Customers are reporting that basically new phones have suddenly stopped making calls

Peter LeGras’ phone was only a month old when it stopped making calls, sending messages or doing much.

This was one of several 4G-capable phone models being blocked from all mobile networks following the recent shutdown of Australia’s 3G network, leaving untold numbers of Australians scrambling to replace recently purchased devices.

Well aware of the impending shutdown, LeGras made sure to choose a fully 4G-capable smartphone.

And the one he chose to buy from a store in Japan – a 2023 model Xiaomi – was just that.

In fact, the same model is still available for purchase at major Australian retailers. The manufacturer advertises it as both 4G and 5G compatible.

And yet, starting this week, his phone couldn’t connect to the network at all.

LeGras contacted his provider, Optus, and was told by support staff that he would no longer be able to use this phone or two other Xiaomi devices owned by family members on his network.

But it’s not a technical problem that’s causing LeGras’ phone to stop working.

It was where he had bought it.

Why does turning off 3G affect 4G compatible devices?

Network operators are shutting down the 3G network to free up space on the radio spectrum for next-generation 5G networks.

But when 3G was shut down on October 28, it exposed deficiencies in 4G and 5G networks.

Some modern phones – even those that work well on 4G in most circumstances – cannot call emergency services without falling back on the (now defunct) 3G network.

Only LeGras’s phone doesn’t have this problem.

Instead, it was caught in a complex web of regulatory decisions that turned a perfectly good phone into e-waste.

Here’s the long and short of it.

Just a few days before closing, Australia’s media regulator ACMA has finalized new ‘direction’ (basically a rule) which meant that telcos had to deny service to all phones that relied on 3G to make emergency calls.

The idea was to prevent people from mistakenly thinking their phones are fully functional, only to realize they can’t make emergency calls when the crucial moment comes.

It is up to the phone companies to determine which phones are affected, notify owners, block their phones, and help make other arrangements, such as low-cost or no-cost replacement phones.

However, as Telstra and Optus noted during a Senate inquiry into the shutdown, telcos cannot say which individual devices suffer from the problem unless they have sold them.

An Optus spokesperson told the ABC it has a “robust” process for identifying problem phones.

But companies cast a wide net. Blocking is based on broad lists of supported phones, which in some cases depend on where the device was purchased.

And this left some fully capable phones stranded.

Several major brands affected

Since telcos started turning off their 3G networks, hundreds of Australians have reported being in similar situations.

Phones made by Sony, ASUS, Xiaomi, Oppo and OnePlus were blocked if bought abroad or through international resellers.

But the exact same phones are still available today at local retailers and will mostly work if purchased there.

A phone from Telstra’s official list of supported devices – the Sony Xperia X Performance, which was sold by Telstra in 2016 — does not connect if that device was not purchased through the telecommunications company.

Keeping track of all the ins and outs of this is Brisbane networking expert James Parker.

A Sony Xperia XZ Premium bought from Telstra but since fitted with an Optus SIM has been locked out of the Optus network despite being on the telco’s list of supported devices.

“It’s locked because it was originally sold by Telstra,” he says, “not Optus or another Australian retailer.”

Parker, which has been publicly scrutinizing plans to shut down the 3G network for more than a year, swung into action when people’s devices started being blocked.

Apart from publishing full information online for those with affected phonescreated an online survey to better understand the situation.

Of the 255 jailbroken devices reported so far, about 70 percent were running a 2021 or newer version of the Android operating system.

“These are not old phones,” he says.

He says the method telcos use to determine which phones to block is “delusional”.

Network providers are the “judge, jury and executioner” of which phones will work in Australia, he says, while also being in the business of selling them.

Eleventh hour shutdown changes affect customers

While telcos had been warning customers for months that their phones might not work, the ACMA’s direction dramatically changed the situation shortly before the 3G network shutdown.

After being warned that his phone might have limited service in some areas, LeGras received a text Thursday that definitively said his phone would be blocked from the network within 24 hours.

Jeannie Marie Paterson, a law professor at the University of Melbourne, questions why the regulator waited until so late to create the requirement.

“Why did ACMA only discover this now?” she asks.

“Phones are essential in our lives. They are essential for us to do our job. They are essential to run our families, private lives.

“I can’t see why this is happening in such a short period of time and why it wasn’t identified sooner, frankly.”

She says it’s unfair to consumers.

“It makes expensive and essential technology redundant with almost no notice – at considerable cost and waste.”

In July, months ahead of a shutdown that has been in the works for more than a year, telcos warned Communications Minister Michelle Rowland about the massive number of phones relying on the 3G network to make emergency calls.

It was estimated at over 1 million at the time, but has since been revised to 276,000.

“The Australian government’s main priority in shutting down 3G was to protect public safety by ensuring all mobile phones connected to mobile networks can call triple-0,” Ms Rowland told the ABC in a statement.

“Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom have indicated to the government that their methodologies for identifying affected devices have been independently verified to be based on sound and established industry practices.

“If a customer believes their phone has been locked in error, they should raise this with their provider in the first instance.”

Confusing messages from TV companies

LeGras believed that as long as his phone could work without a 3G connection, it would continue to work when the network went down.

He had no idea there would be an arbitrary list of phones where continued support depended on where they were purchased. Especially not one that was determined by the vendors themselves, who sell thousands of phones to their customers.

“Communication was an absolute mess,” he says.

An Australian reported having two conversations with Telstra; different support agents gave conflicting accounts of how to check compatibility.

Telstra has been contacted for comment.

An Optus spokesperson said the company “has contacted affected customers directly via SMS, email and letters, helping them switch to compatible devices before the 3G shutdown”.

They noted the importance of ensuring “safety and compatibility requirements” are met, including the ability to make emergency calls.

“The industry needs to be forced to correct their messaging and stop telling customers with perfectly working phones that they need to upgrade,” says Parker.

“This practice has been going on for months and there seems to be no accountability for TV companies that provide false and misleading information to customers.

“The industry should be required to implement a real technical fix.”