TPG Telecom, the parent company of Vodafone Australia, has confirmed that a customer died after being unable to connect to triple zero emergency services using an incompatible Samsung mobile device.
Tragic Incident Details
The fatal incident occurred on 13th November, though TPG only received notification from NSW Ambulance at 5:22pm yesterday. The company confirmed in a statement to the ASX that there was no network outage at the time of the emergency.
Early investigations indicate the customer was using a Lebara mobile service, which operates on the Vodafone network, with an older Samsung device running software that proved incompatible with making triple zero calls on TPG's infrastructure.
Industry-Wide Device Compatibility Issue
This tragedy follows warnings issued in October by Telstra, Optus, and TPG regarding certain older Samsung devices that cannot connect to Vodafone's network as a backup when their primary networks are unavailable during emergency calls.
Approximately 50,000 older Samsung devices are expected to be blocked from mobile networks under triple zero rules that mandate disconnection for devices that cannot reliably connect to emergency services in some circumstances.
Affected Samsung Models and Urgent Action Required
The Samsung devices affected include several models from 2016 and 2017:
- Galaxy A7 (2017) and Galaxy A5 2017
- Galaxy J1 2016, J3 2016, and J5 2017
- Galaxy Note 5
- Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, and S6 Edge+
- Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge
TPG Chief Executive Iñaki Berroeta expressed condolences, stating: "This is a tragic incident and thoughts are with the individual's family and loved ones. Access to emergency services is critical. We urge all customers with outdated software to replace or update their devices without delay."
Customers using these devices have been receiving notices from telecommunications providers, with devices facing disconnection after a 28-35 day notice period if software updates aren't installed.
Samsung has acknowledged the issue and is working with carriers to resolve compatibility problems. The company maintains a list of affected devices and necessary software updates on its official website.
This incident follows several deaths during an Optus triple zero outage in September, with an independent investigation into that event due by the end of 2025. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has also launched its own investigation into emergency service access reliability.
