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Keeping device software up to date can literally save lives.
A person in Sydney, Australia, died after trying to call the country’s emergency number with an outdated Samsung cell phone. The call simply never came through: it dropped three times.
According to the operator Lebara, the device used incompatible software with the network system, which prevented the request for help from being registered. There was no service failure at that time: the problem was solely with the old device.
According to initial assessments, the user had a Samsung model that already Haven’t received updates for several years. In addition to being vulnerable to security risks, these devices can present critical failures that go unnoticed until extremely serious situations occur, such as the impossibility of making emergency calls.
The device manufacturer said last month that it was working with carriers to resolve the issue.
The case became public shortly after several Australian operators, including Vodafone/TPG, Optus and Telstra, alerted their customers to the risk continue to use old cell phones without updates. They informed that, without the necessary update, some devices would be blocked from the network after a month.
Around 50,000 old Samsung devices could be blocked on the country’s networks. Among the models mentioned are:
- Galaxy A7 (2017)
- Galaxy A5 (2017)
- Galaxy J1 (2016)
- Galaxy J3 (2016)
- Galaxy J5 (2016)
- Galaxy Note 5
- Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+
- Galaxy S7 e S7 Edge
All of these models are outside the official support period, which means they no longer receive software updates.
Samsung itself has a list of older devices that are still supported but need an immediate update to ensure they can call emergency services. The company’s recommendation is that users urgently check whether their devices require this update, to avoid risks.
Optus’ independent investigation into the incident is expected to be completed before the end of 2025. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has also launched an investigation.
