GSM devices dont work in australia?

[propheteer23]

I want to get a device for my mum that enables her to call me with one press of a button. I ordered one on ebay - GSM SIM SOS emergency dialler - but after inserting a new telstra sim and following the instructions, it didnt work. Contacted telstra for support with the sim, and discovered that devices which require GSM Sim cards only work on 2g network which has been shut down in australia.

So now i am on a mission to make sure all devices being sold on ebay.com.au that require a GSM Sim are flagged with "device not supported in Australia" or similar.

How would i go about that please?

Thanks in advance.

[enigmabear]

Not sure how you would go about that

or how a seller in China (as yours was) would even know. Or how any overseas sellers would know every piece of information for every product for every individual country they sell to

Or why it is any seller’s responsibility to do so more than it is for any buyer to do their homework or ask a question before buying

Just as if someone walked into a phone shop overseas to buy something and did not ask ‘will this work in Australia’ because the shop assistant should tell them it won’t 

Something of this nature is, in my opinion far too important to buy from an overseas seller anyway, even if it did work up front, there is no telling how safe it is or how long it would work before other problems camr up

[propheteer23]

Disagree. Seller said they were in Melbourne. Does seem to be a chinese operation though. Chinese operators selling to the australian market on ebay.com.au do need to know these things imo.

Seller has since offered to replace the device with one that takes a local sim. Will see when that arrives i guess.

There are many kinds of devices that take a sim. And I'm not in an overseas shop. I'm on ebay.com.AU

[enigmabear]

The feedback for the item shows the seller is registered in China, unless you bought more than one of them and the other sellers did not leave you feedback

Yes, you are on eBay.com. AU where there are hundreds of overseas sellers selling overseas products and claiming they are located in Australia 

And I am aware there are many kinds of devices that take a sim, thank you

[lb4280]

I'm in the same boat. The description of the alarm said it was GSM and GPRS compatible. I know GSM was on 2G but thought GPRS worked on 3G but my SIM cards ( one on Telstra and one on Optus) are both recognised by the alarm but won't connect to the network. I'm waiting for confirmation from the seller on the alarm below that it is guaranteed to work on Australian networks. I'll post here when I hear back. Their supplier is closed for Chinese New Year.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-4-Inch-TFT-4G-GSM-WIFI-Burglar-Alarm-System-Support-for-Alexa-Google-H...

I have one that  looks like this and it does everything I want except provide mobile broadband backup and SMS messages. Access via WiFi and the internet is fine.