Light Phone III devices to be blocked from the Vodafone network on October 27

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Australian Reddit users are reporting they’ve received notification from Vodafone that their Light Phone III will soon be blocked from the telco’s network.

Users report being told their phone will be blocked from calls, SMS and data on Tuesday, October 27 with the stated reason that “[Vodafone] haven’t been able to confirm it is configured to access emergency Triple Zero calling.  

Under Australian Federal Law, mobile network operators are required to block devices from their networks if they aren’t able to reliably call emergency services. 

A member of the Light team responded on the post and said they were working on connecting to the right people at Vodafone to resolve the issue.

A spokesperson for Light told WhistleOut: “Light is doing everything we can to ensure none of our Light Phone III Vodafone users in Australia experience any service disruptions by working with Vodafone directly to prove that our phone is capable of meeting these new emergency requirements, which the phone has always supported.” 

“As of today we are hopeful that Vodafone will work quickly to prevent unnecessary service disruption. We are also providing any impacted users with alternative options from other compatible carriers that they can consider switching to in the event that Vodafone delays this process beyond their deadline.”

A TPG Telecom spokesperson told WhistleOut that it has been in contact with Light since the first week start of October and is working with the manufacturer. 

“We are obligated to assess all mobile phones on our network,” said the spokesperson. “If we identify a phone that isn’t correctly configured to make emergency calls, we follow our regulatory obligations, give customers up to 35 days’ notice and then block it as required by law.”

“We’ve been in contact with Light Phone since October 8 and have requested a compliance declaration for the Light Phone III.”

Light Phone III users have reported no issues using either the Optus or Telstra networks. 

Dylan Crismale

Dylan Crismale is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut, has been writing for almost a decade across a variety of Australian publications. He previously worked as a writer at Finder covering energy, internet and mobile plans. Dylan is passionate about finding the best deals to save people money and educating people about tech. When he’s not sat at his desk Dylan loves working out, bingeing TV and hanging out with friends.​

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