A tragic incident in Australia has highlighted the danger of using Android phones that no longer receive security or OS updates. According to an incident report, a Lebara customer was unable to dial 000 during a medical emergency because their unsupported Samsung Galaxy device failed to connect, despite no network outages. The person eventually reached emergency services using another phone, but paramedics arrived too late.
Samsung and major Australian carriers had already warned users about a known 000-dialing bug affecting older, unsupported models like the Galaxy S6 and S7, as well as a longer list of devices that require urgent updates — surprisingly including newer models like the Galaxy S21 series. Around 50,000 Samsung phones in Australia may currently be unable to call 000 unless updated.
The case underscores why security updates are essential: unsupported devices can develop critical failures that cannot be fixed. Networks plan to block affected models unless users update or upgrade to safer devices.
Source: 9to5Google
