Forum Discussion
No Service Abroad
I’ve recently travelled to, and am still in Perth Australia, and consistently have ‘No Service’ or ‘SOS Only’.
I’ve verified the following:
- Updated the mobile data network settings for mobile data and MMS to mob.asm.net
- Travelled to various locations to before not a local mast or signal issue
- Turned off automatic network selection and tried to manually select a network in the list that appears
- Turned the phone off/on
- Reset the mobile data network settings for both data and MMS, and then re-entered the mob.asm.net settings
Not that the below two points should affect the connection to a mobile network here, however I have also verified that:
- Have data roaming turned on
- Have out of plan credit
Does anyone have any advice or similar experience?
22 Replies
Apple iOS Upgrade to 26.1 did the trick !
Arrived in AUS last month and have been frustrated by SOS instead of reception bars on my iPhone since. Finally found time to speak to Smarty on a chat yesterday and they blamed Apple which didn't make sense to me at the time.
My own AI assisted research tells me ...
This issue is not exclusive to Smarty, but Smarty (and Three UK) users seem to be reporting it in higher numbers than users of other UK networks. The root cause is an Australian government-mandated blockade by Australian networks, not a failure of the Smarty SIM/eSIM itself.
The Core Issue: "Triple Zero" Blocking
As of late 2024, Australia has shut down its 3G networks. To prevent people from having phones that look like they have signal but cannot actually dial 000 (Emergency Services), the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) introduced a rule requiring networks to actively block any phone that is not correctly configured to make emergency calls over 4G (VoLTE) on their specific network. (NB: people have sadly died due to this 000 issue in AUS so it's not just red tape for the sake of it)
The Impact: If your phone/SIM combination does not send the correct "VoLTE Emergency" handshake to the Australian network immediately upon arrival, the local network will block your device completely. You will see "SOS Only" or "No Service."
You can check if your mobile is blocked on Telstra's network by searching for "3G-Network-Closure-Blocked-Devices-Checker" (actual link not allowed apparently).
My iPhone 12 mini has, until yesterday, been stuck on iOS 17 even with auto-updates selected. When I went in to check what version it was yesterday I was offered, for the first time, the opportunity to install iOS 26.1, which I took. My Smarty eSIM now works in AUS, no issues. So it seems Smarty's advice that Apple needed to do something was correct, though they could have added the need to check for any iOS updates when in AUS.
I should mention that I have both a UK Apple ID and an AUS Apple ID. When in AUS I use the latter, which is maybe why I was suddenly able to jump from iOS 17 to 26.1.
Anyway, I hope this helps my fellow Smarty users while they enjoy the lucky country!
If you still need assistance please contact our customer care team https://smarty.co.uk/contact available daily from 8am – 8pm.
I've certainly got enough out of plan credit on my smarty sim.
Unfortunately, while I agree that what you suggest would definitively prove whether the issue is down to Smarty or not, there are too many other settings other than mob.asm.net that would need changing for me to risk doing what you suggest on her 'phone.
ShaneOMZ Ok, that's your choice, but if you're not willing to do that then it goes without saying that you don't really have any evidence that this is actually a Smarty issue.
By all means come back and tell Smarty to pull their finger out if you do end up doing that test and confirming your suspicions.
By the way, I'm an iPhone user myself, and I'm pretty sure changing the APN setting for the Smarty SIM in your wife's phone wouldn't change the APN setting for her O2 SIM.
As I have said on most of the other threads covering this topic, my wife has an identical phone to me; all relevant settings are the same. Her UK sim is O2, mine is Smarty. Her UK sim works fine, mine doesn't. This to me makes it clear this is a Smarty issue rather than a phone issue. The fact that 3 offer Australian roaming on their UK sims isn't really relevant, as they're undoubtedly not selling their top-of-the-line service to Smarty.
Smarty need to pull their finger out and sort this out!
ShaneOMZ I take it you've tried your Smarty SIM in your wife's phone there, and with the APN set to mob.asm.net on your wife's phone? And you have additional credit added to your Smarty account?
I am having the same issue, despite Smarty saying if you buy an out of plan add on you would be able to receive texts from the UK. What can we do in this situation? I urgently need to receive SMS's from my UK bank account to be able to do my job.
EH As this seems to be down to the Australian Government's decisions, I'm not sure there is much you can do. You could perhaps try buying local sim in Australia and hope that your phone is compatible - you would then need to ensure that you could receive international texts (from your bank) and also tell the bank of your new number.
Does your bank use short code sms? This could be another issue - not sure if it would work on an international scale.
I’m using dual sim so it works fine with other sim. I have an iPhone 15 max. If there was a way to trasnsfer network I would do this.
This won’t exactly be an uncommon issue, thousands travel to Australia each week and will have same issue, so I think Smarty needs some information on FAQs with a solution.IainMui_1917697 I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to find info ANYWHERE, so this is not just down to Smarty. Three are no better - I have an Esim of theirs as it allows Australian roaming in theory at any rate. Just looking at an Esim from Roamless as it appears to operate on Australian networks.
I agree this is all very confusing, but I feel that the accountability/blame lies squarely with the Australian Telecoms ministry rather than our UK networks, who probably have not much more info than we can find.
I also have exact same issue, we have 3 SIMs in Sydney and none are working. All SOS only with 3 different iPhones. Did anyone manage to resolve this?
IainMui_1917697 There is a whole complex issue going on in Australia since 3G was turned off on most networks. It is a legal issue and means that many phones will not work there (including Australian phones!)
The other important issue is to try all networks via a manual network selection rather than automatic network selection. (You may be on a network that has no signal locally)
Finally, did you set APN to mob.asm.net ?
Yes done all the steps. All the networks are v strong locally, I’m in Sydney CBD. I think this is something Smarty needs to address asap, as it unfair to customer who have no knowledge that their services won’t work in Australia. I am locked out of many services that require 2FA as I fully expected to be able to receive calls or a SMS in Sydney or I would have changed providers before I left. Smarty support seem to be unaware and had me resetting phone and all sorts, then I realised my whole family had same issues with Smarty SIMs.
Thanks MSF
I’ve had a look into this and have a 2024 iPhone which is VoLTE compatible. Have also verified the correct settings in relation to this as advised on a couple of Australian network sites.
Grrrrrrr so looks like it might be something else
Hey
AshleySt_923617 All very frustrating, I'm sure.
Is it worth taking the sim out and giving it a gentle clean before replacing? Wondering whether any possibility that it has become fractionally dislodged during travel?
Also, can you try a sim from someone else to verify that the phone is 100%?
Thanks MSF - yep had tried that previously. Interestingly on a quick trip back to the UK last week all worked fine so thinking it must be a localised Australia thing. I’ll reach out to Smarty support in the meantime. Thanks again for your advice!
AshleySt_923617 It may depend upon what phone you have. There was some info about the Australian networks not accepting any phone that would not work on VoLTE I believe.
