A week after announcing a voluntary recall of its Galaxy Note7, Samsung finally announced that it was working with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on an official recall process. The government agency issued an immediate advisory to all owners of the handset, telling them to "power down and stop charging or using" the device without delay.

On September 15, the CPSC officially recalled the Galaxy Note7, following numerous incidents in which the device had caught fire, and some in which its battery had exploded. The agency said last week that there had been 92 documented incidents in the US alone, including 55 in which property or vehicles had been damaged, and 26 in which people had suffered injuries.

After early criticism regarding Samsung's initial handling of the recall, the company is now expediting its efforts to ensure that all Galaxy Note7 units sold before September 15 are replaced as quickly as possible with new, safer models.

Samsung has announced that it is pushing a firmware update to all affected devices still in use, warning users that they should stop using the handset and return it without delay.

"Once installed," Samsung said, "users will be prompted with a safety notice that urges owners to power down and exchange their recalled device. The notice will appear every time a user powers up or charges their device."

The notification reads:

Safety Recall Notice Your safety is our highest priority. Power down and stop using this phone. The battery may overheat posing a fire or burn risk. Visit www.samsung.com/us/note7recall or call us toll-free at 1-844-365-6197 to learn more.

"Working hand in hand with the CPSC, we are delivering as promised and moving quickly to educate consumers about the recall and make new Note7s available," Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, said. "New devices will be in stores no later than tomorrow and we will continue to take the necessary actions to ensure users are powering down and immediately exchanging recalled devices."

Over half a million Galaxy Note7 replacement handsets have been shipped to carrier and retail stores across the US ready to be distributed tomorrow, September 21, to affected customers.

Samsung will also be releasing a software update to all new Galaxy Note7 devices, to help users identify that their handset is from the approved batch of replacement units. This update will display a unique green battery icon which Samsung says "indicates that consumers have a new Galaxy Note7 with an unaffected battery."

Source: Samsung