Samsung Electronics Co. said replacements for half of the one million Galaxy Note 7 phones recalled in the U.S. last week will be available in stores by Wednesday, falling short of expectations and potentially further damaging the company's reputation with consumers and retailers.

When Samsung announced the formal recall of its high-end device last week, following explosions caused by faulty lithium-ion batteries, the company said consumers could get a replacement phone "no later than September 21," according to a company statement. U.S. safety authorities said one million phones in the U.S. were affected by the recall.

On Tuesday, Samsung warned that the stock of replacement phones is limited to 500,000.

"We are delivering as promised and moving quickly to educate consumers about the recall and make new Note 7s available," Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, said in a statement.

Samsung declined to say when the remaining devices will be available.

The company also issued a software update Tuesday that will alert users if they are using a recalled device when they plug it into a charger. The update will change the battery symbol in the top right corner to green from white if it is a new Note 7 device.

Samsung, working with wireless carriers and retailers, initiated a formal exchange program in conjunction with U.S. safety authorities last Thursday that allowed customers to receive a new Note 7, a refund or a different Samsung phone. Customers had returned 130,000 affected devices before the formal recall launched, the company said.

A retail associate manager at T-Mobile US Inc. store in downtown San Francisco said the store started receiving shipments of the new Note 7 devices Tuesday morning. A spokeswoman for Verizon Communications Inc. said some customers were able to get replacements on Tuesday. Representatives for other carriers—Sprint Corp. and AT&T Inc.—said they expect to have the shipments by Wednesday.

Samsung said it is up to the retailers to determine how they distribute the phones to consumers.

Samsung first instructed consumers to stop using the new Galaxy Note 7 three weeks ago. The recall has been marred by miscommunication ever since.

A longtime Samsung customer, Eric Myers, said he tried exchanging his recalled Note 7 for another model at a Verizon store in Vallejo, Calif., late last week, but was turned away because he didn't have the original box or adapter that the phone came with.

"They sent me home with a phone that could potentially blow up," Mr. Myers, 25 years old, said. "It's not like I can't not charge it because I use it for work."

The Verizon spokeswoman said consumers should be able to return the phones even without the box or accessories.

Wesley Hartzog said the origin of a fire that razed his garage about two weeks ago was traced to where his new Note 7 was plugged into the wall. He traded in his scorched phone for an Apple Inc. iPhone.

Samsung offered him a loaner phone, he said, but he declined. Samsung didn't respond to a request for comment.

"I'm not too excited about having another Samsung product in my home," the 33-year-old said.

Write to Trisha Thadani at trisha.thadani@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2016 19:15 ET (23:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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