Samsung and iPhone users warned after death exposes mobile network flaw

A fatal triple-0 failure has exposed how tens of thousands of older Samsung devices and iPhones can't make emergency calls. Is your phone affected? We list the ones that need an urgent upgrade.

Tens of thousands of older phones are now at risk of being blocked from all networks.

A death in Sydney where a customer failed to connect to triple-0 has exposed a fatal flaw in Australia’s mobile networks, prompting telcos to issue urgent warnings.

Tens of thousands of older phones are now at risk of being blocked from all networks, rendering them incapable of making or receiving any calls — including life-or-death emergency calls — unless customers immediately update their software or replace their device.

Samsung Galaxy A7 smartphone.

Vodafone owner TPG Telecom confirmed on Tuesday that a person died in Sydney last week after one of its customers – understood to be a relative of the deceased – failed to connect to triple-0 using an older Samsung phone.

The core vulnerability, affecting numerous older handsets, is the failure of the device’s software to correctly switch to an alternate mobile network when the user’s primary service is unavailable, a crucial feature designed to ensure all emergency calls connect.

“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,” Telstra group executive global networks and tech Shailin Sehgal said.

“We immediately notified Samsung and the other network operators when we discovered the issue. Given the nature of the issue, we’re legally obligated to inform customers impacted and block devices from our network that are not fixed.

“To be clear, this issue does not relate to the Telstra network, and it does not impact your ability to call triple-0 when you’re using the Telstra network or the Optus network. It also does not impact your ability to use Voice over Wi-Fi to place a Triple Zero call when no other mobile network is available.”

Models that must be replaced include:

• Galaxy A7 (2017)
• Galaxy A5 2017
• Galaxy J1 2016
• Galaxy J3 2016
• Galaxy J5 (2017)
• Galaxy Note 5
• Galaxy S6
• Galaxy S6 edge
• Galaxy S6 Edge+
• Galaxy S7
• Galaxy S7 Edge

Models that need software upgraded urgently include:

• Galaxy A31
• Galaxy A32
• Galaxy A42 5G
• Galaxy A50
• Galaxy A52
• Galaxy A71
• Galaxy A71 5G
• Galaxy A72
• Galaxy A8 (2018)
• Galaxy J7 Prime
• Galaxy J7 Pro
• Galaxy J8
• Galaxy Note10
• Galaxy Note20
• Galaxy Note20 Ultra
• Galaxy S20 FE
• Galaxy S20 FE
• Galaxy S20+
• Galaxy XCover 4s
• Galaxy XCover 5

Separately, from December 1, older iPhones will no longer support Vodafone’s Wi-Fi calling feature, including the ability to make triple-0 calls. Standard 4G/5G calls remain unaffected by this particular change.

Customers using an iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, 11 or later must update to the latest iOS software to maintain the Wi-Fi calling feature. Meanwhile, those using an iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus and SE (2016) Gen 1 must replace their phones to a compatible device.

Originally published as Samsung and iPhone users warned after death exposes mobile network flaw