28th of October 2024, the day Australia turns off 3G network (which also took out some 4G Phones)

[@robor88]

My Xiaomi Mi6 supports VoLTE (its even in the settings!). No reason for me to get rid of a perfectly working phone. It also connects to emergency services using 112 AFTER being blocked/blacklisted. So it would work fine yet I'm being blackmailed by a corporation and government authority to spend money on a new phone that I can't afford. Everyone affected needs to lodge formal complaints, then take it to the ombudsman and their local Members of Parliament.

[@passivevii4052]

Or stop crying because the US hasn't had 3G since 2022 and we are fine

[@isoboy2125]

This is basically a "screw you" for tourists entering Australia. 🙄

[@decem_unosquattro9538]

So how is that going to work? Every tourist would then need to purchase a new phone. Wow is that social engineering to grab big bucks or what? It seems the trade wars are getting nastier and nastier. It's no longer U.S oligarchs and Chinese oligarchs now. We're caught up in a shit show unrelated to us. It means billions of tons of e-waste heading to Africa. A climate disaster. Australia, U.S, and probably European Union, full on attack mode and we are caught in the middle. Apple has lost market share in China now the retaliatory strikes against China from the West.

[@lumeronswift]

Yeah, I wonder how that is supposed to work...

[@Mr_Squiggle]

It is a ' screw you ' to everyone.

[@decem_unosquattro9538]

@Mr_Squiggle That's right Australian oligarchs don't care about Australian consumers. In Russia FTTP 2GB down / unlimited cost just $24 a month. Obviously we're gettin' fkd !

[@howardb.728]

Had an older Samsung Note 4G phone - it was blocked - legislation to allow telcos to legally block phones was rushed through very recently - Had to upgrade the phone ($$$) - Ironically I can still make emergency calls from the de-sim'ed phone. What a farce. Australia - the prettiest convict colony in the world. Imagine the confusion and anxiety caused to older Australians and those who use 4G mobile connectivity for remote devices etc.... disgraceful!

[@thethirdman225]

This needs to be challenged, either through the ACCC or a class action.

[@AggrivatedMonk]

I'd be onboard with that.

[@thethirdman225]

@ I’m not even affected by it but it’s just wrong that telcos can deliberately obsolete essential services in what is plainly a cash grab. It’s especially egregious when it looks so much like cartel behaviour.

[@joekerr8334]

Come on guys, Whether your 4G phone will be barred by the service providers is dependent on their white list. Yes they have a white list. It has nothing to do with whether your 4G VOLTE enabled phone can support emergency call through 4G. Obviously they are using your IMEI number to check your phone model which will be cross-referenced with their white list. So even if the phone can support 4G, calling through VOLTE and emergency call through 4G, it will still be barred if it is not in their white list. My question to the service providers is how often will their white list be updated and how accurate will their white list be ! No country do such silly thing except Australia !

[@rickstechrepairs]

thats the phone thats not publicly known! how to get a phone accepted on the white list

[@MathewBunning-s5s]

Correct. My Redmi note 13 pro + 5g phone is blacklisted even though vo lte has been enabled and post 3g shutdown, I am able to call 000.. This phone is 3 months old and JB HiFi are selling the exact model I have today for $899. But once the IMEI was blacklisted it doesn't matter that a few days prior to 28 Oct I changed the settings which now meet all the new criteria.

[@ozzybloke4830]

@@MathewBunning-s5s You would have grounds for a refund as they have sold a product that wasn't fit for purpose.

[@ozzybloke4830]

It's actually a blacklist because you can check IMEI numbers that don't exist and they pass. They are also supposed to be checking for configuration of devices and they are not.

[@Infodawg2012]

This is bloody criminal. I have a new Redmi and Oppo phones that I bought last year and both phones are totally unusable now. This practice is completely disgusting.

[@rickstechrepairs]

No Good :(

[@decem_unosquattro9538]

This is exactly why you never allow utilities to become privately owned corporations. Corporate fascist!

[@Animal_lives_matter]

the government are the ones who pushed through this new law that REQUIRES the privately owned telcos to BLACKLIST peoples phones. the telcos didn't want to do it! its big government you should be afraid of. another law that got pushed through is that banks now have to regularly do identity checks on account holders otherwise they freeze your account within 10 days. happened to me recently, and guess what, their id verification system was broken, wouldn't accept my valid id like drivers license and medicare card.

[@Animal_lives_matter]

It was the government which pushed through this new law that REQUIRES the privately owned telcos to BLACKLIST peoples phones. the telcos didn't want to do it! another law that got pushed through is that banks now have to regularly do identity checks on account holders otherwise they freeze your account within 10 days. better hope their id checking system works - it didn't for me and I almost lost access to my life savings

[@decem_unosquattro9538]

@Animal_lives_matter Wrong governments don't wag the dog. The dog (oligarchs) wag the government. I other words big corporations make the decisions. Not the government. The government is essentially a wiping post that take the shit or the back lash from their electorates or the civilian population.

[@ozzybloke4830]

The telco's are taking the easy way out by just blacklisting models they are told don't have MBN's for Australian networks rather than by ACMA's own rules :- IDENTIFY mobile phones unable to access Triple Zero and NOTIFY the owners. The telco must identify whether that mobile is CONFIGURED to be able to access Triple Zero both on its own network and via emergency ‘camp-on’ to another network if their own network is not available. My OnePlus 6 has the configuration necessary to work properly on VOLTE and can call emergency numbers as needed but was still blocked technically going against the rule. Point being they should be doing actual testing rather than just blanket banning devices.

[@rickstechrepairs]

im assuming before the 28th of October your OnePlus 6 was actually making calls via VoLTE prior to it being black listed.. its is a rather disappoint approach taken

[@ozzybloke4830]

@@rickstechrepairs Yeah it was working fine with VOLTE until they blocked it this morning.

[@rickstechrepairs]

wow! that sucks

[@治勋胡]

​@@rickstechrepairsMy Honor Magic 5 Pro experiences the same issue. Despite always making calls through Volte including 000, Optus banned me for no reasons. Now I changed to Vodafone and it worked at this stage

[@Mike_221]

Change to Vodafone.

[@AggrivatedMonk]

My phone was fine until about 3hrs ago. My wife's phone went offline immediately, but i thought mine was fine. Then they blacklisted me. She didn't believe me when I said that it was the only possible explanation. I don't blame her, it sounds like a dystopian, corporatocratic conspiracy theory. But here we are.

[@decem_unosquattro9538]

My guess is it's Chinese oligarchs vs Western oligarchs and we're caught in the middle of this shit shower. 😒 China wants to sell cheaper phones and an independent O.S. Western oligarchs don't want it to happen.

[@onlinegames4019]

Bought my "4G ready" optus phone some time back, was working perfectly and showing as connected to 4G right up until the "shutdown". Swapped the sim to the new model i recently bought from another australian retailer just in case, and its also blocked on the network. Wonder if there will be some sort of legal action against the telcos that sold so many 4g phones that are not fit for purpose.

[@MangoPanic]

Take it back if still under warranty. If it's an Australian retailer, I'd assume they'll have to refund it

[@onlinegames4019]

@@MangoPanic Yes, Australian retailer. New 4G phone is less than a year old but after inquiring was told that its an issue with the telcos network, not warranty as the phone itself is not broken, failed or faulty in any way. For the older 4G Optus phone, asking at their local retail outlet for options, the staff member laughed and told me to just buy a new one.

[@MangoPanic]

@onlinegames4019 That's ridiculous, I'm sure you could push that legally. There's no way they can just sell phones in Australia that don't work in Australia

[@Timic83tc]

You underestimate our corruption.

[@onlinegames4019]

@@MangoPanic The telcos, yes, its bad however they can point the finger at legislation to avoid taking responsibility and any legal costs would be rather horrific compared to the cost of a phone, not to mention the value of my time and remaining sanity... For the other retailers, im actually on their side with this, they did sell me a 4g phone, that did work on the 4g network until a few days ago, i dont feel its reasonable for them to be aware that the telcos would block it from access.

[@MangoPanic]

_Some_ users may be able to connect if they switch providers, because Telstra uses a proprietary implementation of VoLTE that's less common in phones (particularly overseas phones). The issue with relying on VoLTE is that there is no standard implementation, so you're basically hoping your phone has one compatible with your provider. Even worse, many phones that _do_ have VoLTE don't enable it by default, so many people will be replacing perfectly usable phones without realising. Instead of figuring out if phones are able to call 000, all telcos are just blocking any device models not on their whitelist, which blocks off a huge portion of perfectly working devices. I was planning on importing a phone from Japan in the next few months, and it's a model that's perfectly capable of 4G in Australia, but I now know the chances are extremely high that it's just not going to work at all.

[@fstop9466]

I bought all my phones online OS until now so I suspect this was to close that market in Oz telcos favour. I hate my nokia, it works but is designed for a noob with little access to settings. I want the Sony phones quality and design.

[@bobrobertsNotUrBob]

This is an absolute security/life saving issue. 2g and 3g have a longer wave length than higher g(s) aka you can get a signal up to 80kms away(2g) where as 4g is only 6.5kms away. If you are stuck/need help in a remote location, you will probably get help with 2g, but with 4g or 5g..you are 100% dead. Removing these will cost lives.

[@katejudson8907]

But even the 4G phones are being disconnected. My phone is compatible but it's the carrier deciding to arbitrarily disconnect some phones from call service which btw I am still paying for.

[@bobrobertsNotUrBob]

@@katejudson8907 its nice how tech companies and governments just dont care about anyone except for the people lining their pockets. all phones are capable of 2g, 3g etc, they have just been deactivated by the OS which you can activate. Personally I think this is going the cost country (the users) billions ..for devices, cars, phones, watches etc etc

[@KNINESVIDS]

I heard australia is the 1st country to get rid of both 2g and 3g... Yay for being a guinea pig 😂

[@rickstechrepairs]

wooo... yay .... us! /sarcasm

[@joekerr8334]

Singapore will be getting rid of their 3G by end of October 31 and they have not barred any phone unlike clever Australia (*sarcasm*)

[@joekerr8334]

Apparently the "clever" country have not learnt from their experience with DVB-T. Why is Australia always in a hurry ? Singapore will be shutting their 3G network by October 31. So far they have not issued any directive to ban any phones unlike the clueless Australian Minister of Communications (who is a lawyer by training.)

[@avgfree21]

Taiwan was first in 2021

[@KNINESVIDS]

@@avgfree21 true, i wouldn't know but is why i said "heard"... I think it was on a WAN show on linus tech tips a week or so ago.

[@buzzrot]

This doesn't just affect the domestic phone market. Tourists coming in from overseas might have to buy a new phone just so they can use our phone networks over here. So would be carrying their phone from overseas which won't be able to make calls.

[@rickstechrepairs]

to quote the legislation Exception - foreign travellers in Australia Sections 65, 67 and 69 do not apply if a carriage service provider: (a) is aware, or becomes aware, that the mobile phone is being used by an end-user who is a foreign traveller in Australia who intends to remain in Australia for a period of no longer than 90 consecutive days; and (b) has sent a notification to the mobile phone to the effect that the mobile phone is not configured to be able to access the emergency call service.

[@blackhorde22]

@@rickstechrepairs that figures, outsiders can access but they force everyone else to buy new phones that may or may not be approved. They seriously need to have a 4G Check on all mobiles for Australian Use, soon New Zealand and America.

[@ozzybloke4830]

@@rickstechrepairs I don't see how that can work with the method the telco's are using, basically blacklisting phones that the manufactures say don't have MBN's for Australian networks. So if a traveller comes here with a blacklisted model they won't be able to buy a sim and connect anyway. No idea if it will effect roaming from their own carrier though but that usually costs more to do.

[@923EON]

I recall when US travellers tried to roam on our 2G networks and found their devices not supported because it used the non GSM standard frequency of 1900MHz (PCS) and we only had 900/1800MHz

[@blackhorde22]

@@923EON this is just more control over mobile data and what you do on your phone and where you go with adv tracking even with GPS off.

[@RodneyMunch8767]

My understanding is that they only turned off 3G in Tasmania on the 28th. I can confirm this because I could see one of my customers' routers using UMTS as a backup connection in VIC on 31st October. Telstra will turn off 3G in the mainland Australian states on 4th November. That's when the fun will happen.

[@rudolphvanthoff1391]

It goes well beyond that. Think about the millions of visitors Australia each year that will no longer have a working handset for their stay in Australia. If you dig a little deeper into the logic banks you will arrive at the conclusion that all the cheaper brands of phones were cheaper for a reason. That being their lack of radio support for VoLTE…. The blame lies with them, the retailers that sold them unknowingly (ignorance should not be a defence) and the network providers that promoted these phones as being 4G capable when in fact they were not. Watch for a future class action!

[@isoboy2125]

If the device is too old, fair enough. Get a new one. But my visiting mother in law's new 5G phone (Honor x9b) on Amaysim stopped working a few days ago, even though it clearly supports Band 28 VoLTE. Looks like it didn't make it into the telco's arbitrary white list? What a waste of a perfectly new phone. 🙄

[@88njtrigg88]

​@isoboy2125 My uncle has a model T ford, horse with wagon and old flint lock bangy thing. They all work the same as new maybe not as efficiently as their modern counterparts, but nun the less still functioning.

[@rudolphvanthoff1391]

@ hehehehe, how’s that dial telephone or dial up 56k modem serving you? Everything advances for a reason. Sure, sometimes we do get caught with tech that really doesn’t need to be replaced so soon… it’s bad, all the waste….

[@rudolphvanthoff1391]

@@isoboy2125 wondering if maybe it’s just needs VoLTE enabling in settings? Otherwise, yes! Such a waste

[@mattscomp]

You're absolutely right. My OnePlus 7 Pro that I bought back in 2019 has been blocked. 😢 Despite that I was able to enable VOLTE on it. It's no longer my main phone. It was a backup. But now a pretty useless one since the IMEI blocking has taken effect. The old expression throwing the baby out with the bathwater fits here. It's just both sad and wrong how this has been handled.

[@kepamurray1845]

We have had some embedded 3G devices that are now inoperable. The prices we are seeing for upgrading to 4G are astronomical. How long until 4G will the same way? What a waste.

[@jublywubly]

Also, greater frequencies are more easily obstructed than lesser frequencies, due to the distance between the radio waves. Longer wave length freqencies (low frequency), such as 2G and 3G can travel further in urban areas or areas with trees, than shorter wave length frequencies (high frequency), such as 4G and 5G.

[@ljquinn4655]

It's ridiculous and very expensive to replace

[@lumeronswift]

Yep... some of my family members got RedMis just recently to "future-proof" themselves a bit at a lower price point than locally (they aren't flush with cash) - now they're already having to swap.

[@rickstechrepairs]

damn, xiaomi redmi series', what model exactly>

[@henryhargraves4184]

so basically the providers are saying, you must give money to phone companies to increase their profits? I wonder how much money the phone making companies gave to service providers? This is a reminder how much we depend on multinational companies to have basic services in our society

[@cool386vintagetechnology6]

Forced obsolescence, and a monopoly on providing the only phones that will work.

[@MangoPanic]

Many people buy phones through phone plans with their service provider, so I can guarantee the telcos are seeing a large chunk of the money

[@decem_unosquattro9538]

Oligarchs are getting to damn rocky now. They want to firmware lock us out of every cheap alternative. "Ohbno you can't take it to just any mechanic it's got to be approved by us that means our mechanics at extremely high prices. 😢

[@decem_unosquattro9538]

​@@cool386vintagetechnology6exactly 💯 👏🏻

[@decem_unosquattro9538]

​@@MangoPanicoh fk yeah it's social engineering to gouge us all

[@joekerr8334]

SIngapore has already shutdown their 2G and 3G without any issue. And they have not implemented any white list unlike Australia. Come on, you cannot expect tourists to buy new phones when visiting Australia. This is against commonsense. How about tourists or residents who have foreign phones and foreign SIM cards on roaming ? How are they going to access Australian mobile networks ? Geez, we have real short-sighted people in charge of our communications !

[@trunguss]

My phone was luckily unblocked 2 days before the shutdown, but I was being told over and over that it would be blocked due to not supporting 000 4G calls. I actually tested this 3 days before the shutdown and it did indeed work. My phone didn't get notified about the shutdown the next day.

[@john36175]

my xiaomi redmi note 13 4g was notified of being blocked but still worked. after a restart the phone was kicked off the network. I changed to second sim and phone kept working

[@jublywubly]

Me too. A few years ago, I bought a $79 Telstra Lite phone, from a post office. I started using it a few months ago, with a new 4G card, but that didn't stop Telstra lying about my potential loss of connection and supposed potential loss of my phone number. The cheapie phone works just fine, though.

[@GrimTransmission]

I could be wrong, but from my understanding it's actually a whitelist not a blacklist. The difference being that phone manufacturers now have to apply for certification for each of their (volte capable) phones to have them placed on this "whitelist" in order for them not to be booted off the network by Telcos. If it was a blacklist, this would imply they at least do some level of testing of your device before booting it, but they don't. If you're phone isn't on their hidden whitelist of phones you're "allowed" to have, even if it's volte capable: too bad, it's now a brick.

[@Retro-Iron11]

So many perfectly good devices being turned into e-waste because the carriers don't automatically certify them as volte and enable them as such. The issue is that the carriers need to send the "use volte" signal to your phone which may be technically able to do so with ease but isn't on their paid for list of devices "certified", whatever that is supposed to mean, even though they all use the same manufactured electronics for communications as a whole. If you have a more recent-ish xiaomi 4/5g you can manually force it to use volte through the phone dialler with a specific number and character input. There is no developer option, it's a dialler option. My poco x3gt and redmi 7a would otherwise be junked if I didn't figure this out a few months ago that my "5/4g" phone won't work without volte enabled. Both working perfectly today able to call each other.

[@rickstechrepairs]

great comment, it almost reminds me of paid for certification for the "Blue 3G tick" I'm curious now, that if you enable the VoLTE on devices that have been blacklisted, will they now automatically be re-enabled to work on the network ie: Poco X3 or similar or once they are black listed, is it a permanent thing with no chance of review

[@Retro-Iron11]

@@rickstechrepairs All I can tell you is the whys and hows of the volte, as for black listing, I do not know. Both of my phones are using the optus network, one through aussie bb and the other through spintel.

[@longballslarry5085]

@@Retro-Iron11 I forced Volte on my grey import Xperia 5ii by flashing MBN files for Telstra and Optus . I use Dual SIM. Volte was working and registered up until yesterday for Telstra but they have now blacklisted my IMEI number. My Optus sim is still working at the moment. Not sure if optus has shut 3G down in my area yet.

[@Amraks]

Enabling voLTE does nothing they stay black listed I am hoping to have a look on the weekend at this person's phone ​@@rickstechrepairs

[@buzzrot]

Yes, this happened to me as well. I am using a Poco F3 and earlier this year, vodafone shut down 3G service early. And I had to youtube the dialler code, which then lets you see the option to turn on VOLTE on your phone. It works fine now.

[@Animal_lives_matter]

competence crisis, government not acting in interests of the public anymore

[@jublywubly]

If company is advertising a phone with the claim that the phone is 4G or 5G, but the manufacturer (and re-sellers) neglect to tell customers those phones rely on a different band, such as 3G, for their functionality, it is a breach of trade practices. Anything that can impede the functionality of a device must be disclosed to customers, prior to purchase. Claiming a phone is 5G, without disclosing its reliance on other frequencies is deceptive. At the very least it would be classed as being misleading, but it could be classed as false advertising, because deliberate failure to disclose those other limitations is lying. Those devices would also be regarded as "not fit for purpose". (I don't work for trade practices, but I have read them in their entirety. I need to know them for my job.)

[@215Gallagher]

First they came for our phones.............

[@rickstechrepairs]

not sure, if its windows computer, try using 3utools

[@ElfAzzid]

They are arbitrarily blocking phone they don't sell. My phone is a VoLTE 4G phone, and even 2 weeks after it was blocked it is still capable of making 000 calls with no SIM or WiFi connection. It wasn't blocked on the 28th, but rather 5 days later. Optus refuse to listen to me even when I showed them it's still able to call 000. This is simply forced obsolesces.

[@rickstechrepairs]

i think there might have been a rolling blacklist, and happening state per state

[@ElfAzzid]

@@rickstechrepairs Update. Since the block I have been contacting both Optus and Fossibot. I proved to Optus my phone was VoLTE 4G compatible within days of it being blocked. After posting my last comment I tried inserting my SIM back into the Fossibot. To my surprise, Optus have UNBLOCKED it. It's back to being a fully functional phone. I knew they were lying when they say there's nothing they could do about it. They didn't message me to let me know about it either!

[@kathysmith1843]

So much for sustainable living

[@katejudson8907]

As well as the great data harvest and fraud / scam release with all these dumped phones, rich with personal data.

[@shaheryarmuhammadali5843]

Implementing that social media ban would be astronomically hard; these 2G/3G networks could have been used to provide dumbphone services for the kids/elderly.

[@923EON]

As I read, Tasmania is the first test state Telstra turned 3G off. The 3G network still works in my area on both Optus and Telstra as of 31 Oct

[@katejudson8907]

I'm in Burnie. Whether the 3G network is still in existence here or not I am blocked from calls as of yesterday on my Motorola g8plus, which Telstra's Emei checker says is fine to continue making calls with, so the problem must be with ALDI. I've emailed them and they'll ' get back to you within two business days '. Motorola support also said it is the carrier who's blocking the service, not the phone compatibility. How many Taswegians will suffer for this and end up submitting to an overpriced Telstra phone this wkd?

[@jjcoolaus]

I do feel for couriers for example where devices are used to scan barcodes and take photos of the delivery, but are never used to make calls.

[@katejudson8907]

How about community care workers , already paid a pittance and totally phonecall dependent to do life saving work.

[@katejudson8907]

When blocked you can't even.access your own.voicemail messages.

[@Ram84_1]

What about cars that uses 3G? You know the modems used for spying on their customers...

[@georgemarijanovich]

Should i need to call 000 and am unable due to this 3G shut down bullshit i will hold Communication Minister responsible should, God forbid, something bad happens to my family or my self.

[@OverkillCB]

Can also confirm our moronic government disabled 10 of my 4G barcode scanners. I'm up for $14,000 in replacement costs even though they are 4G. The telcos (I had 2 for redundancy) both basically said "bad luck, buy new scanners"

[@rickstechrepairs]

wow... I don't think you really needed the ability to voice call 000 on a barcode scanner -_-

[@LawpickingLocksmith]

When 4G first came out there was only one model, the HTC Velocity. It was a sellout and after couple of months I managed to get a second hand one. Apple 4G what they used for 4th generation did not support it for 18 months and I had full speed data. But right out of the box I was warned that all calls went over the 3G network. As a huge plus it had user changeable battery so I could keep 2 extra charged ones for my travels. More-so that phone could use 2 of the fastest 3G channels in parallel if the cell supported it. For navigation it was somehow able to get maps from semi closed networks usually with a radius of 30km. It was like 5 years ahead of Apple. Nowadays most networks are totally congested. On average we get like 5% of speed we pay for. The telco ombudsman has become totally unhelpful.

[@geehammer]

The full block will be rolling out over the coming months from the 28th so there's more pain to come. You can however use data only SIMs to make VoIP calls via FB, Signal, Telegram etc but no landlines.

[@peterhelm6003]

The excuse for shutting down 4G phones is the untested claim that they can't call 000. I strongly suspect that the blacklist was not based on actually testing the actual phone.

[@lotsofLlamas]

No phone sold in Australia today by any major retailer isn't certified / VOLTE.

[@Bruce_Ekert]

My wife and I both have the same make and model phone from overseas. Both only 9 months old and both support VoLTE. Hers' now works, mine doesn't! Go figure!!!

[@DaNargh42]

Optus kept messaging me saying my Doogee S88 pro would be affected by the shut down. Turns out they're full of it, there's 4g/VoLTE in the settings and I've been able to make calls still

[@john36175]

don't reboot your phone, they will brick it, if they do, use second sim slot

[@leftymuller]

Banning phones to stop them access a system that is shutting down makes NO SENSE This was the carriers doing a cash grab.

[@blackhorde22]

what if you had a reason to shutdown a 3G area, and then change that 3G to something else that is used by Military or something more sinister?

[@katejudson8907]

​@@blackhorde22yep. Like Israeli's phone hacking spyware that it keeps ' offering ' to governments '. Is it called Lavender?

[@jublywubly]

I totally agree about it being nonsense and the carriers using it as a cash grab. Telstra sure did. I replied to their email with a strongly worded response after they (several times) wrongly claimed I won't have access to the phone network unless I buy another phone from them. All the time, they were listing a 3G phone that I bought from them in 2010, but I no longer use and not checking that I'm now using a 4G Telstra card in my Telstra branded phone (It's a cheapie interim phone, but it works fine.) About two weeks ago, I heard apparently the government stepped in at the last minute and banned people from using phones that can't access triple zero. That seems like a rumour that the media has grabbed on to. Why didn't we hear about this months or years ahead of time, not a couple of weeks before the shutdown?

[@blackhorde22]

@@jublywubly my phone was blacklisted but 000 still worked on it.. BlackShark 3 Pro. It's a total scam. You know what's even weirder? 2G still works on the phone I bought and on the blackshark, I bought the Moto G54 5G, cheap but eh.. gives me time to get a better one.

[@decem_unosquattro9538]

It's always about money. Follow the money trail.

[@aftonline]

I had to replace an old Samsung J2, but I kept this old phone and still use it on WiFi to access the internet. So it hasn't (yet) become e-waste. I'm pretty sure this emergency calls thing is just a smokescreen. They could easily enable access to emergency calls if they wanted to, through VOLTE or the surviving networks. I'm sure it's just a push to sell new phones to people who don't need them.

[@MrAikavari]

My daughter has a relatively new Honor 90. It doesnt have VoLTE on by default but you can go into the settings to enable it. Being the techie that I am, I was able to enable VoLTE on it and I had hoped that her phone will survive the 3G shutdown but alas that wasn't the case because of the IMEI blacklist...

[@rickstechrepairs]

that seems to be the cases i am hearing about. VoLTE enabled and previously working prior to the shutdown. only for that phone to be blocked after the shutdown

[@jjcoolaus]

If someone purchased a phone 3 months ago from Harvey Norman they can get a refund. They CAN use any banned device on WiFi as a tablet, that's not a problem, just don't put a sim card in it

[@rickstechrepairs]

I think an accc "not fit for purpose" card could be played to most sellers if they put up a fight

[@Gordon_L]

My old HTC phone was my backup , I assumed it would function as a small tablet after the 3g shutdown , tried a data Sim this morning , no internet , tried wifi and some limited service but only using the Google app or internet app , could not use chrome for instance , was able to view KZbin via the internet app , not the KZbin app . Weird . My fully functional S8 did not have VoLTE until after I did a system update , that will soon become the backup phone and I'll see what's on offer on black friday for a new flagship primary phone .

[@euanmcdermott5479]

I got lucky I’ve got a MI9T Pro. I’m on Telstra lines through Aldi mobile and was told by them and then Telstra that my phone does not have VOLTE capability even though it does, and that I should buy a new phone. I was literally just lazy and didn’t and they must have just forgotten to balcklist my phone model. The dam companies can’t even screw us over without messing it up lol :)

[@stevehh58]

How many tourists will it put off? Why would I want to visit a country where I had to buy a new phone upon entry? A country who couldn't tell me if my phone would work before I arrived? What do I do with esims? I've never migrated an esim from one phone to another. My bank and other apps trust my phone, so I'd have to go through the authorisation process again before I can access my bank. Will Wallet and other pay systems work? I'll avoid until the dust settles, and I can be sure everything will work when I arrive.

[@wonderwalls3565]

Yep. My 4G phone has been blocked by ALDI ie Telstra.

[@katejudson8907]

Mine too. But when I enter the EMEI into Telstra's site check it says it's good to go. So, I think ALDI is doing something slack. I just emailed them. On their contact us form it was essential I provide a phone number, so they can call me to discuss 😂😂😂😂

[@wonderwalls3565]

@@katejudson8907 hahahah. can you give me the link to the check page? and DID you mean IMEI?

[@68404]

It wasn't blocked by Aldi. It was blocked by Telstra.

[@wonderwalls3565]

@@68404 thats why i wrote ie telstra.

[@jimw7916]

be very carefull about Aldi sim cards. We went out into the middle of Queensland and discovered that the Telstra cell sites do NOT work with Aldi cards that are supposedly telstra based.

[@PaulWebster1979]

Is there any document available that describes the blacklisting/whitelisting of devices and what the specific requirements of a phone are? I have 3 imported Sony Xperia 1 phones (mark II, mark IV and mark VI) that are all 5G capable. The mark II is the only one that we were notified as being impacted. I ran a couple of apps that unlocked the VoLTE settings and enabled them, and it seemed to still have network access, up until the 30th, when the SIM appeared to be disabled. As the SIM was originally provisioned with a budget Optus phone, I tried it in my mark VI which was still working to verify the SIM wasn't the issue and confirmed it was functional. Surprisingly after returning it to the mark II, it worked and registered on the network again. Today, the 31st, however it has lost network connectivity once more

[@r1learner178]

They made out you might have trouble dialing 000 (I was okay with that) instead they just blocked your phone completely the wankers. It is interesting that my Xiaomi Mi A3 is blocked from calls but yet it has a ticker at the top of the phone that says 'Emergency calls only'. WTF?

[@rickstechrepairs]

thats what angers me the most it went from you wont "make a call" so by that you will still have Data and internet to no, actually you wont have anything at all goodbye

[@r1learner178]

@@rickstechrepairs I saw a video where you can upgrade the software in the phone to have VoLTE but I don't know if it would be worth it if they still block the phone. Be good to know on what basis they block the phone - model, sim, etc.

[@anthonyplayground1402]

My oppo 4g phone stopped working ... optus refused free phone offer as im not indigenous or other.

[@rickstechrepairs]

:(

[@auswolf9507]

My Sony Xperia 10 V which is a HK International model is working fine with Optus and it hasn't been blocked yet. Everything seems to work. When I do the sms checker service 3498 "it is determined that the phone will not be impacted" months ago it stated it "will be impacted" May to June Optus was spamming automated messages about "being impacted" and to contact them to "find a solution" messages seemed to stop after a security update from Sony. Unsure if Sony HK updated something within the software patch or if it was a coincidence kind of thing.

[@Dogwatch219]

They did the same to my smart tv. I have to buy a box to watch tv or the alternative is buy a new tv…Lucky I have an iPad or the silence would be deafening.

[@madprunes]

My phone (POCO X6 Pro) was blocked on the Optus network, but works on Telstra and Vodafone, so not all phones were blocked on all networks.

[@anthonywitham2305]

My wife and I have the Poco X6 Pro 5G They say mine is fine but my wife's is not. Both are exactly the same model. I'm currently in a sh*t fight with amaysim/ optus. Who try to say they may be the same model but manufactured differently. I have said if they are different, please explain why if I send a 3 to 3498 is says my phone will not be impacted. I then swap my sim to my wife's phone and do the same it gets the same result. If I do the same with my wife's sim, her phone says it will be impacted and when it's in my phone, again it says it will be impacted. They also sent me a message in August saying after testing on the network and talking to the manufacturer my phone won't be impacted after saying initially it would. I said they clearly are not testing the actual device with the 3498. I put my wife's sim in a iPhone 8 which was deemed compatible by the AMTA website test. It said it was the Poco and would be impacted. What pisses me off is that we changed my wife's original phone a Poco X3 NFC, which they said wouldn't work. I put my sim in this phone it can make calls, ring 000. It uses VoLTE. If I choose 3G there is no service. So they are talking bullsh*t!

[@ClaudePrinsloo]

I have a Poco X6 Pro 5G and. Poco X6 5G. Both support VoLTE over 4G. Optus seems to be whitelisting i.e. we didn't sell it so we assume it can't support it so we're cutting it off. Telstra for now seem to have taken the position, looks ok so we'll leave it be for now. Optus refuses to refund a 365 day prepaid SIM that only activated on the day off shutdown. Money grab all round. The government should be ashamed.

[@madprunes]

@ClaudePrinsloo I would be contacting the ACCC if you brought something and can't use it because of something which is a fault at their end you are entitled to a refund

[@ClaudePrinsloo]

​@@madprunesAlready done.

[@anthonywitham2305]

​@@ClaudePrinsloo my wife and I have exactly the same model of the Poco X 6 Pro 5G. Mine has been deemed compatible by Optus/amaysim while my wife's has been deemed incompatible. If you swap Sims between the phones they swap from being incompatible to compatible if they have my SIM, incompatible with my wife's SIM. They can't even get their white listing right. I have put an ALDI/Telstra sim in slot 2. As a backup, as twice, her phone has lost signal. I've restored it by just putting my SIM in, then putting her sim back. My wife's phone, 3498 testing just says it can't determine if the phone is compatible but to check with the manufacturer, on the Telstra network. The funny thing is both Sims are currently working are you connecting to the network's.

[@darkangel2347]

I tested my 512GB iPhone 12 Pro Max brought in September 2021 and it passed perfectly well.

[@rickstechrepairs]

i would be very surprised if that didnt work. most iphones from the 6 and newer should work

[@EmersonGossetArce-m7q]

My Xiaomi Mi10T pro was blocked from telstra. But if I put Optus chip of my friend it works normally. I don't know if buy a new chip of Optus or not, maybe they will block me again. I'm just traveling here for 2 months and sure I will not buy a new phone. There is another option?

[@coyote1651]

My wife and I both have Xiaomi Redmi note 13 pros which won't work on Telstra or Optus so changed to Kogan which is Vodafone I believe? They work fine but got a warning they may not work in the countryside.

[@Knackersjewels]

My Sony Xperia 1 II works with VOLTE and VOWIFI on optus and vodafone, yet telstra blocked it, because they don't "support" it

[@burninator1983]

My Sony Xperia 5 III was working fine on Optus throughout Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but I found that it had been blocked by Thursday morning when I couldn't get any mobile data at all. 4G Calling/VoLTE was enabled in the settings and working perfectly before then.

[@chimanlee981]

Mine was blocked Xperia Iii, with optus

[@keacoq]

I am planning to visit Australia with a mobile phone. How can I test whether it will workin Oz?

[@Mproud661]

I use a Optus mobile broadband sim witch is a data only service works perfectly in a older 4g phone that has no volte and band 28. I use it as a hotspot. If I put my amaysim card in it won’t work.

[@jimamizzi1]

I was told to txt 3 to 3498 to see if my iPhone 11 is compatible, message came back and said NO, however my phone works fine. Is the 3G network a gradual turn off or is it completely off now?

[@rickstechrepairs]

regarding volte on your iphone 11 check this Ensure VoLTE is turned on. If you have a 4G iPhone: Go to Settings Select Mobile Select Mobile Data Options Select Enable 4G. Select Voice & Data If available, turn on VoLTE. www.telstra.com.au/support/mobiles-devices/enable-volte-mobile-phone

[@cool386vintagetechnology6]

It's yet not off in my area (31st October). I'm still using my Motorola Razr V3x on 3G, but expect it to die any day now.

[@threegsster]

​@cool386vintagetechnology6 My little Samsung phone, just plugged in a SIM, doesn't work anymore. Oh wells...

[@fstop9466]

I think peoples phones that have been bricked should be compensated. Buying high end phones OS was a thing until now.

[@dylanh1769]

motorola has found a good spot with budget users and my pixel is still working fine

[@013taras]

Just happened on my motog8plus...changed sim on advice from optus. Was reassured as a 4g all is good...supposedly! Tech words on a please explain. The sim locked out the voLTE setting. Now a paperweight that connects still to wireless internet. Walked out with a plan contract on a new Samsung a35. Telco ombudsman anyone

[@katejudson8907]

My Moto G8plus went down yesterday too, through ALDI. When I checked the Emei through Telstra it wasn't blocked by them, so for me this is at the ALDI end switching off the call connection service. I put my Sim in a Samsung J20 which had been on Telstra and I could make calls. Very reluctant to buy a new phone over this or disuse this perfectly good Motorola .

[@shane2547]

And now the network is slower than ever..

[@duncanross4698]

2019 the closure was announced.

[@AndrewB1971]

My CPAP machine was affected. It still works as it should except that it can't be remote accessed to download sleep data anymore because of the 3G modem installed in the machine.

[@rickstechrepairs]

if its has 3G, then sadly this is a device effected by the shutdown but my main point was regarding 4G phones that also got affected

[@williameldridge2015]

Thanks for making this video. My Sony Xperia 1 V is useless as a phone now 😢

[@rickstechrepairs]

No Good :(

[@Mike_221]

I have an old redmi note 8 pro and it still works after the shutdown two generations older than the one you bought. You just need to enable volte in the settings using the keypad international commands. Edit: mad respect for the TBC box set.

[@rickstechrepairs]

Cheers :)

[@asdsad17]

that's a lot of imei to black/whitelist. who thought this was a good idea?

[@blackhorde22]

I was shocked to see my Black Shark 3 Pro Gaming Phone was blocked.. it has full 5G and more but now this has forced me to claim this phone is a dude and cant even use it now.

[@rickstechrepairs]

damn.. was that originally purchased through jb hifi?

[@buzzrot]

Do you have any other phone that works on 4G or did you have to buy a new one? It is such a waste

[@Retro-Iron11]

Do a search for "Black Shark 3 Pro enable volte dialer code" and look for the results that have the stars and hashes with numbers in it. You enter them into the phone dialer then under the sim settings you should have volte options showing. You know it's working when you finally have the volte icon at the top of the screen next to the 4/5g one. You can't loose anything by trying them.

[@rickstechrepairs]

great tip, im curious tho if your phone is backlisted and you do the VOLTE dialer code now, will it allow you back on the network?

[@blackhorde22]

@@buzzrot had to run to goodguys to buy a cheap one till funds for new one. but Ive told if you don't buy it from Optus / Voda and Telstra any phone might not have 3G anymore even if they're the newest models.

[@AverillRorasawn]

Don't use plastic bags or straws, but go out and buy a new phone for reasons.

[@gmasterdude]

Yep they cut me off, my phone is better than many of the budget phones you can buy now surely it's better to be able to communicate though signal and not be able to make 000 calls than not be able to use the phone at all, I ended up getting a free Nokia through my Telstra loyalty points rather than being blackmailed into buying another smart phone so I can make calls but that is it, it's a pretty basic phone.

[@sheerluckholmes5468]

As of right now my LG V40 ThinQ 📱 is still functional, but for how long is anyone's guess as it all seems to be dependent on the whim of some thumb sucker in an office somewhere.

[@AntAciieed]

Time for mass complaints to The TIO

[@bobbritten5673]

I brogh a new phone in april and was told it would be goofor the new system ? BUT GUESS WHAT IT IS NOT I GOT A NOTICE FROM TELSTRA ON THE 28 TH SAYING YOU HAVE UNTILL THE 20 TH OF NOVEMBER TO GET A NEW PHONE .

[@rickstechrepairs]

What make and model of phone is that ?

[@MangoPanic]

It should still be under warranty. If bought from an Australian retailer, take it back

[@bobbritten5673]

Up date to what I said about my new phone ! As I said I received a message from the phone company telling me this phone won't work ? But about 2 weeks later I received a 2 Nd message saying my new phone will now work on the new system??? Drrrr .

[@passivevii4052]

I love how Australia people are crying losing 3G when the US has not had 3G for 2 years and we are perfectly fine on 4G and 5G

[@rickstechrepairs]

its not just that 4G phones that dont support VoLTE for voice calls (drop down to 3G for voice calls) have been blocked at a network level. so you cant even connect these phones via 4G for internet access

[@boanebob]

I have two Redmi note 12, one on Optus one on Telstra. The Optus phone is still working while the Telstra phone is dead. Both are setup for volte.

[@akik8253]

No more Sony Xperia phones in Australia thanks to the closure of 3g shutdown 🤮

[@rickstechrepairs]

seems to be the case

[@akik8253]

@rickstechrepairs unbelievable, I've only ever had ericssons and xperias and was looking at getting the 5v or 1vi 🤯 Telstra kept on reassuring me that I would not have a problem. On the 3g day, my phone was blocked and a Telstra shop manager told me that NO Xperia will work on the 4g 5g band 28 in Australia 🤯😡

[@NickThunnda]

Yep, they bricked my Huawei 4G android 5.1 phone. 😮Can anyone recommend a new cheap simple phone that will work with an ALDI SIM card? Cheers anyway.😉

[@sarahbatsford4791]

I hope this shite show here will be very quickly remedied & telcos massively fined. Who the fck do they think they are?

[@rickstechrepairs]

i dont think it will be the same as the CDMA network getting shut down - too bad too sad, will be my predicted outcome

[@68404]

My Oppo was 4G/3G but no VOLTE. It is now a paperweight. Enabling VOLTE would be the solution but it seems this is very difficult to do.

[@rickstechrepairs]

:(

[@jimw7916]

my phone had 4G and Volte and worked perfectly for 2 days after the shutdown. Then today they cut it off!

[@clairerovic]

Offensive, my phone was working in Europe the week before. Grrrr

[@rickstechrepairs]

no good :(

[@Maxtraxv3]

i had a red mei note 7, just no longer function using a cheap laggy piece of crap now, lucky i only use it for calls and text, and music.

[@rickstechrepairs]

No Good :(

[@jessemckenzie2374]

I have a TCL 20 Pro 5G, my phone is VoLTE compatible, but I've been unable ot make calls anyone know how to fix it??

[@Amraks]

My xiaomi redmi note 13 pro is working good no problems with that

[@rickstechrepairs]

great, what provider?

[@katejudson8907]

Be surprised if it was still working today.

[@Amraks]

Seen a customers Sony xperia 1 IV get blocked sadly she had just bought it

[@rickstechrepairs]

that's crap busy doesn't surprise me, I think alot of Sony's and xiaomi's will be effected

[@ChromecastM8]

Suddenly jack shit reception

[@kamm3021]

*Damn* 😮

[@rickstechrepairs]

indeed

[@Karl-Benny]

Sony expire not working

[@fstop9466]

Sony phones all dead here but hell they were crowding the Aussie monopolies /s

[@leongt1954]

My old Galaxy s6 still works ok but I'm still getting the message saying it wont work after the 28th and it's now the 30th but I have noticed if a want to ring a number not already on my phone I have to enter 03 first before the number but don't have to when phoning numbers in my friends list

[@rickstechrepairs]

that's really weird to dial out

[@rebeccachoice]

This isn’t the telcos it is the Labor government. Albanese. Do some research.

[@katejudson8907]

Supply some of your research, perhaps? ?? Otherwise you just sound like you have an axe to grind with ' Labor Albanese'.

[@TheKnobCalledTone.]

As if a Dutton LNP government wouldn't do the same thing

[@TheKnobCalledTone.]

@@katejudson8907 hardcore LNP supporters aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer, are they?

[@avgfree21]

You're forgetting that Apple and Samsung have the biggest market share on the planet so your last point is nullified

[@burninator1983]

And now their market share continues with less competition in the market so Apple and Samsung can keep on raising prices.

[@mattjoy]

I have Optus & Telstra SIMS in my UleFone Power Armor 19T, both have white listed my Brand and model.. Yay! It is a chinese phone,

[@rickstechrepairs]

good to hear you phone survived

[@joekerr8334]

I am sure the Huawei's Tri-Fold Phone, The Mate XT will also be banned.

[@rickstechrepairs]

wouldn't surprise me

[@hawkeyed77]

And guess where the only place you can get your phones from now ! All phones that have been supplied by Australian retailers that have been bought in from overseas will be blocked. Also it effects around a million devices all up that use 3G.

[@rickstechrepairs]

indeed. Then other data only devices getting effected too

[@2001pulsar]

If you have 4G band B28, 700MHz, you should be ok.

[@katejudson8907]

No. That would technically correct, but the Telco's are just not.operating on this technical advice. They are cutting phone service to many devices which are technically capable of the switch.

[@joekerr8334]

It is based on the service providers' white lists.

[@2001pulsar]

@katejudson8907 how rude!

[@katejudson8907]

@@2001pulsar yep. I lodged a complaint via email with ALDI, my carrier, on Thursday. They just SMS me to say they're going to CALL me, even though my complaint is in regards to them.cutting incoming and outgoing calls. I see I have a new voicemail, which I.cannot access. They followed this up with an email about ' we tried contacting you about your complaint. Please call us back. ". I think they must have been HR trained by Centrelink. 👾

[@burninator1983]

Wish it was as simple as that. Many phones have now been blocked even if they do fully support the necessary 4G bands in Australia.

[@PleaseGetReal]

Why are my comments deleted ?

[@rickstechrepairs]

my channel has filtering for swearing, so i suspect that i have manual re-instated them

[@bobrobertsNotUrBob]

@@rickstechrepairs also, youtube sometimes just doesnt add comments like you think they would. This is a known issue

[@I_know_it_I_sew_it_I_grow_it]

You probably told some truth.