Hannah Grace Tech 12.12.2021 21:Dec PM EST

Android Bug Blocks Important 911 Calls: 1 Way to Fix It

A recent Android bug has prevented users from reaching 911. Fortunately, Google has addressed this issue and shared a simple way to fix it.

Android Bug

Everyone knows 911 plays a vital role in helping people. According to Very Well Health, the concept behind 911 is simple, in which people in need of assistance must dial a three-digit number. In addition, everyone must keep in mind that these three-digit numbers can never be used for anything else.

In relation to this, some 911 calls made from Android phones (OS version 10 or later) have failed due to a strange combination of Android bugs, per Mashable. The said Android 911 bugs are affecting Microsoft Teams and the Android operating system overall.

The problem was initially brought to light in a Reddit post a few weeks ago. User KitchenPicture 5849 shared a terrifying experience of their Pixel phone failing to connect to emergency services on November 29th. The user, who has a Google Pixel 3 operating an Android 11, tried to contact 911 to give their grandmother medical assistance for a possible stroke.

The user claimed that after placing the call, the phone "got stuck after one ring" and that they were "unable to do anything other than navigating around applications with an emergency phone call running in the background," via Medium.

Fortunately, the user was still able to call 911 in the end through their grandmother's landline. Despite this resolution, the scenario is still alarming.

With that being stated, several users agreed on how alarming the Android bug is. For this reason, the Reddit post became the most upvoted post in the subreddit's history.

After the article went viral, another Reddit user confirmed the Android bug, per Medium. The user claimed that five minutes after dialing 911, there was no response from emergency services or indication that 911 had been dialed on the device. The carrier (Verizon) phone logs were also blank.

Since the public is concerned by this occurrence, Google's support staff reached out to the Reddit user to diagnose the Android 911 issue.

On December 8, a representative for the business publicly addressed the issue through the PixelCommunity Reddit account.

According to Google's analysis, the Android 911 issue will likely occur whenever a user has the Microsoft Teams app installed on their device but is not signed in. This will result in an "unintended interaction between the Microsoft Teams app and the underlying Android operating system."

Simple Way to Fix the Android 911 bug

For those people who experienced the said bug, Google has shared that it has been fixed and users should immediately update their Android devices.

Google noted that Android owners who are not using Android 10 or above will not be affected by the bug. In relation to this, users who logged on to their Microsoft Teams account will not be affected as well.