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Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

arstechnica.com

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Re: Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

#161

Post by the__alchemist »

tazjin wrote: post #87
methodical wrote: post #75

This is anecdotal but the same exact thing (albeit with an Apple Watch vs. Android) happened to me a few days ago- I had forgotten to turn on the watch's water mode before going in the water. After about like 5 minutes in the pool it started calling 911 for a medical emergency. My watch ended up calling 911 about 3 times (it probably tried to call them about 5 more times but I ended up taking it off in time to preven…

I have a nice, handmade mechanical watch and it's never tried to spam-call any emergency services. Also shows the time fairly reliably.

A mechanical watch showing time reliably? I don't buy it.

Re: Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

#162

Post by xarope »

danpalmer wrote: post #12

iPhones have exactly the same feature, activated in almost the same way, except that it requires one fewer interactions with the device to trigger, and yet, there's no reporting about this happening too much with iPhones, nor was there any when the feature came out a few years ago. Additionally, this doesn't seem to have been a problem when it rolled out on Pixel devices a year and a half ago, Pixels are certainly co…

you must not be in touch. Here's a hackernews discussions about iphones triggering:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34157142

Re: Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

#163

Post by psyklic »

xatax wrote: post #25
sowbug wrote: post #11

Possibly related: I've noticed that when I'm in humid weather and I stick my phone into a damp pocket, it basically monkey-tests until I pull it back out again. Flashlight might be on, string of gibberish might be queued up on a text message, etc. I'm normally really good about locking the screen when I'm done, but something with fingerprint or face recognition or lock screen quick actions behaves poorly.

> but something with fingerprint or face recognition or lock screen quick actions behaves poorly Maybe I'm not crazy. Twice in the past couple weeks, my phone has seemingly unlocked itself in my pocket and I suspected it was to do with moisture/sweat, but dismissed it as unlikely. In the first instance, it emergency dialed. I had just hung up the phone and put it away, so I thought I hadn't secured it. In the second…

After an accidental emergency call, discovered the cause of this was the "tap to turn on screen" feature -- and my leg was tapping it through my pocket. (On my phone, there was no way to remove the emergency call button on the lock screen.)

Re: Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

#164

Post by fzeroracer »

I had this happen to me a while ago. My old Pixel 3 was struggling with battery and boot looping issues so I picked up a Pixel 6. I had managed to boot up my phone and start transferring files and such over to my new phone when it suddenly started calling 911 over and over again.

Every time I turned it off, it would boot up again and then immediately call 911. I had to talk with the dispatchers multiple times very nicely that no, everything's fine, my phone is going nuts. Eventually I was able to bypass the screen and turn it off in settings before it rang again.

It gave me a massive scare and I thought my phone was crying bloody murder because I was switching to a newer one.

Re: Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

#165

Post by delfinom »

mahathu wrote: post #58
notmyuserlogin wrote: post #42

It isn't just a problem with Android. I volunteer for a small fire department. We respond to about 500 calls a year. Since January I can think of three times the automatic crash detection on iOS devices has called us out by mistake. 1) A person left their phone on their car and it fell off. Being a small town one of the volunteers was able to find the owner and bring them the phone. 2) A gps location in the middle of…

I hate Apple as much as any other large tech company, but 1/4 true emergency rate seems like a pretty good start in cases where a person's life may be at risk! Emergency services in my city (the one you call via phone) have a "true emergency" rate of about 1 in 10 according to emergency personnel I talked to, so it is always a matter of balancing the false positive/false negative rate.

911 is not well funded in the majority of the US. In many rural areas, one false call that requires EMS sent out could cause another person with a legitimate call to wait a hour or more.

Re: Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

#166

Post by saalweachter »

j-bos wrote: post #124
andsoitis wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> That was a fun night when the dead phone woke up and started dialling 112 repeatedly and there was nothing I could do short of smashing the damn thing with a hammer to stop it. > Just put it in a Faraday cage. Problem solved. Even if I don't have a hammer handy, I could probably find something in the middle of the night to smash the thing. A Faraday cage on the other hand...

Not sure your kitchen situation, but most homes have a microwave. Shouldn't that work?

What about tin foil?

Re: Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

#167

Post by delfinom »

janalsncm wrote: post #111

This is one of many reasons we need an FDA for major software suppliers. The idea that a bug can be pushed to billions of devices with essentially no preventative oversight is bonkers to me. The only check (other than internal controls which may or may not work in a move fast and break things environment) is litigation years after the fact which may not be a deterrent anyways. Imagine if pharmaceuticals worked the sa…

>The idea that a bug can be pushed to billions of devices with essentially no preventative oversight is bonkers to me.

Eh, in this case this is just a gap for the FCC who already regulates 911 and it's implementation that needs patching. The FCC can be absolutely brutal in their enforcement execution. It's just they move slow as rocks.

> Self-driving vehicle companies can push updates over the air that not only brick the vehicles, but endanger 3rd parties who never signed 95 page Terms and Conditions contracts.

The NHTSA regulates vehicles via the FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards). They are responsible for things as requiring e-braking, backup cameras and more. It's really their job and ability to crack down on self-driving vehicles and OTA in vehicles. They could very easily do it but the automakers of course throw tantrums and start getting their local senators to interfere.

Now, why doesn't anything happen? Well, it's part regulatory capture, part rotting federal government due to extremists.

Re: Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

#168

Post by mhardcastle »

peanut-walrus wrote: post #88

I dropped my Pixel in water and since it had previously cracked, it had lost the waterproofing. The water apparently shorted the power button and the screen. That was a fun night when the dead phone woke up and started dialling 112 repeatedly and there was nothing I could do short of smashing the damn thing with a hammer to stop it. Every electronic device needs to have a physical disconnect for the power supply. It…

I also had a pixel begin to boot then make 911 calls upon getting moisture in it. I damaged the sim slot prying it out so it wouldn't dial 911 any more.

I figured my experience was a freak occurrence - how is this a (n=2) failure mode when getting wet!?

Re: Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

#169

Post by mannykannot »

oceliker wrote: post #151
andsoitis wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do I need to turn on the microwave with the phone inside it? This is an honest question because I don't know anything about microwave signals (I could google/research), but my instinct tells me I probably shouldn't turn on the microwave with the phone inside it, though I don't know for sure what will happen (explode?)

No, a Faraday cage does not require power (just grounding).

Grounding is not necessary in this case, where we are dealing with EM radiation, not static charges.

Re: Android’s emergency call shortcut is flooding dispatchers with false calls

#170

Post by MBCook »

mhardcastle wrote: post #168
peanut-walrus wrote: post #88

I dropped my Pixel in water and since it had previously cracked, it had lost the waterproofing. The water apparently shorted the power button and the screen. That was a fun night when the dead phone woke up and started dialling 112 repeatedly and there was nothing I could do short of smashing the damn thing with a hammer to stop it. Every electronic device needs to have a physical disconnect for the power supply. It…

I also had a pixel begin to boot then make 911 calls upon getting moisture in it. I damaged the sim slot prying it out so it wouldn't dial 911 any more. I figured my experience was a freak occurrence - how is this a (n=2) failure mode when getting wet!?

Sounds lucky. Phones can call 911 in the US without a sim, so that wouldn’t necessarily stop it.
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