Nokia has admitted that some N8 phones are dying as a result of faulty components.
Executive vice president Niklas Savander said he was aware of the problem in which some N8 phones are unable to power on or recharge, in a video interview on Nokia's blog.
Nokia has traced the cause to a faulty manufacturing process for the phone's power management systems, and has commenced an overhaul of the equipment responsible, Savander said.
The fault affected just a small number of phones, he said. N8 owners are covered by Nokia's warranty, and affected phones will be replaced.
Complaints about the dead N8s started on Nokia's customer forums and then quickly spread to the wider web.
Manufacturing problems also marred the launch of another high-profile smartphone, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. Units produced before a certain date reportedly shipped with a faulty speaker.