Seoul, Jun 27 (IANS): Samsung Electronics will soon begin selling a refurbished version of its controversial Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, which cost the company millions in losses last year following repeated reports of handsets catching fire.

The refurbished Galaxy Note FE handset will go on sale on July 7, company sources confirmed on Tuesday.

However, a Samsung spokesperson told Efe news that the handset's cost price is yet to be determined and that they are waiting for their phone and information technology division to officially announce a launch date.

The South Korean tech giant is currently holding its bi-annual strategic forum in Seoul, during which it is expected to announce upcoming launch dates for products including the Galaxy Note 8, the Note 7's successor.

In a first for the company, Samsung had to suspend manufacturing and sales of the Galaxy Note 7 following reports of several of these handsets catching fire.

A subsequent probe found the explosions were caused by the handset's non-removable battery.

The fiasco over Samsung's flagship smartphone caused the firm operating losses of some 6.1 trillion won ($5 billion).

The refurbished Note 7 will have completely updated software as well as a lower-capacity battery compared to the original model, after attempts to develop a long-lasting but small battery were found to be partly to blame for the phones catching fire.

Following the smartphone's recall last year, Samsung received a large number of petitions from environment groups asking it to repair and reuse the 4.3 million Note 7 handsets that were produced.

In March, the company said it would recycle and refurbish the defective phones for sale.