Blindshell Classic 2 advice for Telstra and Optus 3G Network Shutdown

Dear clients – this is a message from the tech team at Quantum RLV regarding your Blindshell Classic 2 device.

You may have heard about the imminent shutdown of the 3G network and how this will impact mobile phones that are not compatible with 4G.  Even if a phone is 4G capable, it may not have been configured to use VoLTE for Emergency (000) dialing.  Telstra and Optus customers whose phones are not 4G VoLTE capable will be impacted from 31st August 2024.  The 3G shutdown has already occurred for Vodafone customers.

The Blindshell Classic 2 phone has been tested by Telstra and certified as 4G VoLTE capable, as long as the software is version 5.1.8.5 (released 22 Feb 2024) or greater.

If you haven’t updated your Blindshell software since February 2024, now is the time to do it.  If you don’t update, your phone won’t be able to make or receive calls, and you won’t be able to dial 000 in an emergency.  At the end of this notice, there are step-by-step instructions about how to download and install the latest update.  If you don’t feel confident doing this update, and have no-one at home to assist you, please contact our friendly AT team at VisAbility who will be able to help. Phone (08) 9311 8202 or email info@visability.com.au for support.

Don’t use your Blindshell to make this call, as the AT team will need you to press buttons on the Blindshell whilst you are on the call – please dial in from another phone line.

Unfortunately, even after you have updated, there will be a period of time from 20 July when you may receive a recorded voice message from Telstra when making calls.  This message will be a reminder to update your software and a warning about the 3G shutdown.   If you have updated your software, you can ignore this message, but it will persist until the next software update, scheduled for a few weeks from now, at which point the recorded messages will cease.  Because we don’t know exactly when the next update will be available, we recommend you update as soon as you can rather than wait until the later update.

Step-by-Step instructions for updating Blindshell Classic 2 software, and a video clip (if you are getting sighted assistance) are listed below.

Instructions for Updating Blindshell Classic 2 software

The instructions assume that your Blindshell is not connected to Wi-Fi, but if you are connected to Wi-Fi, you can skip the first 7 steps.

  1. At the Home Screen, press the Down Bar until you hear Settings, then press the Confirm Button (the same button you use to answer an incoming call)
  2. Press the Down Bar until you hear “Networks”, then press Confirm Button
  3. Press the Down Bar until you hear “Mobile Network”, then press Confirm Button
  4. You will hear “Mobile Data”, press the Confirm Button
  5. You will hear “Mobile Data Switch”, press the Confirm Button
  6. If you hear “turn off mobile data selected”, then you need to press Down Bar and you will hear “Turn On mobile data, not selected” – press Confirm Button. However, if you heard “turn off mobile data, not selected” then the mobile data was already on, and you can ignore this step.
  7. In any case, you should now Long Press the Back button (the Hang Up button, a forward slash symbol) to go back to the Home Screen.
  8. At the Home Screen, press the Down Bar until you hear “Settings”, then press the Confirm Button
  9. Press Down Bar until you hear “System Update”, press Confirm Button
  10. You will hear “Check for Updates”, press Confirm Button
  11. You will hear “new Version 5.2… is available to download, 1 of 3”. Press the Down Bar until you hear “Download Now” and press Confirm Button
  12. You will hear “Downloading … ” followed by frequent messages about percentage complete, until you hear “Download completed, do you want to install the update?…” At this point, press the Confirm Button.
  13. The phone will perform a Reset and a Restart, after which it will be updated to the latest software version. If you hear a more robotic message during this process “Updating Blindshell”, this is normal, and after the phone restarts it will have its normal voice.

Watch the YouTube video below for step-by-step instructions for Updating Blindshell.