Telstra testing reveals some Samsung mobile phones unable to make triple-0 calls

Telstra testing has revealed some Samsung mobile phone users may be unable to call triple-0 in an emergency with more than 70 models found not to be connecting correctly. 

Telstra said the issue affected 11 older model Samsung Galaxy phones which users would need to replace with newer devices, and about 60 models that required system updates.

Telstra said affected customers would be notified via email or SMS.

The telco said legal obligations meant customers who owned models that needed to be replaced would be blocked from its network if their phones were not replaced within 28 days of being notified.

“Under the government’s Emergency Service Call Determination, all mobile network operators are required to block devices from their networks that are not configured to access emergency call services,” Telstra posted online.

About 60 other Samsung models required an immediate software update to ensure they could reach triple-0 in an emergency.

In a website post, Telstra said the testing showed that the phones were not connecting to the Vodafone network when trying to make triple-0 calls, but only when the Telstra or Optus networks were unavailable.

“For Telstra customers, the primary mobile network is Telstra and another available mobile network would be Optus or Vodafone in Australia,” it posted online.

“After completing some recent testing, we’ve identified a number of older Samsung mobile devices that are not correctly connecting to the Vodafone mobile network when other mobile networks are unavailable.”

Optus has also published a post on its website which said it had begun contacting affected customers and it would begin blocking phones that were not replaced as soon as 28 days after the customer was notified.

During a network outage a mobile phone is meant to use what is known as a “camp on” system to find the next available network but Telstra said this was not working.

Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) CEO, Carol Bennett, said the issue could potentially affect more than 100,000 customers.

“We believe it’s in the tens of thousands, certainly about 50,000 Telstra customers and about 50,000 Optus customers. We’re not sure how many TPG customers are directly affected by this issue,” she said.

The development adds to a crisis of confidence in the triple-0 emergency system following two recent Optus outages.

The largest outage in September has been linked to three deaths and hundreds of customers were unable to make emergency calls, breaching the telco’s legal obligations to ensure emergency calls were carried and prompting multiple ongoing investigations.

The ABC has contacted Vodafone’s owner TPG, Telstra, Optus and the regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority for comment.

Devices that need to be replaced: