Android device update increases accidental calls to UK police

UK police blamed for smartphone update android oh A record increase in the number of accidental calls to the 999 emergency number. The National Council of Chiefs of Police said the emergency SOS function overloaded emergency call centers with calls.Quietly“.

This emergency function is activated by repeatedly pressing the device’s side button, which starts a countdown that can be canceled by dragging the slider on the screen. However, many users seem to accidentally trigger emergency calls when their devices are in their purse or pocket.

“Nationally, all emergency services are experiencing record levels of 999 calls,” the National Police Chiefs’ Council said. “There are many reasons for this, but we believe that the update for Android smartphones has a significant impact.“.

Citing an “unprecedented” number of calls to emergency lines in June as a result of the accidental operation, Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent Dan Ivey said people should disable emergency operation.

The majority of smartphone owners in the UK use Android devices, with Samsung, Huawei and Google Pixel being some of the brands using this mobile operating system.

Google promises improvements

Google, which started rolling out the emergency SOS update with the release of Android 12 in 2021, said it is working closely with smartphone makers to resolve the issue.

“Android provides additional guidelines and resources to help these manufacturers avoid accidental emergency calls on their devices.“, a Google spokesperson said.”We expect device manufacturers to release updates for their users soon. Users who continue to experience this issue should disable Emergency SOS in the coming days“.

The function can be deactivated in the “Security and Emergency” section of the Android settings. Android researcher Mishal Rahman tweeted that the issue appears to affect other law enforcement agencies around the world, including law enforcement agencies in Canada and Europe.

Source: BBC