Siemens's defective 65-series phones are no longer being sold by T-Mobile, Vodafone, MMO2, E-Plus and other retailers, the Financial Times Deutschlandreported today.
"We aren't selling the series anymore," a spokesman for German retailer Media-Markt told the newspaper, which said Siemens could face high costs because of lost sales and damage claims from its clients.
"We are recalling the devices and putting new software in them," a Deutsche Telekom spokesman told the newspaper. "Siemens is going to have to cover the costs."
The Financial Times Deutschlandsaid it was unclear how long the phones will be kept off the market.
"We hope that we can offer problem-free mobiles again at the beginning of September," a spokesman for MMO2 said.
Siemens announced yesterday that its 65-series mobile phones contain a software defect that can lead to audio transmission failures in rare cases.
It said that if a telephone call is cut off because the phone's battery has run out, the disconnection melody can begin to play at very high volume and lead to hearing damage.