Proactive Action - Xiaomi (& Other Chinese Brands / Import) Phone Owners Affected by 3G Shutdown (Now Due to Be Network Blocked)

UPDATE 1/11/24 - Response from grey import seller after I contacted them regarding a Redmi Note 12 that is no longer working. (Of course I know it is not their fault, but this is a good way to get more pressure on Xiaomi to do an update, and to put pressure on the government to whitelist"
"We have investigate the issue comprehensively and follow up instantly with distributor and ask them to push Xiaomi to resolve the issue. After our best endeavor, as of 31 OCT, Xiaomi confirm that their device is actually capable of emergency calls over 4G or 5G. This is an compatible device. However, the disconnection results from new ACMA regulations effective October 28, 2024, requiring carriers to restrict devices that can’t support 000 emergency calls over 4G or 5G from accessing their networks. It is out of our control. It is a government, manufacturer and network provider level. They recklessly blocking usable phone regardless of compatibility. They block for most phones that not purchase from them or from their partners and force you to buy a new one from them.
Meanwhile, we are pushing our distributor to communicate with manufacturer for updating the list and there are news that a firmware update will soon launch from Xiaomi."

UPDATE 1/11/24
Statement from Xiaomitech Australia (related to those who purchased in Australia through authorized channels)
https://shorturl.at/pAyfu

UPDATE 30/10/24 - Please also email
[email protected] as we now have some traction

  • After multiple emails I finally got a NON-standard response! Hope is on the horizon! If this ends up working, you all can shout me a beer (or preferably a non-alcoholic and refreshing beverage)!

"Hello, Greetings from Xiaomi Customer Support! This is Eric.
Thank you for your feedback. We have noticed this situation, and concerned team are working on it. Please wait for the system update.
We would like to know if your device is only unable to use the emergency call function normally, but is able to use other functions normally, or if it has no signal/service at all. Once we have your feedback, we will get back to you with proper handling.
Best Regards
Xiaomi Global Email Service"

SUMMARY

  • Certain 4G and 5G phones currently working on VoLTE may be actively blocked through a government directive after 28th October
  • These are usually grey import phones that revert to 3G for 000 emergency calls
  • There are a lot of people ignoring the annoying text and voice messages on their phones, thinking "My phone IS 4G/5G, I am not affected"
  • Come October 28, there is going to be a tsunami of shock and anger

Oct 24 last minute legislation to block 4G and 5G phones that revert to 3G for 000 calls
https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2024L01353/asmade/downloads

Banana3's Summary (READ THIS FIRST to understand what the issue actually IS, instead of spouting "3G shutdown has been announced for years…")
"Again, the issue is not whether 3G should be shut down or not. I think most people in this discussion agree that it needs to be shut down. The issue is that a few years ago the communication was: as long as your phone supports 4g, then you should be fine. Then earlier this year: No, 4g alone is not going to cut it, you need to have a phone that supports VoLTE. Then: Wait, actually, not just any VoLTE, only those that the network allows your phone to use (yes, Vodafone told me that when my perfectly working VoLTE phone stopped working after they shut down 3g). Then on the last minute: Oh wait, actually, not just that, your phone also needs to be able to call 000 on 4g by default. None of these have been properly planned, or thought of, or mitigated. It's all just a big mess. If anyone is confused, it's not their fault."

What to do?

Useful information:
The Little Known Problems with VoLTE Emergency Calling - https://medium.com/@jamesdwho/the-little-known-problems-with…

Comments

        • Was going to edit / add:
          (depending on whether Telstra network is set to even refuse service even for a 000 SOS call from an otherwise actually functional device; or the device doesn't actually have a suitable MBN to successfully execute an LTE 000 call when SOS 'camping / roaming onto' Telstra's 4G network outside their home network coverage).

  • Rang coles mobile and gave them my IEMI number. They said i get blocked tomorrow, Thursdaysome time. Redmi Note 9S

    • +2

      Rang coles mobile and gave them my IEMI number. They said i get blocked tomorrow,

      coles' version of the a free boat giveaway

      • +1

        Ni warning messages but they can look up your imei number and tell you what date you get blocked

    • Seems like Vic and Qld haven't copped many bans. Might be Vic's turn tomorrow

      • yes! banned today, Thursday !

  • +10

    I think I'll hang onto my Redmi, in case a workaround comes along. Shame to trash a perfectly good phone.

    • +1

      These phones still has some resale value overseas, and I think you might see a market open up, where people will just buy phones from eBay.AU for overseas use.

  • +6

    I am still struggling to understand — When tourists can use their existing mobile phones then why can't we ?
    Govt too trying different methods to takeout money from my pocket for this untimed exepense in this hard time. Not sure if govt thought to waive GST on new mobile phones? Atleast some reduction in expense for me.

    • +6

      I would add that if this was about safety.

      Isn't it way more important to ensure tourists to have access to emergency services? Seeing as they are unfamiliar with the place and have a much more higher likelihood of encountering an emergency situation.

      Local people are more likely to be prepared for this, given the access and familiarity with the situation

    • Tourists get a 90-day exemption, but lose the ability to call 000 over 3G.

      This was legislated.

      https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2024L01353/asmade/text

      71 Exception – foreign travellers in Australia

      Sections 65, 67 and 69 do not apply if a carriage service provider:

      (a) is aware, or becomes aware, that the mobile phone is being used by an end-user who is a foreign traveller in Australia who intends to remain in Australia for a period of no longer than 90 consecutive days; and

      (b) has sent a notification to the mobile phone to the effect that the mobile phone is not configured to be able to access the emergency call service.

      • +1

        Why can't people who don't satisfy 000 just be classified under b), and be allowed to use their phones?

        • I think it has to do with being a citizen, the MPs have a "duty of care" to them, but not a foreigner.

          I'm not a lawyer, but guessing this.

          If people are venting on the MPs' social media pages and office staff, they'll understand the impact of their decisions.

  • +6

    Some oberservations, not sure if correct but would like to discuss: it seems the blocking only happens when the phone is using 4g, but if I turn on flight mode and enable WiFi, the phone can still connect to WiFi calling. So only using the sim, but cannot use the data of the sim, and also require WiFi connection.

    • +1

      Yes, you are right. I already discovered the hack. It works as if you were overseas.

      This discovery deserves a dedicated post instead of being buried here.

      • But… you gotta be aware if your telco stops billing you and may potentially close your account and lose your number as early as eg Telstra "other customers" by 20 November - scroll to FAQ "How does this affect me?
        What devices are blocked from the Telstra Mobile Network?"

        Also, if you leave any connected WiFi network, they device is not going to have any voice data or message service.

        • Actually this hack only works well for people managing multiple prepaid numbers and receiving SMS on an affected device. An unaffected device(or portable modem) is still needed to pair it to provide WiFi when outside. It doesn't solve the issue.

          A prepaid number can be defaulted for a certain period and still receive SMS and call. There is no billing issue.

          • @Neoika: Does this work with amaysim overseas? I thought it worked only with Telstra/Boost overseas, to make WiFi calls even without an active plan.

    • A VPN might help too?

    • Based on the workings of the VoWiFi protocol, the IMEI is indeed sent to the VoWiFi server - therefore it might be a matter of time before they close this loophole …

      • People outside Australia do not make this emergency call.

  • +4

    ACT Optus Poco X3 pro just gone down here. The wave is coming.

    • Are you using Optus network? Mine stopped working with Catch Connect (Optus) 2 hours ago. Inserting whichever slot showed "SIM is not allowed". The SIM is working fine on Samsung S21 FE. Swapping back didn't help.
      At least it's still working with Aldi (Telstra). Both Aldi (sms 3G to 3498) and Telstra IMEI checker show it's compatible, hopefully stay as is.

      • +2

        Yeah Optus is my provider. That checker you linked showed my phone as being okay, but it wasn't in the end.

        Fingers crossed for you.

      • Can confirm my phone works with the Telstra and TPG/Vodafone network but is blocked by Optus. My phone is unblocked according to both the AMTA and Telstra IMEI checkers. The consistency is great

    • VIC - Wife's poco X3 pro blocked on Optus (coles mobile). Still working on Boost (dual sim)
      My poco X3 NFC still working on optus (coles mobile). sms check says its not a mobile phone so hopefully does not get kicked off!

      • My Poco X3 NFC has also been booted :(

    • My mum's Poco X3 Pro on Optus won't accept incoming calls - RCS messaging still seems active, for now

    • Have you done this?
      VoLTE = * # * # 86583 # * # *
      VoWiFi = * # * # 869434 # * # *

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID8Lj0lUFGI

  • +1

    Blocked on Telstra, but get this on Vodafone:

    "Thanks for using our 3G device checker. Our records as at 29 Oct 2024 indicate the device in use for your service was Redmi Note 10 Pro. Good news. Your mobile phone is compatible with our 4G/5G network. Please remember to keep your device software updated."

    Who knows what will happen.

    • +5

      It's just that the Phone has not been put on the Vodafone "banned list" yet but wait it will come

      • Well I am good for a month at least. By law they have to notify you at least 28 days in advance.

        • +1

          I wouldn't holed your breath

        • +1

          I thought something similar… Amaysim (Optus) just blocked my phone overnight. It is definitely 4G LTE call compliant. Got no sms messages, email or call pre-message this was coming. 0 days notice.

  • +1

    @Tuukmaak How did you contact the Xiaomi Global team? If you can send through the contact details I can also shoot through an email and put pressure on them by letting them know that there are quite a lot of folks affected by this.

    • +4

      Sure, I wish everybody would email them!

      [email protected]

      Those who purchased through Aliexpress or similar, please hound the seller as well, which is what I did.

      • +3

        Have sent through an email. Let's hope for the best. I still can't believe that the government is sitting there and watch this disaster unfold. 200k+ 4G and 5G phones being rendered dead within a span of days and they won't lift a single finger. This is just outrageous.

        • +2

          Maybe ministers thinking majority of impacted are foreigners so why to worry, they are not going to vote us.

          • +2

            @samina:

            Maybe ministers thinking majority of impacted are foreigners so why to worry, they are not going to vote us.

            Maybe they know they have less hope of winning at next election, and so better to accept any benefits from lobbyists now.

        • +2

          the government is sitting there and watch this disaster unfold

          They're the ones who chose to cause such disaster, just a reminder…

          • @RiseAndRuin: Wasn't "I dont hold a hose mate Morrison" in charge when this was announced?

            • @Duff5000: Possibly, but the current government is the one putting it into action, and the requirement to block perfectly functioning phones has just been added recently.

            • @Duff5000: are you sure? anyway, current govt could have done it better and smooth. Maybe enforce xioami(and others) to make sure VOLTE supported phones follow the new norms rather than just blindly disconnecting the phones irrespective of the few phones can be reused if possible.

              • @samina:

                are you sure?

                Yeah 2019.

                Since 2019 phones sold here have been required 000 VOLTE calling be set up correctly. I'm not sure they can enforce much for imports.

                Must be a better way than just blocking though. A new emergency number that uses the devices regular calling would be ok imo. Small chance a call could be missed if the user is outside of their network coverage though.

      • I don't think Xiaomi can help, the lack of emergency calling is not a feature that can be enabled through updates. I was told it was for future models

        • I'm not sure thats true. Some Xiaomi devices seem to be able to if configured correctly despite not being shipped that way.

          • @Duff5000: Hmm, you might be right. Maybe the newer ones (released in the last year or two) are capable?

        • how about redmi note 13 pro? Its being sold by jb hifi while my room mate's note 13 pro not working since yday.

          • @samina: See the update below? Xiaomi have posted saying they are getting a bunch of Australian delivered phones addedd to the list of supported devices.

            • @Duff5000: Which update? Where has Xiaomi posted this update? Thanks.

  • +4

    I have a poco NFC 3X and been blocked because I can't make 000 calls. But when I call 000 it connects… Without wifi and no bars showing..

    • +3

      3G carrier switch fallback is not deactivated yet across all 3 telco networks. You'll need to be running some network tools to determine how your phone is connecting and handling a 000 call.

    • same here for me.

    • +6

      Dont call 000.

      It doesnt prove the phone can use VOLTE emergency calls anyway given the 3g service is still running.

  • My huawei y5 phone has officially been affected in Sydney.

    After 12pm today one of my optus Sims has gone 'sos only'. The other one still works, might be tonight the other sim card will be become obselete too.

    Sadly ill be forced to use the iPhone 7 until I get another phone. Did any one get the free phone provided and offered by telstra and optus?

  • +1

    I'm surprised my old redmi note 9s phone with optus still works. Wonder when it will get blocked.

    • I guess by the end of the week, together with my Redmi note 5.

    • Melbourne/VIC hasn't seem to be affected much yet

    • +1

      Melbourne? Note 9 pro and poco f3 still working fine as well. I suspect not for long.

      • I'm in NSW btw.

      • +1

        My F3 got blocked this morning.

      • in Melbourne, banned today Redmi note 9s

  • My perfectly fine Xiaomi Mi11i and my dad's Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 no longer works for Telstra, Optus or Vodafone. We trialed putting in Lebara (Vodafone), Amaysim (Optus) and Boost (Telstra) sims into both phones, toggling settings to enable volte etc to no luck. What a waste.

    If anyone has phone recommendations for a good phone and a budget phone, feel free to send it through.

    I wonder how the network retailers are going to exempt traveler phones since the legislation exempts traveler phones (Section 2e.)? Is it when ID is asked, the traveler presents a foreign ID?

    • +1

      Deals on the g85 and g54 are pretty good for what you get.

      I set up a g14 for my mum and while significantly less powerful than those above it was still fine to use.

      I suspect travellers wont need to do anything if they are using roaming. They would need ID to set up a local sim and the exemption is only 90 days.

      • Thanks, I will have a look at those.

        Roaming will roam through one of the Australian networks though. My dad has an overseas sim that is required to do banking with an overseas bank. He can no longer use the overseas sim on his phone because it roams through the Optus network.

    • "If anyone has phone recommendations for a good phone and a budget phone, feel free to send it through."

      Purchased a Moto G85 really happy with it as my Poco f3 no longer will be working with Boost. Comes with a normal sim slot as well as Esim and an sd card slot.

    • +1

      If anyone has phone recommendations for a good phone and a budget phone, feel free to send it through.

      I was in your situation, all of this week, until today.
      So, I feel you.

      Good and best-bang-for-buck phones are the Motorola ones.
      Motorola is great value for their hardware and lightweight Android feel, however, the cameras are so-so.

      • What would you recommend for good cameras?

        • Phones with good cameras are the newer iPhones, Google Pixels, Samsung S2x series, Huawei Mate (forget which model) and don't forget the later Sony Xperia series (excellent camera).

          Usually, the good camera phones are quite expensive, ie. more than $1000.

          It just depends on what matters to you.

          Go to Youtube and check out the comparison videos between iPhone vs Pixel vs Samsung, and you can get an idea…and get more confused of which is "better", because some cameras are good for still images, others are good for videos, … and then others have better night-time performance, etc.

  • After doing some experiment today my conclusion is that this is a targeted block, possibly combination of provider and IMEI.

    My phone is Poco F3 dual sim with Amaysim 4G plan and a sim from overseas.

    It was working on 29th and lost signal on the 30th morning on both sim cards. Interestingly 000 call still rings, eliminating emergency call issue.

    My work number with Telstra and my wife's with Aldi Mobile works just fine with my Poco F3. No warning message, make calls and connects to 5G. Proving there is no issue with the device.

    Then I tried my Amaysim card with my work iPhone and my wife's Poco F4, same thing, works as normal. Proving there is no issue with the sim card or the plan

    The plot twist is Amaysim with my old Poco F1 that I bought overseas and it works!!!

    I believe there are genuine case where handsets will be affected because it relies on 3G. In my case it seems that providers are using this as an opportunity to force people buying a new mobile through them or push a plan up and customer pays more monthly.

    They offered $200 voucher for a phone but the biggest catch is that I have to up my plan from an old $12 a month which is more than sufficient for my daily use to $30 plan minimum. That's more than double the cost!

    • +2

      "Interestingly 000 call still rings, eliminating emergency call issue."
      Yes it would still ring as 3g as yet has not been shutdown and you don't need a working sim to ring 000

      "

    • +4

      It's so silly, at this point it feels like a gamble whether or not your overseas phone works.

    • -2

      Interestingly 000 call still rings, eliminating emergency call issue.

      STOP CALLING 000!!!

      The 3g service it not disable yet. It is completly expected to still work. Calling proves nothing but causes drama for the emergency services.

      No warning message, make calls and connects to 5G. Proving there is no issue with the device.

      Nope. Proves nothing. My daughters phone stopped getting that warning while calling as well. Seems most people did after the 28th. Tested a poco f3 over the last week and i never had that message when calling. they did however send an sms saying it will be blocked.

      Nothing you did shows your phone is capable of calling 000 once the 3g network is disabled.

    • +2

      Please email [email protected] - see the updated description in this post. Xiaomi has responded and are working on an update. The more people contacting them the better.

    • +1

      you can purchase a new $30 plan and cancel it after a month if you want to keep the $12

      • I had the same thought earlier today! This will be my next experiment. I bought Samsung A35 from Amaysim using the voucher I'll put in my $12 plan in it. If it is genuinely just a matter of handset then it should work.

        I do hope it doesn't go down the line "oh sorry the phone only works with 5G plan" or somewhere along that

    • UPDATE: my old Poco F1 was still working till past midnight, went to sleep then signal lost by the morning. Looks like Amaysim or Optus themselves run blocking script every night. Hunting for any phone models that Big 3 don't sell themselves or used to sell.

      To be honest if i'm working for them, I would probably do the same. Thousands of Android phone models to test and verify are just not practical. And hey if it helps with the bottom line why not! evilgrin

      Anyone has Poco F6 or Mi 14 and get blocked?

  • +4

    I have two s4 on same network. One blocked weeks ago one still connected. Lol

    • Lol

  • -3

    Bring on 6g.

  • +1

    Xiaomi mi10t stopped working today! Blacklisted. Catch network.

    • Have you got access to a Vodafone sim to try? My Xiaomi Mi 9T was working fine on Lebara (Voda) a couple of weeks ago but ported to Amaysim and it was blocked yesterday. I will be going back to Voda soon.

      • +1

        Can confirm Kogan Sim (Voda) works on mi10t.

    • Please email [email protected] - see the updated description in this post. Xiaomi has responded and are working on an update. The more people contacting them the better.

      • +1

        Not sure if update will work. It's the IMEI on fone that blocked by telco. Blacklisting most Chinese fone even with 5g.

        • +2

          If an update fixes the 000 issue, the next is for them to get it whitelisted by the carriers.

          • +1

            @Tuukmaak: God knows when they'll get around to doing that lol.

          • @Tuukmaak: Generally speaking, there is no 000 issue with their phones, that's the reply you will get from Xiaomi and other manufacturers, followed by "please contact your service provider".

            • @RiseAndRuin: Yes I got that response the first two times, then the first time, I got someone who finally understood.

  • +8

    My Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro was just blocked in Melbourne, Vic.

    I have no backup phone, so now not only can I not call 000, I can't call someone to call 000 for me.
    This is the most stupid legislation ever conceived and is nothing but a blatant ruse to force people to spend money.

    • My Redmi Note 9 Pro was blocked on Boost 28th, but still not blocked on Amaysim, Melbourne's outer East.
      Rsdmi 7 is also still going on Amaysim.

      • I'm on Amaysim FYI.

        • Don't think this matters, I expect these to be banned but I did enable VoLTE on both, did you do that as well?

    • Please email [email protected] - see the updated description in this post. Xiaomi has responded and are working on an update. The more people contacting them the better.

      • +2

        Done and sent it from my governmental email address.

        • +2

          done.

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