Old Samsung phones may not be able to call 000

Telstra testing has revealed that over 70 old Samsung phones comprising more than 20,000 handsets may not be able to access the 000 emergency service.

We can’t get a definitive list as Samsung will contact active phones directly, but we have a partial list of those that will not connect and must be replaced.

Model No.	Device Name
SM-N920I	Galaxy Note 5
SM-J530Y	Galaxy J5 (2017)
SM-J320ZN	Galaxy J3 2016
SM-J120ZN	Galaxy J1 2016
SM-G935F	Galaxy S7 Edge
SM-G930F	Galaxy S7
SM-G928I	Galaxy S6 Edge+
SM-G925I	Galaxy S6 edge
SM-G920I	Galaxy S6
SM-A720F	Galaxy A7 (2017)
SM-A520F	Galaxy A5 2017

Old Samsung phones needing a firmware update (E&OE)

A31	A32	A425G	A50
A52	A71	A715G	A72
A8(2018)	J7Prime	J7Pro	J8
Note10	Note20	Note20Ultra	S20FE(SM-G780F)
S20FE(SM-G780G)	S20Plus	XCover4s	XCover5
ZFlip5G	A11	A12	A12s
A20	A21s	A225G	A30
A325G	A51	A525G	A70
A905G	Fold	Note10Plus	Note10Plus5G
Note8	Note9	Note205G	Note20Ultra5G
S10	S105G	S10Plus	S10e
S20	S205G	S20FE5G	S20Ultra5G
S20Plus5G	S215G	S21Ultra5G	S21Plus5G
S8	S8Plus	S9	S9Plus
XcoverPro	ZFlip	ZFold25G	J2Pro

Whose fault is it?

Telstra said ACCAN legal obligations meant that the 11 ‘unfixable’ phones would be blocked from its network if their phones were not replaced within 28 days of being notified. It can do this simply by IMEI blocking.

Optus is also contacting affected handsets.

Vodafone (TPG) says it’s all about how Samsung programmed the handsets in the first place.

Samsung is at fault for not issuing firmware updates to allow their phones to connect to Vodafone when the Telstra and Optus networks were not available.

If you have a model requiring a firmware update, look for this in the next four weeks, but know that you cannot connect to 000 if Vorafone is the only network available.

We have to assume Samsung and its global resources can roll out 60 unscheduled firmware model updates.

Does this apply to other brands?

As far as we can ascertain, other Android phones purchased through official channels (like Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, etc) or direct from Samsung, OPPO or Motorola are not affected.

Grey market and so-called global models purchased via online marketplaces such as Kogan, Dick Smith, Mighty Ape, Mat Blatt and hundreds more that do not support 4G Band 28 (700Hz) are affected. Read Don’t buy a grey market smartphone.

If you want to check, you need two things

• Band 28
• VoLTE approved for Australian carriers

Telstra has an IMEI checker here (works with all three carriers).

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