Person dies after Triple Zero failure on outdated Samsung phone

TPG Telecom has revealed that on 13 November 2025, a customer in Sydney using the company’s Lebara phone service on a Samsung device could not make Triple Zero calls on the TPG Telecom mobile network. As a result, a person tragically lost their life.

TPG Telecom said it was informed of the incident at 5.22 pm on 17 November, following advice from NSW Ambulance. At the time of the attempted contact to the Triple Zero service, the TPG Telecom mobile network was operational and no outages were occurring.

Early investigations indicate that the failed calls were due to the customer’s Samsung device operating on software that was not compatible with making Triple Zero calls on the network. It was recently revealed that certain older Samsung devices require a software update to enable Triple Zero functionality on TPG Telecom’s mobile network, while some devices that were released at least seven years ago need to be replaced altogether.

TPG Telecom said that, when it became aware of this issue last month, the company communicated with customers to urgently update affected devices. Handsets not updated are blocked after a period of 28–35 days from the first contact to the customer, as required under new regulations. The most recent communication to customers with impacted devices was sent on 7 November.

“This is a tragic incident, and our condolences and thoughts are with the individual’s family and loved ones,” said TPG Telecom Managing Director and CEO Inaki Berroeta.

“Access to emergency services is critical. We urge all customers with outdated software to replace or update their devices without delay to ensure they can reach Triple Zero in an emergency.”

TPG Telecom said it had notified the Minister for Communications, the NSW Government, the ACMA, the Triple Zero Custodian, and other relevant government and regulatory bodies of this incident. The ACMA has said it is currently gathering information to establish the facts of the matter and will investigate to assess whether there has been any noncompliance with the Triple Zero rules.

The CEO of communications consumer body ACCAN, Carol Bennett, meanwhile said the incident raises serious concerns about whether Australia’s emergency call ecosystem is functioning as it should, noting that rules introduced in 2024 were meant to prevent exactly this kind of failure.

“Public safety is at risk despite clear obligations on telcos to identify affected devices, notify customers and block unsafe handsets,” Bennett said. “If those obligations were not met, Australians deserve answers. Confidence in the ACMA’s oversight has been shaken, and there must be full transparency about whether compliance monitoring has been adequate.

“Ongoing investigations by the Senate and regulator must take into account this latest fatality. We need a rigorous examination of handset-network compatibility, regulatory enforcement, and the safeguards that are supposed to keep Australians safe.”

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Chair of the Senate inquiry into Triple Zero service outage, said the fact that this latest incident occurred so soon after September’s Optus Triple Zero outage shows that the Triple Zero system is clearly not fit for purpose.

“There is no excuse for Triple Zero calls to fail and ultimately it is up to the government to ensure that all Australians are able to connect to emergency services when they need them,” Hanson-Young said.

“ACMA cannot be left to carry out the investigations into these issues alone. They have already demonstrated that they are not up to regulating the big telcos and that they have been asleep at the wheel when it comes to issues with Triple Zero.

“The Senate inquiry into Triple Zero service outage will hold another hearing in December and will be closely looking at this latest issue.”

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