Nokia phones have all but disappeared from many countries

HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, seems to be facing some major issues in multiple countries across Europe.

The Finnish phone maker was recently banned from selling most of its inventory in Germany and Switzerland. All Nokia smartphones, barring the Nokia G21 and Nokia G11, are listed as out of stock on the company’s website in the two locations. However, HMD’s troubles seem more far-reaching than that.

It looks like Nokia phones have all but disappeared from multiple other countries across Europe. These include important markets like France, Spain, Italy, and even the company’s home turf Finland. The only Nokia phone available in these regions right now is the Nokia G21. That said, the X20, X10, and other Nokia phones are still available in the UK.

Also see: HMD Global’s handling of Nokia is a tale of squandered potential

HMD Global is being sued by a company called VoiceAgeEVS LLC over its use of Enhanced Voice Services (EVS). This audio coding standard is mainly used with VoLTE — i.e. when making calls over the LTE mobile network. The lawsuit alleges that HMD doesn’t have the license to use the tech.

While the smartphone maker hasn’t said anything about how long this unavailability will last, it shared the following statement with multiple German outlets:

HMD is a defendant in a number of lawsuits filed by VoiceAgeEVS LLC (“VAEVS”) in various jurisdictions, including Germany. We are disappointed with the completion of the VoiceAge enforcement proceedings in Germany in December and have lodged a complaint. In the meantime, we have ensured that none of the devices offered and distributed in Germany support EVS,” commented HMD Global on the situation in Germany.

We’ll track the situation closely and update this article if things change. Until then, you might be out of luck trying to buy Nokia phones in Europe.