🇦🇺 3G network closure - Australia

[Sir_Crispy_FP5]

Hi All,

I just had a read of this thread and notice someone is having trouble with their eSIM on the Optus network.

SIM card doesn't work anymore

Hi everybody, I have a Fairphone 5 and I’m currently travelling to Australia. I took a SIM card here, from Optus, and it has veen working perfectly fine for the past two weeks. Tonight, Fairphone asked me to do a security update, which I did, and since then my SIM card doesn’t work. I get the message “SIM card 1 not autorized”. I tried to restart the phone but it’s still the same. I also tried to go on Airplane mode and then back: when I do this, the SIM card works for a few second (enough to …

I currently haven’t installed the latest update (FP5.UT2L.B.107) released on March 10th so I’m a little concerned about doing it at the moment.

Has anyone else had any issues with the eSIM after the latest update?

[NickHowson]

Imagine my horror finding this thread after seeing the “Sim 1 Not Allowed” on my brand new Fairphone5 I setup today.

Anyone invovled had any infomration back from any of the telco or TIO/ACMA type people?

Do I really need to swap to an optus network (yuk)?

[Jabarkis]

Hi Nick, I think it’d be worth lodging feedback/complaints with your current provider, if you have the time, but as far as I know, Optus and Vodafone networks both work with the FP5 (for now). I can only vouch for Optus, though.

[Sir_Crispy_FP5]

Hi Nick

I can image that, not the way you’d want your first experience the FP5 to go.

In summary my response from Telstra was poor, the complaints person I spoke to weren’t looking to change the way the do anything and had no idea if they were evening looking at changing it.

The TIO said they had no control in this situation with what the telcos where doing, but did help getting Telstra to pay me out so to speak.

There is still a case to be made though, the fact is the FP5 does have the technology/ability to work on there network but they are choosing not to test the phone (because they don’t sell it) or change anything on their to fix the situation.

My opinion on this: it allows Optus and Telstra to have a monopoly on the phone market in Australia.

I’ve only tested the FP5 on the Optus network, which works for me, although I’m not happy with the coverage I don’t have much choose.

[IainM]

Yeah I think this is the experience you should expect.

Fundamentally Telstra are not going to unblock FP5 until Fairphone can give them assurance that it works for emergency calling so they can tick the box to say they’re compliant with the law. TIO can’t/won’t interfere with something Telstra are doing to be legally compliant.

To Crispy’s point about monopoly power, if a handset maker is giving assurance that it’s compliant and Telstra are still blocking, then there’s an anticompetitive conduct case to take to the ACCC. But given we’ve bought a phone that Fairphone expressly make zero warranties about it working in Australia, we’re not in that scenario.

It’s not going to solve your issue now, but the other thing you can do is put some pressure on the Department for them to implement the vaguely mentioned rumours that they want to facilitate more centralised, systematic testing. This is probably best done via your local MP.

[ochorocho]

Good day ….
FYI, as of today (01.10.2025) my Fairphone 5 is working with Optus after ~1 week.
Optus may block the FP5 at anytime. So if you go to AUS, get a alternative phone!

This issue hit me rather unexpected.

[Sir_Crispy_FP5]

Hi @ochorocho

Optus may block FP5 but it seems unlikely, at this stage. I wouldn’t be suggesting people get another mobile device unless they wanted to be with another specific provided that doesn’t support FP5 on there network.

@Sir_Crispy_FP5

I have since received a text message and email from Optus, confirming my phone won’t be blocked and will be capable of making “000” call. It took a lot of calling Optus and making complaint with them to get this

[gorthaur]

Hi @Sir_Crispy_FP5,

So I just arrived in Australia, and so far my FP5 does not connect to anything… Am I understanding it right that I need to find a sim on the Optus carrier and it’ll work?

[IainM]

Optus and Vodafone should both work

[gorthaur]

Awesome! Thanks for the Info

[gorthaur]

Allright, in the event that someone else needs the info:

If the FP5 simply will not connect and you have a physical simcard from another country, remove that sim card.

I have an e-sim from vodaphone aus, and a physical sim from back home, and if the physical sim is in the phone, nothing will connect. Once it is removed, the aus e-sim works just fine

[Sir_Crispy_FP5]

Hi @gorthaur

Just wondering but did you try changing the priority of what services would be default for the eSIM vs the physical SIM? Or leaving the physical SIM in the phone but making it inactive?

[gorthaur]

Hey @Sir_Crispy_FP5

I did try changing the priority, but when the physical sim was inserted, the phone would not connect to any carrier whatsoever. I did not however try to disable the sim so I can’t say if that would have had an effect.

[SW1612]

Geez I wish I had found this thread back in March/April 2025 when I travelled to Australia with my relatively new FP5.

When I first arrived in Sydney my phone was working fine via global roaming. I’m with EE in the UK they roam with the Optus network. But then I noticed it kept getting kicked off and I’d have to restart it to connect again each time.

So I got a local Woolies eSIM (Telstra). And then it didn’t work at all… I was livid, and I couldn’t understand wtf was going on. But after reading through this thread (which a complete accident, I came to the forum today to find a solution for a camera problem!! Haha!), I think I understand what’s going.

I was told that because Europe uses 3G network for emergency calling in areas where there is no 4/5G cover that if my device tried to connect to 3G that it would just get blocked each time. This is the 000 issue I assume?? This would explain the challenges with roaming on Optus, but not the complete block with a Telstra network eSIM.

I didn’t realise that Telstra had specifically blocked the FP5!

I assumed I couldn’t get around the 3G emergency calling issue so I borrowed a phone from my mum, transferred the eSIM to that device and tethered it to my FP5 to use the data (so I could still receive WhatsApp calls/messages from my dog minder). It did not occur to me that if I removed my physical EE SIM, and used a different local network eSIM, that I could keep using my phone!

Thanks to everyone here for providing a solution. Hopefully I can use Optus or Vodafone successfully on my next trip back.

Now… I better go and see what can be done about this camera

[gorthaur]

Hey everyone, I have another update (Could be of interest to you @SW1612 )

As suggested by @Sir_Crispy_FP5, I put the SIM back into my phone and deactivated it. The phone then connected to the Vodaphone network with the e-SIM, all good. The good part is, that when I activated my home SIM again, it connected to the Vodaphone network as well and I managed to receive an SMS!

(Not sure if this makes a difference, but I put preferred call, sms, and data on the AUS SIM)

[Stefan1985]

Did anybody try a FP6 in Australia?

[IainM]

Interested to hear if anyone has, but I think it wouldn’t work.

The only reason FP4/5 aren’t blocked is because there were enough 000 calls on the logs from before the ban was created to show these phones can place 000 calls via native networks and via camp-on.

Models launched after the ban like FP6 will be blocked before they have any opportunity to demonstrate they work. So networks will continue to assume they don’t work. Especially with all the sensitivity in the media about phones and outages causing people not to be able to call 000.

[Bastian19961996]

https://isthisphoneblocked.net.au/ check this website. Optus should work.