The first sign something was wrong came late on Friday afternoon. Now we have a clearer picture of how the triple-0 outage unfolded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do triple-0 calls work if there’s no mobile signal?<\/p>\n
No.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If at least one network covers the area you’re in, your phone call will go through.<\/p>\n
But if you’re calling triple-0 on a mobile phone, it won’t work if no mobile provider covers that area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“If there is no mobile coverage on any network, you will not be able to reach the Emergency Call Service via a mobile telephone,” the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) website says<\/a>.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter whether you dial 000 or 112 \u2014 the call will not go through if you’re using a mobile phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n “There is a misconception that 112 calls will be carried by satellite if there is no mobile coverage,” the DHA says.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Satellite phones use a different technology and your mobile phone cannot access a satellite network.”<\/p>\n People in Australia should call triple-0 in a life-threatening situation.\u00a0 (ABC RN\/Cathy Johnson)<\/p>\n But, depending on what kind of phone you have, there might be ways to connect to emergency services in remote locations.\u00a0<\/p>\n “There are some new innovations, such as Apple\u2019s Emergency SOS over satellite that enable customers with an iPhone 14 or newer to text and have their needs relayed to triple-0,” the ACMA spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “This service works when a phone is outside normal mobile coverage.”<\/p>\n What does 112 do?<\/p>\n It’s an international standard emergency number, routing callers through to the same call centre as triple-0 calls.\u00a0<\/p>\n In certain countries \u2014\u00a0like Australia \u2014\u00a0if you dial 112, you’ll be automatically connected to that country’s emergency phone service.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can only dial 112 on a digital mobile phone.<\/p>\n “It does not require a SIM card or pin number to make the call, however phone coverage must be available (any carrier) for the call to proceed” the DHA website says<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the DHA warns people that dialling 112 doesn’t give callers priority.\u00a0<\/p>\n “There is no advantage to dialling 112 over triple-0,” the department says.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Calls to 112 do not go to the head of the queue for emergency services, and it is not true that it is the only number that will work on a mobile phone.”<\/p>\n The same goes for network outages.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Both numbers operate on the same networks, and there will be no difference in their availability during outages,” the ACMA spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n What about 3G or 4G phones?<\/p>\n People who still have mobile phones that operated on the 3G network or some 4G devices won’t be able to call triple-0 from those phones.\u00a0<\/p>\n That’s due to the 3G network being shut down last year<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n