Reports of the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone exploding are untrue, according to UK fire investigators. Reportedly the device was put in a microwave, not the claim the original owner had made.

The owner claimed the device exploded while he was driving. "The device was not responsible for the cause of the fire. The energy source responsible for generating the heat has been determined as external to the device.

"The only way it was possible to produce damage similar to the damage recorded within the owner's damaged device was to place the devices or component parts within a domestic microwave," Peter Mansi of Fire Investigations UK said.

The owner has since admitted faking the story; Samsung had said it would investigate as a result of the original story.

"The damage to the phone was caused by another person, although they were attempting to recover the phone from water this later caused the damage shown on the phone. It occurred due to a large amount of external energy and there was no fault with the phone," the owner added.

Why the exploding-in-a-car claims were made wasn't said, but originally the owner added he went to UK phone retailer Carphone Warehouse and didn't get a replacement phone because it needed to be investigated. "And they are refusing to give me a replacement they had to send it off. Probably nothing I can do, but Im really annoyed," he also said.

"There have been recent online posts displaying pictures of a Samsung GALAXY SIII that appears to have heat-related damage at the bottom of the device. Samsung is aware of this issue and will begin investigating as soon as we receive the specific product in question.

"Once the investigation is complete, we will be able to provide further details on the situation. We are committed to providing our customers with the safest products possible and are looking at this seriously," Samsung originally said.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 has been met warmly by consumers: the device totalled 10 million pre-orders, despite carrier delays and worries that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean might not arrive on the device soon.