The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it has seen a “significant increase” in 911 calls being hung up, and it might be due to Android’s inclusion of Emergency SOS.
The feature allows Android users to contact emergency services when they press the power button five times.
But now, the OPP is asking Android users to turn the feature off, stating people “could easily dial 911 without knowing.”
OPP Comm Centres have seen a significant increase in 911 hang-ups. This may be linked to an Android update which turned on Emergency SOS. You could easily dial 911 without knowing. Please, check your phone. Ensure 911 lines are available for life threatening emergencies. pic.twitter.com/HpUy2htcd6
— Ontario Provincial Police (@OPP_News) April 14, 2023
This isn’t the first incident that has seen a smartphone mistakenly call 911 services. Several reports show that Apple’s crash detection feature has led to false calls to emergency services. In some cases, the feature was triggered when people were riding roller coasters.
Android users can turn Emergency SOS off by going to Settings> Safety & emergency> turn off the toggle next to Emergency SOS.
Source: OPP Via: Android Police
