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Siemens Warns of Possible Hearing Damage in Some Cell Phones

August 27, 2004
Siemens is warning that some of its cell phones have a software defect that could cause the disconnection melody to play very loudly, possibly leading to hearing damage.

The defect occurs in Siemens Mobile's 65 product series (C65, CX65, M65, S65, SL65 as well as all provider variations such as the CV65, CT65, CXV65 and CXT65).

The condition can only arise if the mobile phone is held up directly to the ear while the disconnect melody is playing. To rule out any danger of damage to health, Siemens recommends deactivating the disconnection melody or the disconnection animation function.

In addition, phone calls should be terminated as soon as the first "low battery" warning signal comes. To deactivate the disconnection melody, the user must first select the "Setup" item in the menu, then "Ringtones," afterwards "More melodies," and then the "Shutdown melody" can be deactivated by selecting "Switch off".

Siemens says that it attaches great importance to the comprehensive quality control of its products. It regularly examines current production and development according to strict internal and external criteria, during which the products are also tested under extreme conditions in order to guarantee the optimization and complete security of its equipment.

The problem was found during routine quality-control lab tests and is "very unlikely" to occur in everyday usage, the company said.

The error only occurs in the following case and in version 11 or earlier versions of the software: During a telephone call, the battery has to have run down to such an extent that the warning signal notifying the user about this status has rung three times in the space of one minute. After this has occurred, the call is automatically disconnected.

Shortly before the mobile phone finally shuts down, it will start playing the disconnection melody, which can play back at high volume in certain cases. If the user is still holding the phone up to his ear during this time, this can lead to hearing damage.

Siemens has already developed new software that stops this malfunction in the mobile phones in the 65 product series. After approval is received from the network providers, the new update software versions will be provided free of charge in the coming weeks.

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