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Do you live in Australia and have an old module Samsung phone? If so, check your SMS messages as your phone may soon no longer work. Due to recent issues with triple zero and subsequent lawsuits Australian Telcos are blocking devices that cannot fallback to make calls on the national 000 number. Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain has ruled out government assistance to Australians whose mobile phone may be unable to call triple-0. Devices affected by this block will no longer work after 26/11/2025.
The mobile devices affected by the issue are Galaxy A7 (2017), Galaxy A5 2017, Galaxy J1 2016j, Galaxy J3 2016, Galaxy J5 (2017), Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.
Ms McBain said the telecommunications companies were working to assess how many devices were impacted, but the number was estimated to be about 10,000.
[...] In a statement, TPG Telecom, which owns Vodafone, said it had identified a cohort of older Samsung handsets leading into the 3G network shutdown in 2024 that were unable to make triple-0 calls on the TPG/Vodafone mobile network and could not be fixed with a software upgrade.
"These devices were blocked from the Vodafone network as part of the 3G shutdown process," a spokesman said.
"Recently, we became aware that some of those same handsets that worked on other networks were unable to connect to triple-0 when only Vodafone coverage was available.
"These Samsung devices were found to be configured in way that permanently locked them to making triple-0 calls on the Vodafone 3G network even if being used with the SIM of another mobile operator and able to make triple-0 calls on their 4G network. This limitation was not previously known to TPG Telecom."
[...] An Optus spokesman earlier said during emergencies, and at times mobile phones could not connect to its regular network, phones were designed to search for another available network to reach triple-0.
"These situations relate to rare occasions when both the Optus and Telstra networks are unavailable and the phone needs to switch to Vodafone in order to contact emergency services," a spokesman said.
"This only happens under very specific conditions, but it's critically important that all devices can reach triple-0."
Is it the Year of the Linux Phone yet?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Snotnose on Sunday October 26, @02:18PM (6 children)
How does that happen? My batteries seem to last 3-4 years until they won't hold a decent charge, which forces a new phone.
Mind you, I'd love to be able to keep a phone for 8 years. But until I can easily change the battery I don't see it happening.
Trump has decided to rename California's San Andreas fault. He's calling it Biden's fault.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Unixnut on Sunday October 26, @03:18PM
Most phones from 8 years ago have removable batteries AFAIK. Indeed my 5 year old phone has a replaceable battery, and I have bought aftermarket batteries for it (as well as a standalone charger) so I can switch them as necessary without having to wait for the phone to charge, or when a battery wears out.
I quite frankly have no intention of replacing the phone until I manage to break it, and even then I would buy another phone with a removable battery, even if it is an older model.
The whole "replace the entire phone" when a battery wears out is a relatively new development, and there are stlil phones out there with such end-user unfriendly features.
(Score: 5, Informative) by RamiK on Sunday October 26, @03:36PM
https://www.ifixit.com/repairability/smartphone-repairability-scores [ifixit.com]
compiling...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 26, @05:25PM
My phone was bought in 2012, it was the outgoing model on sale. It's still fine. It holds the charge for a few days if I don't use it. But it's mostly connected to a computer these days and gets power from there. But the battery is still ok for a day usage. I'm thinking the phone-company will discontinue the network G for it before it caves in due to failing components.
That said I don't run any apps, don't surf on it, it can't be upgraded anymore since it lacks memory for newer androids versions etc. I have other, newer, phones to that I got from work. They are not much better. Everything just got bigger. Also they are not mine, they belong to the company and no matter how often they tell me I can use it for personal things I wouldn't let anything personal of mine touch that phone. Not logging into my email or whatever with their phone.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by epitaxial on Sunday October 26, @07:38PM (1 child)
I'm still using an iPhone 8 and don't even use a case or screen protector. The battery has degraded a bit but it still gets me through the day. Also received and OS update last month too!
(Score: 2) by ls671 on Tuesday October 28, @07:50AM
iphone 6S here. Phone says battery is at 80% capacity still. I barely use it, no apps, no browsing, no nothing and I rarely charge it more than when the phone says it is charged at 85% and I figure it helps to make battery life longer. It still looks brand new, not a single scratch on the screen etc. and it stays charged for 3-4 days with the phone on as long as I stay close from a cell tower since I rarely turn wifi, bluetooth and cell data on and that makes the battery last longer without needing a recharge.
I also just got an update to 15.8.5 last week. It's more like a fancy pager for me and maybe I make 2 or 3 calls a week with it where I am the one dialing. I work in front of a screen all day long so last thing I want to do is look at a cell phone screen. I kind of hate cell phones anyway and I much rather use a desk phone...
I am always amused to see people walking on the street looking at their phones like it was telling them were to put their foot next...
Everything I write is lies, including this sentence.
(Score: 2) by Sourcery42 on Monday October 27, @04:35PM
Depends on your definition of working. I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 that still works "fine". I think it was new in 2012, but it hasn't been in daily use for ~10 years. I have multiple easily swapped batteries for it. It is from the era of phones where if you dropped it on the floor, the back popped off, and the battery went skidding across the room.
It is ok for making calls, sending SMS, running the calculator app, and maybe browsing soylentnews.org (on a browser that's 10 years out of date). For any other modern tasks, it is too slow to be practical, even with a fresh flash of a lightweight AOSP ROM.