Samsung blames Note 7 problems on batteries in new report

Samsung's investigation into its failed Galaxy Note 7 device has found that fires and explosions were caused by faulty batteries.

The South Korean smartphone maker was forced into an embarrassing withdrawal of its flagship phone in October after also recalling millions of Note 7s, with several users reporting fires and overheating.

The Note 7 was targeted as the competitor to rival company Apple's iPhone 7, but instead Samsung has faced a bill of £4.3bn related to the recall.

Samsung ordered the independent investigation into the issue, and the results concluded that hardware and software were not at fault, only the batteries.

"To find the cause of the Galaxy Note 7 incidents, Samsung examined every aspect of the Galaxy Note 7, including hardware, software and related processes over the past several months," the firm said in a statement.

"Samsung's investigation, as well as the investigations completed by three independent industry organizations, concluded that the batteries were the cause of the Galaxy Note7 incidents."

The company has also been in the news for the wrong reasons recently for its involvement in a corruption scandal in South Korea which led to the impeachment of president Park Geun-hye.

Samsung's de facto boss Jay Y Lee was questioned by investigators over a donation given to a prominent business woman, but a judge refused to give prosecutors an arrest warrant.