Samsung users across Australia face a significant safety concern as thousands of older-model devices are revealed to be incapable of connecting to emergency services. This issue has sparked calls for greater accountability from both the telecommunications giants and the electronics manufacturer.
The flaw was uncovered after testing by Telstra, which found that over 70 Samsung handsets failed to properly connect to the emergency number 000, particularly when Telstra and Optus services were unavailable. Eleven models are said to need complete replacement, while the majority of the affected devices can be fixed through software updates.
A Growing Safety Concern for Thousands of Australians
Testing undertaken by Telstra revealed that a range of older Samsung models, including the 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 and Galaxy S7 Edge, were unable to connect to emergency services when the Vodafone network was unavailable.
According to Telstra, the issue affects devices that rely on the mobile network for emergency calls, and while some models can be fixed with updates, others must be replaced entirely. The affected devices are believed to number around 10,000 across Australia.
Impacted customers will be contacted directly by Telstra and Optus via email or SMS, providing them with the necessary instructions to either update or replace their devices. However, some customers will face additional challenges. Although a limited number of free replacements will be offered to those in vulnerable circumstances, others may be required to pay for a new device or accept an alternative solution at an affordable price.
The issue is particularly worrying given the already fragile state of mobile network reliability. The recent Optus outage in September, which led to several failures to connect to triple-zero, raised alarms about the safety implications of such problems. As the nation recovers from that incident, the Samsung issue compounds the concern for consumers who rely on their mobile devices during emergencies.
Government and Industry Response
In response to the problem, Australian government officials have made it clear that it is the responsibility of the telecommunications companies and Samsung to rectify the situation. According to Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain, the government will not provide financial assistance for replacing the devices, stating that it is up to the companies to meet their obligations to customers.
Despite the government’s position, consumer advocacy groups have raised concerns about the industry’s handling of the issue. Carol Bennett from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network emphasised that telcos must offer financial relief to customers, especially those in difficult financial situations. Furthermore, there are growing calls for an overhaul of how telcos handle service failures, including the establishment of an outage register to provide real-time updates on network issues.
