This past April we told you that the Ontario Police Department, the same police department involved in one of the clues that the Beatles supposedly left fans in the Sgt. Pepper gatefold to hint about Paul McCartney’s death, complained about receiving too many accidental emergency calls from Android users. The Android Emergency SOS feature calls the 9-1-1 emergency number after five quick taps on the power button. It also shares info with first responders and records a video.
A tweet disseminated at the time by the Canadian cops said, “OPP Comm Centres have seen a significant increase in 911 hang-ups. This may be linked to an Android update that turned on Emergency SOS. You could easily dial 911 without knowing. Please, check your phone. Ensure 911 lines are available for life threatening emergencies.”
This problem with accidental Emergency SOS calls has crossed the Atlantic and is now a problem in the U.K. which is quite ironic since we had mentioned the Beatles earlier in this article. According to the BBC, the U.K.’s 999 switchboards (the emergency number is the country is 999) are getting inundated with calls. The National Police Chiefs Council blames this on an Android update that added the Emergency SOS feature that has devices calling 999 after the power button is pressed five or more times.”Nationally, all emergency services are currently experiencing record high 999 call volumes,” says the Council. “There’s a few reasons for this, but one we think is having a significant impact is an update to Android smartphones.” The update the U.K. police are talking about is the one that released the final version of Android 13 to Android device users last August.
A Google spokesman told the BBC that it is up to the Android phone manufacturers who include the Emergency SOS feature on their handsets to determine how the system works on their devices. The Google spokesman said, “To help these manufacturers prevent unintentional emergency calls on their devices, Android is providing them with additional guidance and resources.”
If you’re in the U.K. and your Android phone accidentally dials 999, do not just hang up. Devon and Cornwall Police are asking those put in this situation to stay connected until they can inform someone that the emergency call was an accident.
