expected to announce its new iPhone next week and Samsung's mobile division was counting on momentum from the Note 7's strong reviews and higher-than-expected demand.

Samsung said it had confirmed 35 instances of Note 7s catching fire or exploding. There have been no reports of injuries related to the problem.

The company said it has not found a way to tell exactly which phones may endanger users out of the 2.5 million Note 7s already sold globally. It estimated that about 1 in 42,000 units may have a faulty battery.

Samsung didn't say whether customers should stop using their phones, or whether explosions and fires could happen when the phone wasn't charging. Consumers who complained publicly said the problem came while the phone was being charged.

"The ball is in Samsung's court to make this right. Consumers want information about what's going on and peace of mind that this is not going to happen again," said Ramon Llamas, who tracks mobile devices at research firm IDC. "No one wants to wake up at 1, 2 or 3 (in the morning) and find out your smartphone's on fire."

He added that while phone combustions are unusual, "35 instances are 35 too many."

This summer, Samsung ran into a quality-control issue with another smartphone, a niche model called the Galaxy S7 Active. Consumer Reports found that the phone didn't live up to its water-resistance promises. Samsung said that relatively few phones were affected and that it had identified and fixed the manufacturing problem. Samsung said it would replace devices under warranty if it failed, but it declined to let customers swap phones otherwise or to issue a broader recall.

On the Note 7, after complaints surfaced online, Samsung found that a battery cell made by one of its two battery suppliers caused the phone to catch fire. Koh refused to name the supplier.

"There was a tiny problem in the manufacturing process, so it was very difficult to figure out," Koh told reporters at a news conference. "It will cost us so much it makes my heart ache. Nevertheless, the reason we made this decision is because what is most important is customer safety."

The phones start at $850 in the U.S., more expensive than most phones. In the U.S., Samsung said it will let customers downgrade to a Galaxy S7 and refund the price difference. Or customers can get a replacement Note 7 as early as next week.

Customers' reports of scorched phones prompted Samsung to conduct extra quality controlling tests and delay shipments of the Note 7s this week before the recall.

South Korean high school teacher Park Soo-Jung said she had rushed to buy the new phone, pre-ordering and then activating it on Aug. 19, its official launch date.

The 34-year-old living in the port city of Busan said that she was bruised when she rushed out of bed after her phone burst into flames, filling her bedroom with smoke stinking of chemicals.

She's having second thoughts about buying another newly released device, especially after losing all her personal data stored in the destroyed Note 7, she said.

"If the exploded phone had burned near my head, I would not have been able to write this post," she said in a popular online forum Thursday, where she shared a photo of the scorched Note 7 and described dousing the flames.

China is not affected by the sales suspension. The company said it used a battery made by another supplier for the Note 7s sold in China. </s> SEOUL, South Korea | Samsung’s crisis with its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone deepened Monday as the company confirmed it has adjusted its production following reports that newly released versions offered as replacements for recalled fire-prone devices have also overheated or caught fire.

The company, however, did not confirm or deny a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency earlier Monday that it has suspended production of the phones.

South Korean high school students try out Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphones at the company's shop in Seoul in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. Samsung Electronics has temporarily halted production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Monday, following reports that replacements for the fire-prone phones were also overheating. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) A visitor tries out a Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphone at the company's shop in Seoul in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. Samsung Electronics has temporarily halted production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Monday, following reports that replacements for the fire-prone phones were also overheating. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) A man passes by Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphones at the company's shop in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. Samsung Electronics has temporarily halted production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Monday, following reports that replacements for the fire-prone phones were also overheating. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphones are displayed at the company's shop in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. Samsung Electronics has temporarily halted production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Monday, following reports that replacements for the fire-prone phones were also overheating. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) A worker cleans a window as posters of Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphone are displayed at the company's shop in Seoul in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. Samsung Electronics has temporarily halted production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Monday, following reports that replacements for the fire-prone phones were also overheating. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In a statement and in a regulatory filing, Samsung Electronics said it is “temporarily” adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule and production volume to “ensure quality and safety matters.” The company added that it will issue an update when more details are available.

Before the reports of a production suspension emerged, U.S. phone retailers AT&T and T-Mobile had already opted to stop giving new Note 7 replacement smartphones to consumers.

Samsung and U.S. authorities are investigating multiple reports of new Note 7 replacement smartphones catching fire, including a Samsung phone that emitted smoke and forced a Southwest Airlines flight in Kentucky to evacuate passengers. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the incident.

The production change suggests fresh trouble for Samsung as it awaits the U.S. authorities’ investigation into the replacement phones. It had promised that its new Note 7 devices with a green battery icon were safe.

The reports of replacement phones catching fire raise doubts over whether the battery is the only problem in the fire-prone smartphone as Samsung has said. When it issued a global recall on Sept. 2, Samsung blamed batteries provided by one of its two battery suppliers and assured consumers that other parts of the smartphones were fine.

Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/youkyung-lee </s> SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung recalled its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on Friday after finding some of their batteries exploded or caught fire.

Samsung’s Note 7s are being pulled from shelves in 10 countries, including South Korea and the United States, just two weeks after the product’s launch. Customers who already bought Note 7s will be able to swap them for new smartphones in about two weeks, said Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung’s mobile business.

He apologized for causing inconvenience and concern to customers.

The recall, the first for the new smartphone, comes at a crucial moment in Samsung’s mobile business. Apple is expected to announce its new iPhone next week and Samsung’s mobile division was counting on momentum from the Note 7’s strong reviews and higher-than-expected demand.

Samsung said it had confirmed 35 instances of Note 7s catching fire or exploding. There have been no reports of injuries related to the problem.

The company said it has not found a way to tell exactly which phones may endanger users out of the 2.5 million Note 7s already sold globally. It estimated that about 1 in 42,000 units may have a faulty battery.

Samsung’s official statement was silent on whether customers should stop using their phones, and it didn’t say whether the problems happened while the phones were charging or during normal use.

This summer, Samsung ran into a quality-control issue with another smartphone, a niche model called the Galaxy S7 Active. Consumer Reports found that the phone didn’t live up to its water-resistance promises. Samsung said that relatively few phones were affected and that it had identified and fixed the manufacturing problem. Samsung said it would replace devices under warranty if it failed, but it declined to let customers swap phones otherwise or to issue a broader recall.

On the Note 7, after complaints surfaced online, Samsung found that a battery cell made by one of its two battery suppliers caused the phone to catch fire. Koh refused to name the supplier.

“There was a tiny problem in the manufacturing process, so it was very difficult to figure out,” Koh told reporters at a news conference. “It will cost us so much it makes my heart ache. Nevertheless, the reason we made this decision is because what is most important is customer safety.”

Customers’ reports of scorched phones prompted Samsung to conduct extra quality controlling tests and delay shipments of the Note 7s this week before the recall.

South Korean high school teacher Park Soo-Jung said she had rushed to buy the new phone, pre-ordering and then activating it on Aug. 19, its official launch date.

The 34-year-old living in the port city of Busan said that she was bruised when she rushed out of bed after her phone burst into flames, filling her bedroom with smoke stinking of chemicals.

She’s having second thoughts about buying another newly released device, especially after losing all her personal data stored in the destroyed Note 7, she said.

“If the exploded phone had burned near my head, I would not have been able to write this post,” she said in a popular online forum Thursday, where she shared a photo of the scorched Note 7 and described dousing the flames.

China is not affected by the sales suspension. The company said it used a battery made by another supplier for the Note 7s sold in China.

Lee can be reached on Twitter: www.twitter.com/YKLeeAP

Her previous works can be found on: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/youkyung-lee
Samsung recalls and suspends production of its reformulated-version of Galaxy Note 7 smartphone due to the same persistent problem with battery fires and explosions.