Youāve probably already discovered this but: mine was working fine until someone tries to call me or I tried to place a call; then calls, text and data would be blocked and a notification would say āNo voice service or emergency calling: your provider has temporarily blocked this serviceā. I eventually fixed it by enabling VoLTE and Iāve had no issues since, but I am concerned I wouldnāt be able to call 000 Iām still researching whether FP3 is unable to place emergency calls over VoLTE.
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Hi Mac
Itās only a response from a support ticket, so it may not be as authoritative as youād like, but this was the answer I got from fairphone support after they consulted their tech experts back in 2024:
Hi Iain,
Thank you for your patience.
After checking this further with my team I have some additional information I would like to share.
Emergency Calling over IMS (VoLTE) is not supported on the FP3(+) and there are currently no plans to support this.
We are in continuous communication with our partners in Europe to support these features when needed (see VoLTE & VoWi-Fi). However, most network operators who choose to shut down 3G keep 2G activated as a backup for emergency calling, to ensure support for legacy devices that do not support these features.
We cannot guarantee support for these features outside of Europe at this time.
I hope this helps further, please let me know if you have any additional questions.
Kind regards
The unfortunate reality is that if having high confidence that 000 will work is important to you, then you should probably use a phone that is sold in Australia where the manufacturer is required to make warranties that emergency calling on our networks has been tested. Fairphone explicitly make no warranties about any functionality outside of Europe.
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the interesting thing is that also European countries start to shut down 2G plus 3G giving people troubles with emergency calling (currently happening in Sweden, affecting also roaming) and it might be that hopefully FP works on this with some kind of emergency and this might even help non-supported countries in the future.
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I didnāt notice this problem, but upon checking I can see that VoLTE was already enabled for me.
One other thing that I have noticed is that at times my connection to the optus network is disallowed, as well as for my German sim (roaming, German provider is winsim). I think this happens when I go into a spot with no coverage. When I am back in coverage the connections are disallowed, it says something like emergency calling only. Restarting the phone or enabling and then disabling flight mode solves the problem. Here in Geelong I havenāt had this problem, it happens in more rural areas.
Yeah, 000 calling is not a priority for me. I actually have a Nokia 2720 with an aldimobile sim, using the Telstra network. On it i regularly get notifications that because it doesnāt use Telstraās main frequency (700 MHz) I have limitted coverage and may not be able to call 000. But so far there is no threat from Telstra of blocking that phone.
Hi all,
I am using a FP5 here in Melbourne, and got the message via my provider (Optus) yesterday that the phone is considered āunsafeā and will be disconnected from the network on 10 March 2026ā¦
This seems to be due to Optus not recognising that the FP5 supports 4G VoLTE for emergency calls, so same issue that happened with Telstra already in 2024.
Any advice or help?
(Feeling quite frustrated at the momentā¦)
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Odd.
Have a look what it says on Optusā device checker https://www.optus.com.au/support/checkdevice
For the first 8 digits of my IMEI (which should be the same as the first 8 digits of yours) it still says FP5 is not blocked. It does say as at 27/01 so change isnāt impossible, but is very unlikely.
Questions floating around in my head ā¦
Have you installed your SIM in any other devices recently? There can be some lag in some of these messages. Does the message from Optus specifically name the FP5? Are you sure the message is from Optus not spam? Are you sure the issue relates to emergency calling?
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Hi All,
Iām using a Fairphone 5 on the Optus network. This forum has been helpful for me.
Sadly I got a text message from Optus today that they are go block my phone:
IMPORTANT: Hi there, Optus is legally required to stop unsafe devices from accessing the Optus mobile network if they canāt make calls to Emergency Services (i.e. ā000ā & ā112ā). Based on our latest assessment, your FAIRPHONE 5 5G on service number ######## has been identified as unsafe and will be blocked by Optus from 10/03/2026. This means you wonāt be able to make or receive calls/text or use mobile data. You immediately need to get a new compatible device to stay connected. Please do not test call Emergency Services. This is not an effective test of your deviceās emergency calling capability. Weāre here to help and have a range of options available for you. Call us on 133 937 or visit us in store. More info or to check device compatibility, visit optus.com.au/mobilesafety Disregard this message if you have recently upgraded to a compatible 4G/5G device.
Do others have the same problem?
Did anyone get confirmation that Fairphone 5 will work with Optus after 10th March 2026?
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āThis is not an effective test of your deviceās emergency calling capability.ā
This sentence shows how ridiculus this whole situation is. They say even if you can call emergency services and it works fine we know it better and block your device because we belive that it is not compatible. This happens when dumb politicans make dumb laws. But as we see in sweden no idea is to bad to copy itā¦ At the moment the only thing you can do is contact your provider, and hope that it is a false alert. If not you have not many options to do anything against it. The last option to stay with FP5 in Australia is to use the only provider it seems to work with at the moment Vodafone. But to be honest because of this dumb law they can block it anytime too. At this website https://isthisphoneblocked.net.au/ you can submit your experience if the FP5 is blocked and important sign the petiton to show the politicans how dumb their decision was.
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It may be worth writing to our federal Members of Parliament (you can find your MP here: https://electorate.aec.gov.au/) and relevant senators. They are typically useless and will give boilerplate responses, but sufficient public outcry (about the phone blocking in general, not just about Fairphone) may have an effect that just contacting providers will not.
Regardless of political affiliation, it may be more effective to contact Greens senators, given they hold the balance of power in the upper house and have an ideological objection to creating e-waste. They also tend to be a bit more savvy about technology. I had very sympathetic responses from my Green MP about the Fairphone situation on Telstra last year.
Providers may be encouraged to give a proper response if we cite that we have contacted senators and reps.
There may be other government and pseudo-governmental agencies worth contacting, as well, like the Ombudsman, or even ACMA or the ACCC.
Itās a while since Iāve looked into this, and all I recall is buck-passing (and limited resources, in fairness), but asking Fairphone if theyāre willing to do whatever manufacturers need to do to get their devices cleared in Australia might be an idea
Hi,
The message FPUserAus shared is word for word the same message I got, with the change that I am with amaysim - so replace the first Optus with amaysim, and thatās it.
Thanks to Jabarkis and Bastian for all the ideas to lobby for a change. Even though I guess the system is moving too slow to get this turned around within 5 weeks, Iāll give it a try.
Yep Same message as others. Amaysim and I believe all Optus resellers will be getting turned off. Same thing that happened to Telstra resellers.
I dint realise thereās a 3rd company with mobile infrastructure in AU. Vodaphone/TPG (BTW who is the main who and is the reseller?).
The day after the SMS I forced Vodafone to let me try a sim in-store. They were so confused and did not get what I was trying to explain.
It seemed to work from my quick test. I also got 5G icon, I canāt remember that happening on other providers. I tired to msg3 to 3498 but the response said it indicated I was on a iPhone 14 Pro. I assume this was the device the sim was last in ā¦ if not then it MIGHT be good news for us. Though believe thereās not much point with the tests as the FP5 DOES technically support all the Gov requirements for VoLTE and 00, its just the Telcos not wanting to support FP5 (someone correct me if im wrong) and dropping support for its modem.
In store I bought a cheap Vodafone $2 sim with $10 credit. It will last for 7 days after activation. So my plan is the same as the Telstra cutoff. Wait for Optus to shut down the FP5 then see if the sim works. Then get a cheaper resellers for Vodafone/TPG (felixmobile seemed cheapest).
For how LONG until this last network gets shut down, who knows. Especially as there is some sort of agreement with Vodafone/TPG to fallback to Optus infrastructure.
The most annoying thing, beyond it being a new device I expected to have for years. Is that I could just use data and not worry about calls or sims. So itās frustrating that Telstra and now Optus will deny EVERYTHING so it canāt even be used for a data only device.
If anyone is on Vodafone/TPG or a reseller and gets a cutoff notification, let us know ASAP.
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Another potential politician to write to: Anika Wells, the Minister for Communications. Her official email: Anika.Wells.MP[at]aph.gov.au
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āMe tooā. I just got my text message. FP5, Optus.
Yippee.
TPG and Vodafone merged in 2020. So thereās no reseller here. Both are just brands used by TPG Telecom (the merged entity).
its just the Telcos not wanting to support FP5 (someone correct me if im wrong) and dropping support for its modem.
I disagree with this assessment. There is no support to drop. The handset has to support the network more than the other way around.
I think what weāre seeing is Optus tightening its risk tolerance on 000 calling due to egg on their face from multiple public incidents involving failed 000 calling.
FP5 meets the standards required to expect that emergency calling will work in Australia. But there is no certified testing lab signing their name to the fact that emergency calling actually works, and no manufacturer warranting and agreeing to rectify any faults that are detected.
Optusā recent experience with Samsung devices that were expected to do emergency calling properly but didnāt has shaken them. It was the support of the manufacturer that helped them identify and resolve this. So I think theyāve decided the FP5 situation is too risky for them.
So itās frustrating that Telstra and now Optus will deny EVERYTHING so it canāt even be used for a data only device.
Agree this is frustrating. But this is not the choice of the networks. This is a requirement of new regulation sprung on the industry by the Minister for Telecommunications in the final weeks prior to the 3G switch off. Refer other posts - it would be a good idea to correspond with the Minister about this, especially since that portfolio has changed hands between then and now.
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Got that message from Amaysim a few days ago - the Optus device checker at the time said that it wasnāt going to be blocked, so I emailed Amaysim support to see if there was going to be issues. They got back to me (and were beyond useless, basically just regurgitated the text they sent), and I checked the device checker again,
āDevice to be Blocked
Unfortunately, based on the number you entered, the FAIRPHONE 5 5G has been identified as having compatibility issues and will be blockedā
Biggest deepest sigh. I got this phone specifically to be used long term. 
According to https://isthisphoneblocked.net.au/, the FP6 isnāt to be blocked - but Iām not sure how much I trust that, given that a couple of days ago the FP5 was fine.
I think Iāll just have to get a different phone for now, and see what compatibility is like in a year or so.
Please write to the minister, mosswizard and everyone else affected. I posted her email above. Iām awaiting my inevitable deactivation text before sending my letters.
It does make me think that they could get around this with a simple waiver, like: āWeāve identified that your device may not be compatible with emergency calling. Reply with YES to acknowledge that continued use of your device is at your own risk.ā
I guess the hole in that approach is that someone else might grab your phone in an emergency and try to make an emergency call from the lock screen.
Out of interest (and hopefully not!) has any FP user actually tried to make an emergency call? What happened? If we had even anecdotal evidence of compatibility that might be useful in advocating against deactivation
Some knowledgeable person may have discussed this earlier in the thread, but do we know what Fairphone would actually need to do to get their phones cleared in Australia? Are the costs astronomical for a small manufacturer?
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I have pulled my phone out of my pocket to discover it was connected to 000. I spoke to the operator, apologised for the pocket dial, confirmed there was no emergency and promptly ended the call.
That call was at home, with TPG coverage, so I assume was placed via my registered network (TPG). It was some months after the 3G shutdown, so I assume it was placed via 4G. I havenāt had any intentional or accidental occasions of calling 000 from a location without TPG coverage that would need to rely on emergency camp-on to Optus or Telstra networks. This is also the scenario where issues more commonly crop up.
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Speaking to Optus customer support it sounded like they were asking people of Samsung devices to update their operating system to Android 15.
They customer support agent was really surprised that Fairphone 5ās were being blocked. He looked up the brand and saw that itās a modern 5G phone and gets software updates till 2031.
He suggested to contact Fairphone to for a software update with the right settings for the them. So it sounds like a small setting change. Hopefully Fairphone can come back soon with a resolution. Iāll keep the forum posted.
Btw, looks like this forum has been a useful knowledge base for other Fairphone users, with Sweden being in the same situation.
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Just got mine:
āIMPORTANT: Optus is legally required to block devices that canāt call emergency services. Your FAIRPHONE 5 5G used on [phone number] has been identified as unsafe, as it may not be able to connect to the Vodafone mobile network to make calls to emergency services in rare cases when Optus & Telstra networks are unavailable. Please urgently check if the software on your device is up to date to Android version 13 or higher, otherwise it may be blocked by Optus, beginning 02/03/2026. Need help? Visit optus.com.au/ecsupdate. Ignore this if youāve already updated to compliant software.ā
I havenāt compared the wording with othersā messages, but the āmay be blockedā if itās on older Android versions seems kind of loose. Iām updated to Android 15, and Iāll be enquiring with my provider/escalating to Optus sometime this week.
Itās also pretty rough not to provide even a monthās notice!
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Same here (Amaysim):
Your device Fairphone 5 on [phone number] has been identified as unsafe, as it is not able to make calls to Emergency Services (i.e. ā000ā & ā112ā). Please do not test call Emergency Services. This is not an effective test of your deviceās emergency calling capability.
For your safety, amaysim is legally required to stop this device from accessing the Optus mobile network. From 10/03/2026 your device will be blocked by amaysim, which means you wonāt be able to make or receive calls/text or use mobile data.
You immediately need to get a new compatible device to stay connected.