How to tell if your phone will work after the 3G shutdown

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When the Federal Minister for Communications calls the big three mobile networks together to discuss the 3G shutdown, you know there’s a problem.

Yesterday, Michelle Rowland called for a working group to discuss the “safe switchover from 3G” as the government raised fears there are devices in Australia that would be unable to call Triple Zero through a 4G connection.

In simple terms, when connected to 4G your smartphone needs to be “VoLTE” compatible to make these emergency calls.

There are, however, some devices in Australia that might show as being 4G connected to the user, but because they are not capable of “VoLTE” (Voice over LTE/4G), they won’t be able to call Triple Zero.

Users of these phones might think they are good to go after the 3G shut down because they do have a 4G phone, but it won’t be until the worst possible time – when they need it most – they find out they cannot call Triple Zero.

A Telstra spokesperson explained to 9News.com.au that some older 4G mobile phones require a 3G network to make calls to Triple Zero.

“This is a hardware feature built into the design of the phone by the manufacturer and it is a global, industry-wide issue that many countries have already worked through as they have closed their 3G networks,” the spokesperson said.

There are concerns many people won’t be able to call Triple Zero.

“Following the closure of Australia’s 3G networks customers with these devices will not be able to make Triple Zero calls despite the device otherwise working normally.

“To be able to make an emergency call to Triple Zero once the 3G mobile networks are closed, 4G devices must support, and be configured to use, Voice over LTE (VoLTE) emergency calling.

“Voice over LTE is the international standard all mobile networks use to carry voice calls over 4G networks.

“We are contacting customers we have been able to identify as using one of these devices to let them know they need to check their device and will likely need to upgrade.”

It is however a very small sub-set of users likely to be affected, with Telstra’s own data showing just how limited the issue is.

“Since announcing the shutdown of our 3G network in 2019, the vast majority of customers have upgraded their mobile devices,” the spokesperson said.

“This is reflected by the fact that 3G now accounts for only one per cent of our total mobile network traffic.

“We are working very hard to ensure that all areas that currently only have 3G coverage get 4G coverage before we close the 3G network on 30 June. More than 98 per cent of our mobile sites already have 4G installed.”

That push to create an equivalency between the 3G and 4G Network coverage is a critical thing for Telstra in the last three months before the 3G shutdown.

How do you know if your phone is VoLTE compatible?

Unfortunately, VoLTE isn’t like the lenses of the camera, or the version of operating system you are using – it’s not a billboard advertised feature or even something that’s easy to find within your device.

9News has investigated a wide range of devices and brands and our best assessment at this stage is as follows:

Apple iPhones: Models since the iPhone 6, released at the end of 2014, are VoLTE compatible.

Samsung Galaxy S: Smartphones from the S7 in 2016 are VoLTE compatible, from what we can tell. Their affordable A series range was likely VoLTE compatible slightly later so I’d be checking any device from before 2019.

Google Pixel: VoLTE compatible since the Pixel 3 in 2018.

As for other brands such as Oppo, Motorola, Nokia, TCL, the transition appears to have been complete around 2019-2020, so any devices from then or before should be checked.

With 2020 being what appears to be the full transition year for 4G handsets to adopt VoLTE, the best advice is to check any phone from 2019 or prior.

You can do this by contacting your telco either in-person or via their call centre, and asking if the device they see connected to the network is VoLTE compatible.

Australia is far from the first country to transition away from 3G. The US networks started in 2017 and several more in 2022, while Germany shut down 3G in December 2021, Singapore around the same time and Malaysia in 2022.

In 2023, Denmark, Slovakia, Greece, Hungary and Sweden all shut down their 3G networks.

The shutting down of the 3G networks allows that spectrum (the airwaves the network operates in) to be reallocated to boost and support the 4G and 5G network rollouts.