The timing of the withdrawal comes as an embarrassing blow to the UK's third-largest mobile network, which has put picture messaging at the heart of its TV advertising.
Like the industry in general, it views Christmas as the biggest opportunity to promote the so-called multimedia messaging services (MMS) phones to a mass audience.
The 7210, priced from £99.99, is cheaper than Nokia's other MMS handset the 7650, and is seen as a mid-range product capable of wooing a wide range of consumers.
T-Mobile's competitors Orange, O2 and Vodafone said they had experienced no problems and are continuing to offer the 7210. Spokespeople at the companies said all handsets underwent rigorous testing prior to launch.
A T-Mobile spokeswoman said: "As this will be people's first experience of features like sending pictures and polyphonic ringtones, we have to ensure we get it right."
It has instructed retailers to withdraw all point-of-sale material relating to the product. T-Mobile said it would review a relaunch of the product in January, subject to solving the technical problems.
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