WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 (UPI) — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urged Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners against using their phones following several reports of fires caused by the device.
In a statement released on Friday, the consumer watchdog agency instructed Note 7 owners to power down their devices as they worked with Samsung to recall the phones.
“Lithium-ion batteries pack a lot of power into a small package. When these batteries overheat and burst, the results can be serious,” the commission said. “This is why the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is urging all consumers who own a Samsung Galaxy Note7 to power them down and stop charging or using the device.”
Samsung estimated that less than 0.1 percent of devices would be affected by the problem, but issued a recall of the Galaxy Note 7 on Sept. 2 and promised to replace all 2.5 million of the phones due to the faulty batteries.
Since the recall, the Federal Aviation Administration strongly advised passengers not to use or charge the device on planes. Australia’s top airlines banned the phone from their flights.
