Australia is MASS BLOCKING 4G/5G phones
In 2023, the three major carriers in Australia announced the shutdown of their 3G networks. Eventually doing so by October 2024. At first, we assumed that only 3G devices would be affected by this shutdown. but due to a poorly developed emergency call system and even worse laws to put a band-aid on their fuckups. ANY 4G/5G phone can be permanently BLOCKED from all cellular networks, regardless of their 4G VoLTE compatibility.
So how did we get here?
A little known fact about mobile devices is that a LOT of them still make phone calls over 3G, some phones even attempt emergency calls via 3G rather than Voice Over LTE (VoLTE). Even though every modern phone has VoLTE compatibility. There has been multiple occasions where a mobile device struggles to call emergency services over the 4G network due to incompatibilities with VoLTE on the mobile device and carrier's network infastructure.
In late 2024, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (also known as the ACMA) put in a new law, legally requiring carriers to block ANY phone that may be unable to make Voice-Over-LTE (VoLTE) calls to triple zero (emergency services). This law was to be implimented after the shutdown of the 3G networks. This law includes blocking devices that are fully capable but cannot be proven to be reliable.
This law unintentionally blacklisted MILLIONS of fully capable devices. Including internationally bought phones and some Older models, if you bought your phone overseas, you cannot use it on Australian networks.
Blocking phones due to their shitty network
On November 13th 2025, an announcement was made by the carriers that they were blocking even MORE fully capable phones from accessing the networks. Why? Because they found that they were unable to call 000 on Vodafone's network, despite phones being designed to switch between networks in emergency situations.
Keep in mind Vodafone is the carrier with the WORST coverage. If Vodafone is avaliable, the other two would also be avaliable.
Regardless, they are blocking more capable Samsung devices, notably the S7 and older
The worst part though is the list of devices with supposedly "non compliant software" which lists almost all samsung phones made before 2022 as being non compliant. These devices will need to be updated to Android 13 or newer or be blocked.
Some of these phones cannot be updates to Android 13 officially. Meaning they may be blocked despite being fully capable of making VoLTE emergency calls.
What devices are affected?
According to this article made by Optus , any device made before 2022 is at risk. The S7 and older needing replacement. The S22 and older, alongside some A series devices require a software update.
But why?
I don't know, it seems absolutely absurd to make users buy new handsets rather than fixing the network's compatibility. I have a theory that This might be a deliberate act to get people to buy new handsets, but I do not have any evidence to back this.