Samsung tells Korean customers to stop using Galaxy Note 7

A customer holds a Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphone at the headquarters of South Korean mobile carrier KT in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Sept. 2, 2016. Samsung will issue a global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone as soon as this weekend after its investigation on explosion claims found batteries were at fault, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News. AP

SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics has recommended South Korean customers to stop using the new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, which the company is recalling worldwide after several dozen of them caught fire.

The South Korean technology giant in a statement on its website Saturday advised local users to visit the company’s service centers to receive rental phones for temporary use. Samsung plans to provide Galaxy Note 7 devices with new batteries in South Korea starting on Sept. 19.

The US Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday warned airline passengers not to turn on or charge Galaxy Note 7s during flights and also not to put the smartphone in their checked bags. Samsung is planning to recall 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones worldwide.

READ: Samsung recalls Galaxy Note 7 after battery explosions