
Nexus One in trigger-happy 999-dialling - Roridge
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/23/nexus_one_999/
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epochwolf
Summary: The nexus one will dial the local emergency number when a call is
placed to 911, 112, 999, 000, 08, 118, 111, 120, 122, 110, 119, 995, or 0800
after a January firmware update.

The problem is 0800 is the prefix for toll-free dailing (1-800 in the US) and
111 will forward you to your voicemail for "O2's GiffGaff brand". This has
resulted in a number of accidental emergency calls.

The UK emergency number is 999 and 112 (EU) and 911 (US) forward to that.

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epochwolf
Great, 12 more ways for your phone to dial emergency numbers in your pocket
with the keys locked.

I thought auto-dailing 911 with locked keys was bad enough.

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mmagin
All my old phones had stupid features which caused them to accidentally dial
911 about once a year while bouncing around my pocket.

One of the greatest things about the iPhone is that it doesn't seem to have
this propensity.

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pierrefar
How did Google "test" this feature, and how on Earth (literally) did it pass
these tests?

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notauser
It's common to set systems up so that any emergency numbers dialed go to the
local emergency number. Our dialing plan directed at least 112, 911 and 999
that way, I'm not sure about the others.

A combination of trying to do the right thing and liability issues means that
you tend to be over caution when trying to work out if something should be an
emergency call. Even though it's really expensive for the carrier it's better
to do that than fail to connect a real call.

There's also the issue of testing, and putting the same emergency rules on
every handset means that you remove one failure point from the chain (making
sure the right software version is shipped to the right country).

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Frazzydee
In Toronto simply dialing "9" on a POTS will (apparently) connect you to
emergency services. This is especially stupid since 905 is an area code.

My sister once dialed "9", and stopped when she realized she forgot the rest
of the number. We didn't believe her until I unplugged the line and hit
redial.

