‘Stop putting it off’: Aussies urged to make the 3G switch now, amid warnings of other devices impacted

Experts are warning people to stop stalling and make the switch to 4G networks as customers scramble to leave 3G with the shutdown deadline drawing closer. Two of Australia’s largest telcos, Telstra and Optus will be shutting down the 3G network on August 31 and September 1. Vodafone has already shut down its 3G network in January this year. The network has been around for over 20 years but has now been succeeded by 4G and 5G. However, a lot of devices still operate on the old 3G network, with both telcos and industry experts urging people to make the switch before the deadlines. Verison Connect’s Product Manager Paul Miller said the reason a lot of people are putting it off is due a lot of 3G reliant technology being “out of sight, out of mind”. “Whenever you think about that, you think about the consumer angle mobile phones, but actually, there’s a lot of technology that uses SIM cards in and hidden away,” Mr Miller said. “Vehicles are fitted with a tracking device to help monitor shipments, to help monitor on time services. And that piece of hardware may have been working for 10 years without any problems. “You’ve replaced the SIM but more than likely need to replace the whole piece of hardware. Think about a mobile phones, you pop one in and pop one out. But actually, the hardware that is in there may not support 4G. “A lot of our customers don’t know that piece of hardware is still there. And they don’t know what technology it is based on. Why would they? It’s just hidden away. So it’s kind of out of sight, out of mind to some degree.” Teletrac Navman’s Chief Product Officer Andrew Rossington told NewsWire it’s more than mobile and smart devices that will affected by the shutdown. “You’ve got everything from medical equipment and alerting type things, to anything that’s been around in the last couple of years. In the medical industry, that might be person down type of things so any of those personal devices linked to medical,” Mr Rossington said. “The world we live in, which is devices and vehicles and tracking, so telematics and such. There’s a lot of people lagging with those. Even payment systems (such as) EFTOPS and anything that potentially has been sitting there for years that people have forgotten about that might be monitoring safety or tank levels for fuel or security monitoring.” Having gone through a similar experience with customers over in the US, Mr Rossington has noticed a similar pattern of people leaving it to the last minute. “People are not paying attention to this they’re not seeing enough importance on this matter for us, so we’re seeing a lot of people coming late to the party,” he said. “Stop putting it off. We’re on a count down. Get that to the front of mind, get in touch with your provider. Whether that’s telematics or a phone provider, get on it now because come August 30, once you’re in a queue of people doing it, that queue is probably going to have a long tail.” For both Telstra and Optus customers who want to find out if their mobile device is affected, you can send a text to a number and you will receive a message from your provider. Telstra and Optus customers are advised to SMS 3 to 3498, with a spokesperson from both telecoms stating that they’ll support customers as much as they can. “Telstra have been communicating the closure of the network for nearly 5 years but understand there are a range of reasons why some people haven’t moved on. This two-month extension will give people more time to upgrade their devices,” Chris Taylor, Regional General Manager for Telstra said. “Optus is continuing to communicate directly with customers who we believe will be impacted by the closure of our 3G network from September 2024 to strongly encourage them to change their device,” Andrew Sheridan, Optus VP, Government and Regulatory Affairs said. What will be affected by the 3G shutdown – Mobile phones: iPhones 5, 5C and 5S, Google Pixel 2 XL, Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini, Samsung Galaxy S5, Nokia 301. – Smart watches: Apple Watch Series 3, 4 and 5, Galaxy Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2. – Tablets: iPad Air, iPad Retina, iPad mini Retina, iPad mini and mini 3. – Internet of Things: (IoT): EFTPOS terminals, Industrial routers, Scanners, Security monitoring, Telematics, Asset tracking, Personal emergency response solutions and Environment monitoring. – Other affected devices: Medical alarms, Home security alarms/devices