Why Samsung Phones Are Failing Emergency Calls in Australia
3 days ago
- #Emergency Services
- #Technology Failure
- #Public Safety
- Emergency numbers like 911, 999, or 000 are crucial for accessing police, fire, or ambulance services.
- A person in Australia died when their Samsung phone failed to connect to the Triple Zero (000) emergency line.
- Older Samsung smartphones have issues making emergency calls due to the shutdown of 3G services and lack of VoLTE functionality.
- VoLTE (Voice-over-LTE) is required for voice calls on 4G and 5G networks, but some phones lack this feature.
- Compatibility issues between handsets and networks, especially when roaming, can prevent emergency calls from connecting.
- Australia's telecommunications companies are urging users to replace or upgrade affected Samsung models.
- Similar issues with VoLTE emergency calling have been noted in Europe, particularly when roaming.
- The lack of global standardization for VoLTE has exacerbated the problem as 2G and 3G networks are phased out.
- The shutdown of older networks is driven by the need to repurpose spectrum, but it leaves some devices unable to make emergency calls.
- Critics argue that the rush to implement new technologies without ensuring backward compatibility has put lives at risk.