Unsure if the 3G shutdown will affect you or your phone? Telstra has launched a service to help make sense of your situation.
The upcoming and impending 3G shutdown on Telstra is making waves across the country, and there’s little wonder why: the older 3G network has been around for so long, it’s entirely possible some people are still using it and may not realise it.
While there’s a question of whether some places will see 3G service upgraded to 4G by the time Telstra pulls the plug on June 30 this year, a bigger conundrum might be whether all customers have access to the 4G network. That’ll come from a recent phone, and it may even affect customers using a smaller operator, the Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) relying on the Telstra network such as Mate, Woolworths Mobile, and others.
Working out whether you have the right phone may come down to checking your phone, but if you don’t know, Telstra has launched a service to help you out.
Customers of Telstra Mobile, as well of MVNOs using the Telstra network, can now text “3” to 3498 and find out whether they need to take action, specifically citing the status of the device in question.
For folks using a T9 keypad, 3498 is 3GXT, so sending “3” to 3GXT will have Telstra check your phone’s details to tell you if you need support.
Only one percent of Telstra’s total network traffic is free, but Telstra has said it wants to make sure everyone is prepared, so has launched this free service to assist with the process.
Depending on the device you have, you might get a response telling you everything is fine, but it’s also entirely possible that your message will inform you that an upgrade is required. If that’s the case, you’re closer to knowing what you need to do.
