Help! VoLTE Australia emergency calling CMF phone not recognised on latest eOS

@helpVoLTEAU here’s a table view for the Nothing brand. Basically the same info you already concluded: Nothing Devices - Network Support Table | Is this Phone Blocked? - 4G/5G Device Blocking Checker

James Parker (@jamesdwho) did exhaustive testing with 2016/2017-era chips and .mbn modem configs the last year. Quite a rabbit hole. He gave an interview to Hugh Jeffreys channel. Both came up in Australia threads here on this topic before:

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Hey @helpVoLTEAU any chance you could email me screenshots of the messages you’ve been receiving? Check my Medium article linked in the other comment by @tcecyk for details etc.

Also what is the IMEI-SV that is displayed in the Phone settings? (SV = Software Version)

The Nothing CMF 1 is AMTA Whitelisted (provided you have the 35174083 TAC) and should be supported on every provider. They are also all whitelisted on Telstra. (Not Blocked)

However it’s possible that whitelisting has been assigned to a specific minimum software version.

The /e/OS Build on your device may be reporting to the network a software version number lower than the minimum that Vodafone accepts as ‘supported’ despite the phone being capable of Emergency Calling.

Though the only way to know if Emergency Calls still actually work with /e/OS is to place a real emergency call, as outlined below.

The Little Known Problems with VoLTE Emergency Calling
https://medium.com/@jamesdwho/the-little-known-problems-with-volte-emergency-calling-3d4cdaf0e042

There is also a petition about this issue which is linked on the previously posted Medium articles.

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Hi everyone! Thank you all once again, this has been super enriching and a lot of learning, even though I’m a bit nervous of the phone being blocked, I am actually quite happy to be learning lots of new things! Apologies again in advance for this long message:

@JamesDwho: I have just had a read of the Medium piece! It’s an outstanding piece of tech journalism, and an exceptionally interesting read, thank you for writing this and putting it out there! :star_struck::star::100: I’m reading through your other resources and it’s been most fascinating, thank you for the advocacy in this space! :star::star::star: I am tempted to reach out to my local member (but I am unsure if I have the knowledge to hold my ground, I’ll have a think).

gosh, I was particularly shocked to see how poor Vodafone is! (e.g. from your article “as Vodafone did not sell this model of device […] they do not recognise that it supports both VoLTE Calling and Emergency calling”! and for Optus even if they “didn’t sell a phone or test it, it’s blocked, even if it’s a supported hardware model” even for their officially supported models!!

Something I noticed from your ‘isthisphoneblocked’ link and from @tcecyk as well (thank you also for the great message!) is that most of that ‘Vodafone Status’ column is set to ‘Unknown’! And where it is filled in, it’s from the AMTA resource! … I got that impression when I tried to call them and asked who I needed to contact to request an update their list of supported devices, the guy said very coldly and harshly that it was impossible and that I needed to buy a new phone…

Going in-store to Vodafone yesterday, they also didn’t really know what was going on either, and I’m separate with Lebara. Not the store attendant’s fault, the branch manager told me they weren’t really well-informed from their higher-ups on what is going on either (which is a bit telling imo)… It just seems really poorly implemented by the telco?

Anyways: my CMF Phone 1 TAC is luckily the one which isn’t blocked by AMTA or other providers in that list (yep, it’s the one you mentioned James). My IMEI-SV is 12. It’s interesting to read about the eOS build perhaps not being reported to the network as the minimum required - everyone I’ve spoken to who has asked about what software I’m using had no idea what eOS was though, so, perhaps that’s not a great sign anyways.

Interestingly @JamesDwho I haven’t received an SMS for this swap since shifting to the CMF Phone 1 (perhaps Lebara unlike their background Vodafone service is recognising the TAC and its compatibility? - anyways, will let you know if I receive an SMS version of the message). That is:: the warning I’m getting is only on the phone when I try and place a call, it’s read out! (and it’s signed off by Vodafone rather than Lebara). It was a different speech until recently when they said the phone would be ‘blocked’ that I started to panic and that was the night I started this thread.

I can’t seem to attach a video to this forum post but I’m happy to email it to you (or I’ll see if I can upload it somewhere and then post here) and to chat further of course. This has all been very interesting and moreso I worry for elder citizens in my community who may be in the same boat but are likely to be pestered to upgrade to a phone they do not want (just a guess, I don’t think it would be an unlikely situation!)

Thank you all so very much for the interesting discussion and assistance! :100::bouquet:

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Here you go! Filmed the message for you @JamesDwho. :]
Am calling Lebara here, but it happens whenever I call anyone, even my family.
(You’ll have to excuse the poor qual., filmed it on an older phone).
Hope the link works:

(Extra note: It’s been more than 48 hours since I updated, in fact, my update to the current eOS (3.1.4) was last Saturday (which is when I first called Lebara about it), so it’s been 5 days at least without the message dismissing. I’ll note that the “Once you’ve completed the software update…” etc. announcement of 24-48 hours was only recently added (on 30th Tuesday evening), whereas the rest of this (new) speech has been present since Monday evening (29th). The speech before this one (older one) I don’t remember when it started (I think since last Monday 22nd? Not sure. That one had no mention of ‘blocking’ (which is when I started getting worried!), just told me to update to the ‘latest software’ to make emergency calls).

((Edit 2: I have just worked up some courage and contacted my local MP by phone as suggested at the end of the article, they took down a note of the situation. I don’t feel I explained what was happening very well, but, I’ve tried. They gave me another number to ring but I didn’t catch who it was.))

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Thanks for sending that through including the video link. It’s quite helpful to have that.

Since the 3G shutdown in October last year there isn’t much visibility of what’s going on anymore with devices and notification to customers.

There are a whole range of issues around compliance with the Government’s Blocking Legislation and regulators are aware of the problems.

But the issues haven’t yet been addressed, it remains to be seen if they ever will. As per the below ABC Article.

Also, if you text ‘3’ to the number ‘3498’ in your SMS app what does it say?

Vodafone is the only provider still maintaining their SMS ‘Compatibility Checker’ tool. It should say if the phone is ‘compatible’ or not.

Vodafone also do not have a public IMEI/TAC checker tool either, unlike Telstra and Optus. So there is basically know real visibility with what’s blocked. Let alone why. (That’s true of all of them).

Generally speaking the carriers have made a lot of assumptions and shortcuts, particularly for phones they didn’t sell or their partners didn’t sell.

They also have very poor data for what actually works and doesn’t.

The telcos also continue to block perfectly compatible phones that support Emergency Calling on every network that follow global standards, whilst not blocking all devices that don’t work.

There are basically zero recourses for consumers that have had 4G/5G phones blocked in error.

People were put out of pocket hundreds to thousands of dollars for new phones, many of which they didn’t need to buy.

Tens to hundreds of Millions in extra costs have been borne by consumers for what was by all accounts a mismanaged and premature network transition.

Hugh Jeffreys - Australia’s New Firewall IMEI BLOCKED 516,875 Active Phones Overnight + Tourists Phones Blocked - YouTube

I suspect that perhaps with the recent Optus 000 issues, and some other things I am aware of, that the telcos might be turning up the dial on anything they think might be incompatible for any reason. (Though the Optus issue was a network failure, not directly a device issue.)

Again there is no visibility or transparency with what’s blocked and why. Nor why the telcos continue to block devices that work for Emergency Calling on every 4G network.

Phones that require 3G for Emergency Calls will never connect when calling 000, the phone will stay stuck on ‘calling’ forever. (As shown in the above Hugh Jeffreys YouTube Video).

If your phone is going to be blocked there are strict requirements under legislation regarding notification periods, and they also must provide you information on ‘low or no cost’ alternatives.

(Though there isn’t any requirement to provide ‘like-for-like’ replacements, I also don’t think the legislation covers anything regarding blocking phones the telcos think need updating)

Also for reference the AMTA value (Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association) for the Vodafone result on the ITPB site is basically Whitelisting result for the Australian Market. (Vodafone have no Checker tool, so there is nothing else I could scrape.)

‘Nothing/CMF’ have gone through the formal processes to ensure that model is Allowed and whitelisted on Australian networks. However that whitelisting for whatever reason might be subject to a minimum software version. (IMEI-SV) (Somewhat dumb considering the device would likely work out of the box with all FW versions)

It would be helpful to know what the stock Firmware IMEI-SV value is and compare if it’s higher than the ‘12’ you have.

Realistically that’s the only likely element that it could be, given device IMEI information that can be checked by the providers.

Telstra also uses the IMEI-SV information to force outbound messages on “Not Blocked” devices.

Though generally I believe this says “You may have reduced network connectivity and will not always be able to call 000, for your safety upgrade to a compatible device now, call Telstra for more.”

I don’t think Optus uses IMEI-SV for anything.
So you might be able to switch to Optus (or an Optus MVNO) and not have any issues.

Again the IMEI-SV is a very poor indicator of the software capabilities of a device, particularly for anything that’s not an iPhone.

Looking online as well, some other people have reported getting the same message with Samsung Galaxy S20’s, also on Vodafone/Lebara.

Thread on ozbargain called “Phone to Be Blocked Due to Lack of Software Update” from the 30th.

ozbargain.com.au/node/926352

I’m going to look into this a bit more because this concerning.

I would also suggest that you write to the Federal Communications Minister about this issue as well as formally writing to your Local MP. Only complaints can change this.

You should also write to the Mobile Regulator (ACMA) and the Consumer Regulator (ACCC), as you bought the phone locally. (Signing the Change. org Petition also helps)

I wouldn’t necessarily mention or focus on that you are running e/os, you are entitled to do so, it’s your phone, but you may get ignored if you focus on it. You are just running Android.

Just be sure it can actually call 000 and that e/OS hasn’t broken anything (see previous Medium post). Given people with S20’s are getting the same message it indicates to me something IMEI-SV related is going on, nothing with e/OS specifically. (Probably)

There seems to be some panic responses going on, at least perhaps anyway.
Which given what I know isn’t a surprise but is again of concern.

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Thank you so much @JamesDwho! Your message is so comprehensive, I’ve learnt so much, and the knowledge of the situation you have is really fantastic!! Glad to have passed on the video, you can use it for anything you like.

oh! thank you for pointing that out also, yes, I’ve recently realised that most of these resources are indeed dated from last year - which is weird that we’re now in 2025 and it seems the teclos still(!) haven’t sorted themselves out! … doesn’t bode well I feel…

On that note: as for texting the ‘3’ to 3498… a most peculiar response. Even though I texted today (three technical replicates at different times for good measure, same response on all three)… it’s dated 03 Oct 2024 (it’s the right day, but wrong year!), and the checked has logged my old device (which was indeed an iPhone 8 at the time dated there), despite texting from my current CMF Phone 1! So, I have no idea if the following ‘Good news’ 4G/5G compatibility message actually is genuinely for the CMF Phone i’m on, or whether it’s stuck with the iPhone 8 from one year ago as the message before it implies…

maybe I should ring Vodafone again and ask to check the IMEI? (but, I feel I’ll probably be treated by them same as last time: not a customer, not their problem :pensive:)

It’s just so upsetting to see the current state of the telcos blocking compatible phones, especially those videos/mentions in articles you’ve sent through about international phones/travellers. I absolutely worry about our elders indeed and other consumers who are buying new phones when they either don’t need to, or are scared into doing, especially after how I’ve been treated by some of the service staff on the helplines. :frowning: the lack of transparency by them is awful!

Interesting to learn about the IMEI-SV! If you make any progress on that re: out-of-box firmware and how that might come into play with these IMEI-checkers being done on their end, I would love to read about it !! I am learning so much about it from this.

I did a practice-dial of 000 (and hung up of course before it went through), but I seemed to be patched through perfectly fine (acknowledging today is before the 7th, and this isn’t the NetMonster-style test that you had on that Scribe, which, if you would like that information, I can have a crack at giving that method a shot?). In the meantime, contemplating a panic-swap to Optus (especially considering @JustinKnol’s very kind testing earlier seems like perhaps it might be okay). I’m not sure I’ll be able to organise it in time though, and their plans are more expensive than Lebara. I’ll have to do some thinking if I can sneak in a swap or take a risk of blocking! (I just don’t wish to lose my telnumber is all, or have to switch to another number because of all this).

The ozbargain link is very interesting to read other people go through this as well, thank you. I worry so many of our phones which are compatible might be blocked from the incompetence of the telcos. I’m so shocked and disappointed at how badly the telco companies are handling this (perhaps I had more hope they would do their jobs more thoroughly and properly because I am younger and naive, but, still, it’s a bit awful and heartbreaking that this is actually happening how the world is :pensive:).

Anyways - happy to help out in any way. In the meantime, I’ll live the very much Schrodinger’s Cat situation of this all whether I will or won’t get blocked on the 7th despite seemingly having a capable device. I’ve just submitted an ACCC complaint thank you. Next, I’ll write to the federal comms minister. (Perhaps you should reach out to the ABC TV station @JamesDwho ! You have such excellent expertise on this matter, and considering the urgency of the situation for many, hopefully they’d be able to get your work out there or something (but, understandable if not of course, it’s not always the best way)).

Thank you for your amazing work JamesDWho!
(And thanks to all our international participators of this chat too so far - I guess it is an insight into Australia’s current situation, hopefully not too much of this will happen in your futures. Perhaps it is beyond eOS after all, even if I have “updated to the latest software” as the phone-warning keeps saying to me). Have a lovely evening! :stars::crescent_moon:

Out of curiosity, how long has your Lebara sim been in the CMF?

Vodafone’s SMS checker tool doesn’t update in real time and it can take up to about a month for the results to change. Texting multiple times on the same day won’t change the result.

(However the outbound call message/warning is more instantaneous)

The most recent Vodafone SMS result I currently have (at the time of writing) is from 5 September 2025.

If your device does end up being blocked, or call restricted you will have to go through Lebara. However Lebara is owned by TPG, and TPG is the company that owns Vodafone. But technically you’re not a Vodafone customer.

Let me know what if anything happens on the 7th.

Unfortunately many have found their telco customer support completely unhelpful, often the people at the other end of the line will just make stuff up and generally have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.

Many people were forced to upgrade to devices they didn’t need to buy even if the phone works for Emergency Calling.

If you do want to switch to the Optus network you don’t necessarily have to go with Optus directly. You could go with an MVNO (Virtual Provider) that uses their network such as Amaysim (Amaysim is owned by Optus).

Amaysim sim cards can also be purchased from Officeworks, Supermarkets etc.

They are a ‘low cost’ option like Lebara. You also can port your current phone number over if you chose to register the sim that way.

Also for reference I’ve been in numerous ABC Articles previously and on Live ABC News 24 as well.

I was also a witness at the 3G Network Shutdown Senate Inquiry last year and I am named in both the Interim Inquiry Report and the (2023) Optus Outage Inquiry Report.

YouTube - Senate Inquiry — Shutdown of the 3G mobile network | 23/07/2024 – 2hrs 10m - James Parker



Hi,

I received this today as a text message from Amaysim in Australia. They run off Optus.

Thought it might be of interest:

“amaysim: IMPORTANT - Hi , amaysim needs to stop unsafe devices from accessing the Optus mobile network if they can’t make calls to Triple Zero over 4G VoLTE. Based on our latest assessment, your Samsung Galaxy S7 on service number ########## has been identified as unsafe, and will be blocked from 24/11/2025. You won’t be able to make or receive calls/text or use mobile data. You need to get a new compatible device to stay connected. We’re here to help and have a range of options available for you. Call us on 1300 808 300. More info at Important Changes To The Optus 3G Network | amaysim . Please disregard this message if you have upgraded to a compatible 4G/5G device.”

…….

I don’t know what to do. I certainly do not want a gooooglised phone. e/OS Murena for me !!

Now I have to hunt for a phone that will be able to use e/OS and also be VoLTE. Any suggestions are welcome.

Do the Murena Phones run in Australia?

Peace

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