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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

#171

Post by photonerd »

linooma_ wrote: post #158
sneak wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Screws are how in fact one accesses the battery in an iPhone.

A 1-2 hour process which includes heating to soften glue, high potential of damaging internal components, or high potential of cracking some piece of glass is not "Screws are how in fact one accesses the battery in an iPhone." https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+14+Battery+Replacement/1...

You’re describing removing the rear glass (and it takes 30mins, tops, I’ve done it). Something that’s not covered by the EU legislation I might add.

It literally says the following about removing the battery (emphasis mine)

> Unfasten the battery connector cover screws

and…

> remove the single 1.0 mm-long screw securing the charging coil connector cover

After that it’s just two easy to remove adhesive pull tabs to get the battery out (which would pass the test for user replaceable in the EU law).

Complain about how hard it is to get the glass off, fine, but that’s got zilch to do with the EU law

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

#172

Post by markmark »

Stratoscope wrote: post #81

This happened to me last month after I landed at Chicago O'Hare! > Texting with 22911 (SMS/MMS) > Chicago 911, we received a call from you, do you have a Police, Fire or medical emergency? > 9-1-1 has ended this conversation. 9-1-1 will not receive additional replies to this message. Call 9-1-1 to report an emergency. I didn't see any of this until I took the phone out of my pocket. I don't think it was from pressing…

There's an emergency call option from the lockscreen (the one where you enter your pin/swipe if you don't just use your fingerprint) which I have set off a bunch of time in my pocket. Luckily I have my emergency contact set to my wife, so it calls her not emergency services. I _think_ I must accidentally put my phone in my pocket with the screen on, and then random movement gradually hits the few buttons needed.

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

#173

Post by kimixa »

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 had a similar issue - the glass on the back of my Pixel (5 I think?) cracked right by the power button, and it seemed to be kind of OK but I got a new phone anyway, but left the old one in my glove box of my car where I used it for the bluetooth entry to the parking garage at work (and because re-enrolling was a pain). It didn't have the sim setup or wifi enabled so didn't think much of it.

This worked fine for a few months, just turning it on at the gate then off afterwards and threw it back in the glove compartment.

Until one day driving home I heard a weird beeping, then a voice from the glove box asking what my emergency was. I shouted back pulling over and fumbling to get the phone out, and told the responder my phone had called them by itself. I was a little surprised as I thought every call, even abandoned, had to be followed up on, in case there was coercion? But I guess not if you just blame the phone. I guess the buttons had shorted to turn the phone on, then ended up going into the emergency call? I couldn't even turn it off at that point as the power button refused to work and the digitizer was partially non-functional.

A bit of a pain, and a (hopefully small) waste of an emergency responder's time, but I can see this sort of thing being relatively common - in "normal use" I've had my phone somehow end up on the emergency call menu, just being jostled and unlocked or fat fingering the wrong buttons, so wouldn't be surprised if unneeded emergency calls are relatively common on even fully functional devices.

But I guess that cost is worth paying if it's more convenient and quick when there is an emergency?

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

#174

Post by bagels »

fomine3 wrote: post #126
j-bos wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

There are many frequency bands used by phone, I'm not sure everything is blocked by microwave.

I tested this. My phone does indeed have a network connection in the microwave.

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

#175

Post by wldcordeiro »

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.

If the screen is facing your leg you can get the capacitive touch to trigger. I learned this while snowboarding so I would have my screen facing outward, of course that puts it at higher risk of smashing though.

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

#176

Post by martinpw »

LesZedCB wrote: post #16

I have unfortunately done it I think three times, every time because I'm trying to turn the volume up or down quickly. the first time I cancelled the call, they called back and I explained. second time, I stayed on the line to explain, which they appreciated. this time I turned the feature off. third time was on a new phone and hadn't disabled it... I don't remember if iphone switch the volume button side between gen…

Happened to me - phone in pocket, pressed button to increase volume, didn't seem to do much so I pressed it multiple times - but I was actually pressing the power button not the volume button. Cue 911 call.

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

#177

Post by klabb3 »

> Until a patch comes out, Google's current recommendation is to turn the feature off. That's easier said than done. Many Android manufacturers like to scramble the settings, making online tutorials difficult, so your best bet might be to just search the system settings for "Emergency SOS."

Long time ago since I used android but how do y’all put up with this crap? It sounds incredibly frustrating. Aren’t phone vendors infamous for absolute abysmal UX?

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

#178

Post by nucleardog »

throwaway742 wrote: post #108
tazjin wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Yes, but can it collect large amounts of personal data about you?

It sure doesn't, and for me that's a point against.

The continuous monitoring of a bunch of my health indicators is quite helpful when trying to determine how much more quickly than baseline the medication I'm on is trying to kill me.

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

#179

Post by nostromo »

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…

Same here.

I was swimming in a local lake last summer when I heard a faint voice from my watch. I look and it had unhelpfully called 911 and I was being asked what my emergency was.

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

#180

Post by zufallsheld »

photonerd wrote: post #171
linooma_ wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A 1-2 hour process which includes heating to soften glue, high potential of damaging internal components, or high potential of cracking some piece of glass is not "Screws are how in fact one accesses the battery in an iPhone." https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+14+Battery+Replacement/1...

You’re describing removing the rear glass (and it takes 30mins, tops, I’ve done it). Something that’s not covered by the EU legislation I might add. It literally says the following about removing the battery (emphasis mine) > Unfasten the battery connector cover screws and… > remove the single 1.0 mm-long screw securing the charging coil connector cover After that it’s just two easy to remove adhesive pull tabs to ge…

> “A portable battery should be considered to be removable by the end-user when it can be removed with the use of commercially available tools and without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless they are provided free of charge, or proprietary tools, thermal energy or solvents to disassemble it.”

https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/24/23771064/european-union-b...

If you need to use a heater to get access to the battery to remove it, this would probably be forbidden.

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