Yeah, similar things have happened to Apple several times as well. It’s tricky to balance a trigger that can be done in an emergency and also make it less likely to happen accidentally.
Yeah, similar things have happened to Apple several times as well. It’s tricky to balance a trigger that can be done in an emergency and also make it less likely to happen accidentally.
Article mentions those instances. And also the “uniquely bad” way in which Android updates are rolled out. That’s the big difference here. This feature is 1.5 years old. When Apple does it...
Article mentions those instances. And also the “uniquely bad” way in which Android updates are rolled out. That’s the big difference here. This feature is 1.5 years old. When Apple does it everyone gets the update pretty fast, and when they fix it the same is true. When Google does it, they then blame the manufacturers for not fixing it fast enough because they don’t themselves have any control over when devices update.
So they’ve both made similar mistakes at an engineering level. But with very different practical results.
This might get better over time through Project Mainline. That bypasses all of these middlemen and updates things that used to be included in OS updates through the Play Store, which Google has...
This might get better over time through Project Mainline. That bypasses all of these middlemen and updates things that used to be included in OS updates through the Play Store, which Google has full control over.
Or in some cases, not even rolled out if the manufacturer has completely given up. My BlackBerry KeyOne is stuck on Android 8.1 (last update Feb. 5, 2019).
the “uniquely bad” way in which Android updates are rolled out
Or in some cases, not even rolled out if the manufacturer has completely given up. My BlackBerry KeyOne is stuck on Android 8.1 (last update Feb. 5, 2019).
It’s sort of similar to the reason why the emergency number in the UK is 999. Under the old analogue system interference on the line could easily dial 111, but with 999 it would probably never happen.
It’s sort of similar to the reason why the emergency number in the UK is 999. Under the old analogue system interference on the line could easily dial 111, but with 999 it would probably never happen.
My wife's phone once got stuck in a cycle of calling 911 on its own. This was several years ago but it sounds like the same problem -- her case was partially pressing down on the lock/power...
My wife's phone once got stuck in a cycle of calling 911 on its own. This was several years ago but it sounds like the same problem -- her case was partially pressing down on the lock/power button. She was legit distressed over this and had to keep telling the operator that she wasn't trying to call 911.
Crazy! You’d never think of that if you’re just a software engineer or UI designer working on a virtual device. It’s always more complicated than you think.
Crazy! You’d never think of that if you’re just a software engineer or UI designer working on a virtual device. It’s always more complicated than you think.
Right? She ended up getting a new phone (not entirely over this but it was what pushed her over the edge) because she didn't trust it to not happen again.
Right? She ended up getting a new phone (not entirely over this but it was what pushed her over the edge) because she didn't trust it to not happen again.
This happened to me recently. I was trying to lower the volume of the audiobook playing from my phone. I reached out to it without looking and pressed the lower volume button multiple times, but...
This happened to me recently. I was trying to lower the volume of the audiobook playing from my phone.
I reached out to it without looking and pressed the lower volume button multiple times, but nothing kept happening.
So I looked over to see what was going on with my phone and saw it in the middle of dialing the emergency number.
I couldn't stop the call fast enough and quickly hung up.
Just for reference: if you do accidentally call emergency services, it's better to stay on the line and tell the operator it was a miscall and there is no emergency. Theoretically, they should...
Just for reference: if you do accidentally call emergency services, it's better to stay on the line and tell the operator it was a miscall and there is no emergency. Theoretically, they should follow up on someone who calls and then immediately hangs up (which, if you call from a cell phone, they have a variety of mechanisms to locate and do).
Ah. For context, I don't live in America. I did get a message afterwards saying that they got a silent call from me and what to do if I'm trying to contact them. But if it was an accident, I could...
Ah. For context, I don't live in America.
I did get a message afterwards saying that they got a silent call from me and what to do if I'm trying to contact them.
But if it was an accident, I could ignore the message and to make sure it never happens again by getting a different phone case or something.
I guess it happens often enough for this automated message to be a thing.
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.
I don't live in the UK either. But staying on the line makes sense. If it ever happens again, I'll let them know I'm okay. I hope it doesn't ever happen again though.
I don't live in the UK either. But staying on the line makes sense. If it ever happens again, I'll let them know I'm okay.
Regardless, I am not entirely sure this button is a "productive" idea. As it stands, it's fairly easy to perform an emergency dial already, but in the event your screen malfunctions/goes dark, it should require more effort to trigger this. Maybe the user should hold a combination of buttons to trigger this behaviour, then confirm after that with another combination following an audio cue that emergency services are being dialed.
Gonna have to disagree with having an audio cue. The main reason I would see for using this feature is because you can't let someone know you're calling 911. An audio cue would definitely give it...
Gonna have to disagree with having an audio cue. The main reason I would see for using this feature is because you can't let someone know you're calling 911. An audio cue would definitely give it away.
Fair point, I was thinking more about specific cases where the screen is completely and utterly destroyed, in say, a hiking accident. For this sort of situation, I believe it would be best to use...
Fair point, I was thinking more about specific cases where the screen is completely and utterly destroyed, in say, a hiking accident. For this sort of situation, I believe it would be best to use the regular emergency call options in the OS. But then, there are so many niche situations, it's hard to measure one against the other and try to maximise the impact of such a feature without putting other people in danger.
Yeah, similar things have happened to Apple several times as well. It’s tricky to balance a trigger that can be done in an emergency and also make it less likely to happen accidentally.
Article mentions those instances. And also the “uniquely bad” way in which Android updates are rolled out. That’s the big difference here. This feature is 1.5 years old. When Apple does it everyone gets the update pretty fast, and when they fix it the same is true. When Google does it, they then blame the manufacturers for not fixing it fast enough because they don’t themselves have any control over when devices update.
So they’ve both made similar mistakes at an engineering level. But with very different practical results.
This might get better over time through Project Mainline. That bypasses all of these middlemen and updates things that used to be included in OS updates through the Play Store, which Google has full control over.
Or in some cases, not even rolled out if the manufacturer has completely given up. My BlackBerry KeyOne is stuck on Android 8.1 (last update Feb. 5, 2019).
It’s sort of similar to the reason why the emergency number in the UK is 999. Under the old analogue system interference on the line could easily dial 111, but with 999 it would probably never happen.
My wife's phone once got stuck in a cycle of calling 911 on its own. This was several years ago but it sounds like the same problem -- her case was partially pressing down on the lock/power button. She was legit distressed over this and had to keep telling the operator that she wasn't trying to call 911.
Crazy! You’d never think of that if you’re just a software engineer or UI designer working on a virtual device. It’s always more complicated than you think.
Right? She ended up getting a new phone (not entirely over this but it was what pushed her over the edge) because she didn't trust it to not happen again.
This happened to me recently. I was trying to lower the volume of the audiobook playing from my phone.
I reached out to it without looking and pressed the lower volume button multiple times, but nothing kept happening.
So I looked over to see what was going on with my phone and saw it in the middle of dialing the emergency number.
I couldn't stop the call fast enough and quickly hung up.
Just for reference: if you do accidentally call emergency services, it's better to stay on the line and tell the operator it was a miscall and there is no emergency. Theoretically, they should follow up on someone who calls and then immediately hangs up (which, if you call from a cell phone, they have a variety of mechanisms to locate and do).
Ah. For context, I don't live in America.
I did get a message afterwards saying that they got a silent call from me and what to do if I'm trying to contact them.
But if it was an accident, I could ignore the message and to make sure it never happens again by getting a different phone case or something.
I guess it happens often enough for this automated message to be a thing.
They have to follow up in the UK.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-66007767
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65962942
I don't live in the UK either. But staying on the line makes sense. If it ever happens again, I'll let them know I'm okay.
I hope it doesn't ever happen again though.
That is not the first time emergency calls are either "broken" or malfunctioning in Android: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/01/google-fixes-nightmare-android-bug-that-stopped-user-from-calling-911/
Regardless, I am not entirely sure this button is a "productive" idea. As it stands, it's fairly easy to perform an emergency dial already, but in the event your screen malfunctions/goes dark, it should require more effort to trigger this. Maybe the user should hold a combination of buttons to trigger this behaviour, then confirm after that with another combination following an audio cue that emergency services are being dialed.
Gonna have to disagree with having an audio cue. The main reason I would see for using this feature is because you can't let someone know you're calling 911. An audio cue would definitely give it away.
Fair point, I was thinking more about specific cases where the screen is completely and utterly destroyed, in say, a hiking accident. For this sort of situation, I believe it would be best to use the regular emergency call options in the OS. But then, there are so many niche situations, it's hard to measure one against the other and try to maximise the impact of such a feature without putting other people in danger.
The exact same warning and issue is occurring here in Canada, with police sending out tweets urging users to disable the option:
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/police-warn-about-accidental-911-calls-after-android-software-update-1.6443911
Maybe this is on Google to fix, although I'm not sure they're even listening anymore.