Peter LeGras’ phone is only a month old and he can no longer make calls, send messages, or do much of anything.

It’s one of several 4G-compatible phone models blocked from all mobile networks following the recent shutdown of Australia’s 3G network, leaving countless Australians scrambling to replace recently purchased devices.

Aware of the impending shutdown, Mr. LeGras was careful to choose a fully 4G-enabled smartphone.

That’s exactly the 2023 model Xiaomi he chose to buy from a store in Japan.

In fact, the same model is still available to purchase from Australia’s leading retailers. The manufacturer announces that the device is compatible with both 4G and 5G.

However, as of this week, his phone could not connect to the network at all.

Mr. LeGras contacted his provider, Optus, and support staff told him he could no longer use that phone or two other Xiaomi devices owned by family members on the network.

But it wasn’t a technical issue that caused Mr. LeGras’ phone to stop working.

That’s where he bought it.

Why does 3G shutdown affect 4G enabled devices?

Network operators are shutting down the 3G network to make room in the radio spectrum for next-generation 5G networks.

However, the 3G shutdown on October 28 revealed deficiencies in the 4G and 5G networks.

Some modern phones (even phones that work fine on 4G in most cases) cannot call emergency services without falling back to the (now defunct) 3G network.

But Mr. LeGras’ phone does not 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 days before the shutdown, Australia’s media regulator ACMA sets new ‘direction’ (basically a rule) this meant that telecom companies had to refuse service to all phones that relied on 3G to make emergency calls.

The idea was to prevent people from mistakenly believing the phones were fully working, only to realize they couldn’t make emergency calls when the critical moment came.

It is the responsibility of telecommunications companies to find out which phones are affected, notify phone owners, block their phones, and help make other arrangements, such as low-cost or free replacement of phones.

But as Telstra and Optus pointed out during the Senate inquiry into the shutdown, telcos cannot know which devices suffer from the problem unless they sell them.

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

But companies are casting a wide net. Blocking is based on large lists of supported phones, in some cases depending on where the device was purchased.

This led to some full-featured phones being blocked.

Many big brands are affected

Hundreds of Australians have reported similar incidents since telecom companies began shutting down their 3G networks.

Phones produced by Sony, ASUS, Xiaomi, Oppo and OnePlus were blocked from being purchased from abroad or international sellers.

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

A phone on Telstra’s official list of supported devices: Sony Xperia X Performance. originally sold by Telstra in 2016 — the connection cannot be established unless the device in question was purchased through the telecommunications company itself.

Brisbane-based networking expert James Parker follows up on the ins and outs.

A Sony Xperia XZ Premium purchased from Telstra but later equipped with an Optus SIM was blocked on the Optus network despite being on the telco’s list of supported devices.

“It was blocked because it was originally sold by Telstra,” it says, “and not by Optus or any other Australian retailer.”

Mr Parker, who has been publicly reviewing plans to shut down 3G for more than a year, took action when people’s devices began to be blocked.

outside Posting comprehensive information online for those with affected phonescreated an online survey to better understand the situation.

Of the 255 blocked devices reported to it so far, nearly 70 percent were running a 2021 or newer Android OS version.

“These are not old phones,” he says.

He says the method telecommunications companies use to decide which phones to block is “misleading”.

He says network providers are the “judge, jury and executioner” for which phones will operate in Australia, and are also in the business of selling them.

Eleventh-hour changes to closing impact customers

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

After being warned that his phone might have limited service in some areas, Mr. LeGras received a message on Thursday stating that his phone would be permanently blocked from accessing the network within 24 hours.

University of Melbourne law professor Jeannie Marie Paterson questions why the regulator waited so late to create this requirement.

“Why did ACMA discover this now?” he asks.

“Phones are of critical importance in our lives. They are very important for us to be able to do our jobs. They are also very important for us to manage our family and private lives.

“I honestly can’t understand why this happened in such a short time and why it wasn’t detected sooner.”

He says this is unfair to consumers.

“This makes expensive and essential technology redundant with almost no notice, at significant cost and waste.”

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

At the time, this number was estimated to be more than 1 million but was later reduced to 276,000.

“The Australian government’s top priority in shutting down 3G has been to protect public safety by ensuring that all mobile phones connected to mobile networks can dial triple-0,” Ms Rowland told the ABC. he said.

“Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom have advised the government that their methodologies for identifying affected devices have been independently validated based on sound and established industry practice.

“If the customer believes that their phone has been blocked by mistake, they should discuss this with their provider in the first instance.”

Confusing messages from telcos

Mr. LeGras thought that as long as his phone could work without a 3G connection, it would continue to work when the network was turned off.

He had no idea it would be an arbitrary list of phones where ongoing support depended on where it was purchased. Especially not something determined by the providers themselves, who sell thousands of phones to their customers.

“Communication was a complete mess,” he says.

One Australian reported having had two meetings with Telstra; Different support representatives gave conflicting information on how to check compatibility.

Telstra has been contacted for comment.

An Optus spokesperson said the company was “reaching out to affected customers directly via SMS, email and letters to help them switch to compatible devices before 3G is shut down.”

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

“The industry needs to clean up its messaging and stop telling customers who have perfectly working phones that they need to upgrade,” Mr. Parker says.

“This practice has been going on for months and there appears to be no accountability for telcos providing false and misleading information to customers.

“The industry needs to implement a real technical fix.”