Samsung delays restart of its Galaxy Note 7 sale

The South Korean tech giant was forced to recall some 2.5 million devices globally due to overheating batteries.

The recall came after reports of some of the devices catching fire.

The phone was to be back on the shelf by Wednesday in South Korea but is now expected to be available only on 1 October at the earliest.

On 2 September Samsung had said it would stop selling the phones and offered to replace the ones already sold.

The the firm also urged people to stop using the device.

The global recall affects 10 markets. In South Korea, some 200,000 customers have already returned their devices with the same number of people still left for the recall, according to Samsung.

The next markets where the phone is to be available for sale again are to be Australia and Singapore in October.

What makes lithium batteries catch fire?

In the US, regulators have ordered a formal recall of the phones while the country'sFederal Aviation Administration has told airline passengers not to bring the phones on planes unless they keep them turned off and don't charge them during the flight.

A number of airlines around the globe have also banned the phone from being used or charged on their planes.

The phone was originally launched on 19 August and had been generally well-received by critics and consumers.

The recall comes at a crucial time for Samsung maker as rival Apple has just released its new iPhone 7 flagship model.