One million phones are expected to no longer be able to call Triple Zero if 3G is discontinued this year. Here’s how to check if yours is one of them

More than a million Australians may be unable to call Triple Zero if telcos shut down the 3G network in the coming months.

Telstra will close its 3G network on June 30, while Optus will end the service in September. Vodafone switched off 3G for its customers last December.

Although most phones currently in use primarily access 4G or 5G networks, an estimated three million devices, including phones, EFTPOS machines, cars, security cameras and medical alert systems, still rely on 3G.

There are now also concerns about the approximately one million 4G handsets that are old or bought abroad and rely on 3G to call emergency services.

These devices use 4G for other services such as calling and texting, but use 3G to call Triple Zero.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland meets every two weeks with a ‘working group’ that includes the major telecom companies to come up with a solution.

“Supporting Australians’ access to Triple Zero is critical,” she said last month.

“While the Government supports the safe transition from 3G, it is important that Australians are aware that some devices in the mobile market are not properly configured to contact emergency services on the 4G network.”

Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman last month accused the Albanian government of being too slow on the issue.

“Last November, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association warned of the risks of accessing the Triple Zero service with the closure of the 3G networks,” he said.

“Why has the Albanian government not properly addressed this issue until now?

‘We welcome the fact that the government has finally woken up to the looming risks that many thousands of people will face if they can call Triple Zero after the 3G networks close.’

Telstra shared a how-to video on Monday showing customers what to do if their devices are affected.

“If you or someone you know is a Telstra customer, or has a device that uses Telstra’s mobile network, simply text 3 to 3498,” they said.

More than a million Australians may not be able to call Triple Zero if telcos officially shut down the 3G network in the coming months (stock image)

“We will respond to let you know if you can still use the device you’re sending messages on our network and if you need to take any action.”

There are reportedly 113,000 Telstra mobile phone customers still using 3G.

Optus said it will contact customers with affected devices directly.

Editor and technical commentator for EFTM.com, Trevor Long, said no one should be concerned about the change who bought a phone in the past five years.

“The bigger risk is for people with extremely old phones, which – despite 5G being five years old and 4G being a decade older – don’t even connect to 4G,” says Long.

The closure is likely to be most concerning for those using medical devices that still use the 3G network, which Mr. Long said is a major risk for “connected medical devices.”

“Not only because they may be old devices, but even more recent devices that were sold as recently as five years ago may not have had 4G capabilities,” he said.

‘So there is a risk that people will think this doesn’t apply to them because they only got the device five years ago, but in fact they could be left with a device that will simply no longer be available at the most important time a year from now works. .’