Update: Samsung has called for a halt to all Galaxy Note 7 sales and exchanges worldwide while an investigation into reports of combusting phones is underway.

The company urged all Note 7 owners - whether of an original device or a replacement phone - to power down and stop using their handset, as well as encouraged them to "take advantage of the remedies available."

Those remedies include taking your Note 7 into the carrier or retail store where you bought the device and seeking a full refund or exchange.

"We remain committed to working diligently with appropriate regulatory authorities to take all necessary steps to resolve the situation," Samsung said in a statement.

Original story below...

This morning we thought we had an understanding of what was going on with Samsung Galaxy Note 7, that production was being 'adjusted' (likely suspended) to dig into why new models were still catching on fire. But a new statement from Samsung has changed things somewhat...

We spoke to the South Korean brand who confirmed that, for the European market at least, the Note 7 recall was still going on as intended and replaced models would still be just fine and non-fiery:

"The replacement Note 7 devices are safe to use. All new Note 7 devices feature a green battery icon to give customers reassurance that their device is safe to charge."

But will people want them?

We quizzed Samsung on whether the statement meant that models that have reportedly started smoking were still dubbed safe to use, and were told:

“We continue to move quickly to investigate the reported case [in reference to the smoking Note 7 reported recently in the US] to determine the cause and will share findings as soon as possible.

"We want to reassure our customers that we take every report seriously and we appreciate your patience as we work diligently through this process.”

Here's the upshot: there are clearly question marks over whether the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 replacements are safe to use, and it's suddenly very hard to find one for sale (in the UK, for example, customers are being given wait times of at least three weeks, and stores are refusing to sell models).

After recent reports of replaced models smoking or catching fire, there needs to be an investigation into the handsets to decide whether they're certainly safe for use - otherwise, more networks will join the growing band of retailers refusing to stock the phone.