Samsung tried to fix triple zero problem with mobiles nearly five years ago

The mystery over why owners of a group of 71 Samsung mobile phone models couldn’t place emergency calls properly has taken strange turn, with Samsung insisting that it took steps to fix the problem nearly five years ago.

Samsung has told iTnews that from July 2021, the handset maker pushed software updates to 60 handset models on the list of 71 devices carriers have slated to block unless they are soon patched.

The patch should have updated the handset’s calling capabilities to allow them to camp on to TPG Telecom’s 4G network, allowing triple zero calls to be placed reliably during service outages.

“The software updates were released to these handsets during this time period (July to November 2021). Once released, the device owner would need to accept the prompt to update by downloading and installing it. 

“We strongly encourage customers to keep their mobile devices updated with the latest software, as this is critical to maintaining the highest standards of safety, security, and performance,” a spokesperson for Samsung told iTnews.

However, for reasons that remain unclear it would seem that the patch did not successfully reach a number of the devices.

Carriers have since moved to block them all after the handsets were linked to deaths of three individuals during Optus’ September outage.

The software update was intended to make the handsets capable of make VoLTE calls on the TPG Telecom’s Vodafone-branded 4G network which, up until 2021 was only carrying voice calls for limited set of the network’s customers.

Vodafone Hutchison Australia, which owned operated Vodafone-branded networks at the time, launched the 4G network way back in 2013.

However, VHA only began turning on VoLTE voice calling on the 4G layer of its network in 2015 as only a small number of handsets available at the time supported the feature, TPG Telecom told iTnews.

TPG Telecom also revealed to iTnews that the VoLTE voice calling feature of its network was not capable of emergency voice calls until the carrier started to test eVoLTE (the name of the emergency calling upgrade) in 2020.

“TPG Telecom enabled VoLTE (Voice over LTE) on its 4G network in 2015. At that time, only a small proportion of handsets supported VoLTE, and 3G remained the predominant coverage layer for emergency calling.

"This ensured triple zero capability was always available via 3G, which had slightly broader coverage than 4G during that period,” a TPG Telecom spokesman said.

“From 2015 onward, VoLTE was active for early 4G adopters and formed part of our roadmap for broader 4G adoption and eventual 3G closure. In 2020, we began dedicated device testing for emergency VoLTE (e-VoLTE) capability.”

The testing process was intended to identify older devices that could not make 4G emergency calls. TPG Telecom subsequently blocked the devices blocked from its network.

At the time, and for up to six years until TPG Telecom turned on eVoLTE, the carrier primarily relied on the availability of the 3G component of its network for voice calls, including for triple zero services.

It’s understood that TPG Telecom’s Vodafone-branded network footprint was marginally larger than that of its 4G network throughout the period.

Telstra and Optus in October began the process of notifying customers using the affected Samsung handsets of its intention to block the devices.

Announcing the move on its blog last October, Telstra’s testing found that the handsets had firmware configurations that forced to devices to exclusively attempts to route Triple Zero calls to the shuttered Vodafone 3G network.

That meant that when Telstra’s network and that of its commercial rival Optus’ were not available the devices were unable to correctly switch to TPG Telecom’s Vodafone-branded network correctly to place calls.

The process, known as camp on, is one that the communications regulator, ACMA, has since sought to address with tighter testing rules for handsets.

TPG Telecom reported as recently as November a triple zero call-related customer fatality linked to the use of a Samsung mobile handset known to be among those with the firmware-related emergency calling problem.

TPG Telecom said that the deceased had been a Lebara customer using a Samsung handset model known to be on the list of devices. Its understood TPG Telecom was in the process of contacting the carrier to start the protocol to block the device from its network.

Since then, Australia’s top telcos, including TPG Telecom, Telstra and Optus, have moved to establish a shared database of problematic mobile handsets in a bid to improve the reliability of emergency call services.

The triple zero inquiry into the Optus outage resumes next week.