General > General Technical Chat

Emergency Services Partly Overwelmed By New Android Update:Quick Emergency Dial

(1/4) > >>

MK14:
This story (on today's BBC website), sounds crazy to me.  Google have released an Android update, earlier this year.  Which creates a new silent emergency call feature, which dials (silently it seems), the emergency services in your country.  If you press the power button five times, in succession.

I had never heard about that and wonder how many other people don't know about it.

Hence it has been blamed for contributing to the UK's too frequent, emergency 999 calls (other countries are affected as well).

I say 'crazy'.  Because on phones I have sometimes unintentionally activated various (unwanted) features.  Because of the built in short-cuts.

Source:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65962942


--- Quote ---Police warn Android phone users over 999 call feature
--- End quote ---


--- Quote ---Police forces across the UK have warned that a new feature on some Android phones is plaguing switchboards with inadvertent "silent" 999 calls.

The Emergency SOS feature calls when a side button is pressed repeatedly.

Police chiefs have said they think it is part of the reason for record numbers of 999 calls.

Google, which develops the most widely used Android phone software, says it expects manufacturers to issue updates to address the problem.

The National Police Chiefs Council said the new update "added a new SOS emergency function for devices to call 999 through the power button being pressed five times or more".

"Nationally, all emergency services are currently experiencing record high 999 call volumes. There's a few reasons for this, but one we think is having a significant impact is an update to Android smartphones."

Devon and Cornwall Police said silent calls took 20 minutes to deal with. They urged people who accidentally dialled 999 to stay on the line and tell the operator it was a mistake.

The force told the BBC it had received 169 silent 999 calls between 00:00 and 19:00 BST on Sunday alone.

Police Scotland said BT had reported "a significant increase in accidental calls to 999".

While the feature was included in Android 12 in 2021, many have reported particular issues since the update to Android 13 last year. Guidance on how to disable the feature can be found on manufacturers' websites.

The problem is not confined to the UK. At the start of June, the European Emergency Number Association warned that it had been alerted by some of its members to a "surge in automatic false calls originating from Android devices".

A Google spokesperson told the BBC it was up to manufacturers who choose to offer Emergency SOS on their devices to manage how the feature worked on their phones.

"To help these manufacturers prevent unintentional emergency calls on their devices, Android is providing them with additional guidance and resources," they said.

"We anticipate device manufacturers will roll out updates to their users that address this issue shortly. Users that continue to experience this issue should switch Emergency SOS off for the next couple of days."
--- End quote ---

Edit: Removed spurious twitter section in quote.

wofritz:
That seems to be a real problem. There was an article in the local newspaper stating that currently about 10 to 20% of emergency calls arriving at the local emergency call center are due to these butt calls. It creates quite some work load for the operators, since they have to call back these calls to check if it is a real emergency or not. 

MK14:

--- Quote from: wofritz on June 23, 2023, 08:53:09 am ---That seems to be a real problem. There was an article in the local newspaper stating that currently about 10 to 20% of emergency calls arriving at the local emergency call center are due to these butt calls. It creates quite some work load for the operators, since they have to call back these calls to check if it is a real emergency or not.

--- End quote ---

Thanks.  I can't easily understand why such a feature would just be included in some later versions of Google Android, without taking sensible precautions against accidental activations of that mechanism.

Just having to press one button 5 times, seems all too easily Accidentally activated.  E.g. A pocket, where the slightly sticking out phone button, gets pressed a few times, as you lean down to do something.

It just seems so obvious a mistake in Android, I can't easily see how it got implemented in the first place.

I.e. It should have some kind of robust checking screen, to confirm calling the emergency services.

I suppose Google could argue that in the sudden possibly massive stress of needing to phone the emergency services, a more complicated button combination sequence, could easily be forgotten, in the heat of the moment.

So some sort of reasonably robust solution (balance) could be achieved, with minimal or negligible false emergency calls.

Monkeh:

--- Quote from: MK14 on June 23, 2023, 01:40:42 pm ---I.e. It should have some kind of robust checking screen, to confirm calling the emergency services.

--- End quote ---

The entire point is to make the call without needing that, without even being able to see the phone. Mine can be configured to make a silent call on purpose so others are unaware it's being made, or to give you a very, very loud alarm before it actually connects.

MK14:

--- Quote from: Monkeh on June 23, 2023, 01:47:30 pm ---The entire point is to make the call without needing that, without even being able to see the phone. Mine can be configured to make a silent call on purpose so others are unaware it's being made, or to give you a very, very loud alarm before it actually connects.

--- End quote ---

So what you are saying, to give an example.  It is late at night, someone is away from home and a very suspicious stranger is approaching them, with what looks like a large weapon in their hand.

You don't want them to see your expensive phone, by bringing it out, as they may attempt to steal it from you, and attack you in the process.
Also, if they see someone phone for the emergency services, it could provoke them into an angry, possibly violent confrontation, which you want to avoid.

On the other hand, the emergency services, are having to struggle with a fair amount of extra 'false-alert' emergency calls, tying up valuable resources.

So I guess some kind of sensible solution, needs to be achieved.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod