LOS ANGELES — Samsung Electronics is permanently ending production of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, after trying for more than a month to solve the problem of the device catching fire.

Samsung, the global leader in smartphone production, announced Monday that it is suspending sales of the smartphone after reports that some replacement devices were also spontaneously igniting. On Tuesday, Samsung announced that it is halting production, and a spokesman told NPR’s Elise Hu that production will not resume.

“This is the end” of the phone model, Elise says.

The news comes after Samsung announced last month that it would recall 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones amid reports that batteries were overheating and were a safety risk. The company reportedly changed battery suppliers, but that doesn’t appear to have solved the problem. Last week, a Samsung Note 7 began smoking on a Southwest Airlines flight, prompting an evacuation of the plane. The phone was reported by the owner to be a replacement phone.

The four top U.S. telecom companies, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint have announced that they will no longer sell the replacement version of the Note 7. All four are offering to replace existing Note 7 phones.

Australia’s top three telecoms—Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Australia—also announced that they would no longer ship the Note 7.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a statement advising “all consumers who own a Samsung Galaxy Note7 to power them down and stop charging or using the device.” The Federal Aviation Administration warned travelers that even powered-down Note 7s should not be placed in checked baggage.

Samsung spent weeks trying to address the issue, and initially indicated that the halt in production would be temporary. The New York Times reported that the company had hoped to provide an update within a month.

But within days, the company said the production halt was permanent, citing “customer safety.”

Source: NPR