Given the latest Optus debacle, are there reliable alternatives to reaching 000 if the call on your mobile network fails? Does switching off the sim work? (calls without sim to 000 should be automatically picked up by any available carrier).
Will dedicated apps eg St John First Responder make calls via mobile data instead?
Others Ways to Call 000?
Browsers on 20/09/2025 - 19:22
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Merged from Optus 000 Network Issue, Anyway around It?
The Optus 000 issue is back in the news. As this concerns emergency calls, I'm wondering whether there is a reliable workaround when 000 fails to connect. For instance, if the SIM card is removed, could the phone latch onto another network (e.g., Telstra) and successfully place a 000 call? Could someone with telecom expertise please confirm? Thank you.
Remove the Sim.
You have a SIM tool ready at hand?
Good luck to all Samsung and iPhone users.
No, I'm not with Optus so I don't have this issue. Anyone with Optus should keep the sim pin in their phone case.
Yep, have had one in my wallet since the 3GS in 2008.
On a dual sim phone you can disable all the sims. To emergency services it looks like you're calling without a sim in the phone. Should be the same for a mono sim phone.
Removing the SIM doesn't mean it won't connect to optus. I think it'll connect to whatever carrier it can get a signal with so that may still end up being optus. I don't know how it decides which carrier to use when there's multiple available.
The safest way is to change to a decent carrier and avoid the issue in the first place. They've made mistake after mistake but people still use them for some reason.
Removing sim doesn't solve the problem all the time when stupid Optus are accepting the call then not putting it through (eg if your phone picks that as the network to try with no sim in phone).
See https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/925025 for other ideas (friends/neighbours phone on other network, VOIP, payphone, landline, SMS relay, 131 444, etc)
Dial 112
112=000, mobile phone follows same procedure.
Get a landline
does traditional landline exist anymore? there's Telstra / NBN Priority Assistance NBN as reliable? especially those on Fixed Wireless / Satellite?
considering battery backup, secondary failover connection (starlink), enterprise grade hardware
but whatever measures taken it's not like VoLTE will correct itself if leakTUS fails and will need to fumble around with sim tray, voip app or another device
living rural with multiple people with serious medical conditions, still have cell coverage but Optus is the strongest unlikely will happen alongside a medical emergency if the worst telco has 0.00001% downtime or something
does traditional landline exist anymore?
Yes it does
@cashless: Not once NBN is available in the suburb. Out in the bush traditional land lines are still available a NBN is not available in allot of places.
VOIP is not a traditional phone line.
EPIRB
Churn away from Optus for an easy fix
How about taking a pill and chill?
For anyone from the pre-Millennial generations you would walkto the nearest pay phone or speak to another person and ask if they can help… truely that was a thing.
Some fun facts. Victoria’s population in 2024 was 7m and in that year 3m calls were made to 000
https://www.triplezero.vic.gov.au/facts-and-figuresHonestly these statistics are appalling. Seems half of Victoria filled with butter boys and girls who were clearly not facing life threatening situations. I honestly understand there are other reasons to call but I pity the folk answering all the call's sifting through all the nonsense
If your so concerned about needing to contact 000, why not have redundancy yourself?
Get two phones or a dual-sim. Ensure you diversify the carriers you use. Understand who delivers your NBN. Dare I suggest it, have diversification within your family members or even with the hardware and have both andriods and applesOptus had redundancy. It failed. Did those who couldn’t reach 000 have redundancy? Possibly not.
Oh its there governments job to force Optus to have a tertiary backup or redundancy for their redundant backup….Do you know what caused the space shuttle to blew up? An o-ring failure on one of its boosters. How many did it have? 12 primary and 12 secondary o-rings in each booster. So a total of 24
Am I concerned that people died. Of course I am. Would having triple zero available prevented their deaths?
I haven't read that or seen that on any media yet. Maybe the commission should?Here’s a suggestion for the government. Mandate a $5 fee for a successfully connected triple zero call and allow the telco’s to invest in their infrastructure. If a call saves your life I suspect that you’ll be happy to pay the charge/ And if you are so desolate you cannot afford a fiver, then provide a platform for pre-registered white-listed numbers. Everyone one wins, right?
What do I suspect was Optus’s failure? Not reducing the risk of its failure through comprehensive ( ideally industrywide) testing…But that still wont prevent Electronics from failing but it should make recovery shorter and outages fewer.
However the problem is the customer. Money needs to be spent on educating them about accessing their needs for their own redundancy.
Good to see there's always some lunatic's ramblings in a OzBargain forum post
Actually, I think you’ve made some good points. You clearly know that all telco switches have redundancy built in, which shows you have solid knowledge in the telecom area. However, I suspect the Optus 000 failure was probably not due to a redundancy issue. Also, why put the blame on users instead of Optus? Redundancy on the user side? Hmmm…
are there reliable alternatives to reaching 000
The most reliable way is to have a second SIM/eSIM with a different carrier, so even if Optus dies completely you'll still be able to call out. This will cost money, but it's not expensive. For example the Lebara PAYG plan ($10/year) for the Vodafone network, or the ALDI PAYG plan ($15/year) for the Telstra wholesale network.
Set your phone to use your "main" SIM as the "preferred" SIM for calls and data, so you won't use use up the PAYG credit on your second SIM/eSIM. Also set up auto-renew on your second SIM/eSIM, so you'll never run out of call credit. Preferably use PayPal as the payment option for auto-renew, so you don't have to remember to update the payment details every time your credit card expires.
If 000 won't connect, change the phone setting to use the second SIM for outgoing calls, and try again. It's possible phones handle 000 calls differently and will ignore this setting, so there's a way around that too.
If you still can't call 000, call the National Relay Service, using the "Voice Relay" option on that page. You'll get to speak with an emergency operator who will "relay" what you say to the emergency services. Perhaps save that number as a contact on your phone, as you may not be able to access internet in an emergency. Save the contact as "000 alternative, use option 1, ask for 000" so it will appear at the top of your contacts list.
It's not the intended purpose of the NRS, but I doubt anyone will criticize you for using it in an emergency situation. Note using the NRS normally needs registration, but their website says (under "What if I don't register") "If you’re not registered the only calls you’ll be able to make through the NRS are emergency services calls"
Note I haven't tried this myself, I'm going purely on what the NRS website says.
LATEST: source - Mobile World Live
Optus pointed to Ericsson as the guilty party in its most recent outage, stating the vendor’s equipment operated strangely and failed to provide timely notice of problems on the tower involved.
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Order an uber/taxi to the hospital