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How would the repair facility be activating this and not realizing it?

Probably poorly trained or educated techs and repair processes.

Ideally, the phones would be sent back to Pegatron and Foxconn in China where the techs are better trained. But Apple engineers in Cupertino probably find it easier to examine phones at a local facility.
 
I hate this feature on the Apple Watch. My 18 month old accidentally called 911 when grabbing at my watch a few months ago—and I even have the slide to call feature turned on! I apologized to the operator and she said "It happens all the time." Bad design!

When I work outside I'll often wear my Apple Watch in a case with work gloves so I can track my fitness which I get reimbursed for through my insurance at work. The case recesses the button deeper so it's harder to press but it still gets pressed all the time against my gloves when bending my wrists while working on things. That was when I changed the behavior to the swipe thing but there have been several times where I nearly activated it even without a baby grabbing at it. I wish I could just turn it off! It's such an awful design.

Last year my uncle, in his early 50s, died on his driveway by himself while wearing Apple Watch and even he couldn't activate it in time. He was very much aware of the feature and was a huge tech geek—he was instrumental in getting me interested in technology at a young age. What it really needs is heart attack/fall detection that will automatically alert a spouse or somebody so you're not just right outside your house dying on the ground with your wife and teen boys inside unaware of what is happening. That would be actually useful!
 
911 agencies around the country will now be getting false 911 calls as everyone tests this feature that they didn't know existed until today!
 
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I know it has significant benefits, but I’ve disabled it on my watch and phone months ago because I feared the exact thing happening to me. I fidget with my phone in my pocket and I’d be the dummy who’d activate it. Glad I’m not the only one, lol
 
Trust me... Apple is possessed by negligence. What a huge pile of garbage that company is. One of my best friends works there as a manager of whatever. He is actually the one who oversees the entire OS and iOS interfaces. When I talk to him, he keeps his mouth shut because he knows what I am saying is true. He is there because of the money and the reputation of the company but he knows the guts of Apple is pure garbage today.
A product manager doesn't "oversee the entire OS and iOS interfaces." Guess what, it's not hard to find out who does that. Maybe one of your best friends happens to be Alan Dye, Apple VP of user interface design? Even if he happens to be one of your best friends, when you talk to him, he keeps his mouth shut simply because he's not supposed to leak what he does at his job. What a huge pile of garbage your comment is.
 
I'm not surprised by this. The interface for Emergency SOS on the iPhone X is ridiculous.

The slider looks exactly the same as "slide to switch off" and appears on the same screen. No wonder people are activating it accidentally, I've almost done it several times myself!
Uh the thing is clearly labeled SOS and slides as you hold the buttons down...
 
Trust me... Apple is possessed by negligence. What a huge pile of garbage that company is. One of my best friends works there as a manager of whatever. He is actually the one who oversees the entire OS and iOS interfaces. When I talk to him, he keeps his mouth shut because he knows what I am saying is true. He is there because of the money and the reputation of the company but he knows the guts of Apple is pure garbage today.

And the award goes to......

This is some funny **** though

IF you have a "friend" who works for Apple, if he keeps his mouth shut about things, it's because he's probably under a DNR, not because he agree's with your belligerent rants.

But I'll stop there because the only friend you probably have is your mother who's basement you live in.
 
God damn it I have never dialed the emergency number so many times in my life. On the Apple Watch it’s even more ridiculous, just press and hold the side button for a few seconds and it dials the emergency call automatically. ****ing crazy.
 
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emergencysos-250x408.jpg
Repair technicians who work at Apple's repair facility in Elk Grove, California make frequent accidental 911 calls when testing Apple devices, Elk Grove police dispatcher Jamie Hudson told a local Sacramento news site.

The influx of calls started back in October of 2017, which coincides with the introduction of the Emergency SOS feature that was added to the iPhone with the launch of iOS 11.To activate Emergency SOS, iPhone 8 and iPhone X simply owners need to press and hold on the Side button while also holding the two volume buttons at the same time, or rapidly press on the side button five times. Older iPhone users simply need to press the Sleep/Wake button five times in rapid succession to call emergency services.

An Emergency SOS feature is also available on the Apple Watch and is activated by pressing on the side button of the device. It's not clear which devices are making the accidental calls, but placing a 911 call can be done with simple button presses on either device.

Elk Grove Police have received an average of 20 accidental 911 calls per day from Apple, adding up to about 1,600 calls since October. Police dispatcher Hudson says the calls take "valuable seconds" away from real 911 calls that could be life and death situations.It's not just the Elk Grove Police department that's affected -- the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Communication Center has also received 47 accidental 911 calls since January 1, and sometimes, dispatchers can hear technicians working in the background. There is a loud tone and a countdown that plays when Emergency SOS is activated with the auto call feature, but it may be that repair technicians are not able to hear it.

In a statement, an Apple spokesperson said the company is aware of the 911 calls coming from the repair facility and is working with law enforcement officials to put a stop to it.Emergency SOS is a feature that's enabled on every iPhone and Apple Watch by default, and it can't be disabled, so Apple may need to come up with a unique solution for its repair facilities.

While Emergency SOS can't be turned off, there are settings that can be turned on to cut down on accidental calls. On Apple Watch, "Hold to Auto Call" can be disabled by opening up the Watch app, choosing the "General" section in "My Watch" and then selecting "Emergency SOS."

On iPhone, auto call can be disabled by opening up the Settings app, navigating to "Emergency SOS" and toggling off "Auto Call."

emergencysosiphone-800x711.jpg

With Auto Call disabled on iPhone or Apple Watch, the same button presses will still activate emergency services, but you will need to use physical interaction in the form of a finger sliding across the screen to call 911 (or other emergency services numbers depending on your country).

Emergency SOS was recently credited with saving a woman and her 9-month old baby after she was hit by a drunk driver. The woman lost her phone in the collision, but was able to use the SOS feature on her Apple Watch to make an emergency call.

In addition to contacting 911, Emergency SOS serves another important purpose on the iPhone -- it quietly and discreetly disables both Touch ID and Face ID, allowing iPhone users who are being threatened to lock down their phones and require passcode entry instead of biometrics.

Article Link: Apple's Elk Grove Repair Facility Makes ~20 Accidental 911 Calls a Day


Technology crying to 911 cause it doesn't want to die. lol.
 
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Right, but the phone would make it very well known that it's making the call. Their test procedure wouldn't be to press the button 5 times quickly and just sit there... The article made it seem like they were making the call and the technicians have no idea that the call is taking place.

It doesn’t make it well known. When your ringer is switched off or sound turned down, there is no sound.
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Is this a good thing? I can imagine a lot of emergencies where you would not want anyone to hear you making an emergency call, like if you're being kidnapped or robbed, or are just seeing some suspicious/illegal activity and are trying not to be noticed.

There is no tone when your ringer is switched off or your volume turned down.
 
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It's a well-meaning but badly thought-out feature.

I made one of these calls from my phone, it absolutely freaked me out. I was driving, and only realised later what happened - the phone was in a dashboard mount for maps, and a vibration must have made the holder squeeze the power button quickly 5 or more times, and my phone initiated a 112 call. I struggled to cancel the call while driving, and it was a big distraction - so not at all good.
 
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If auto call is enabled, just wear the Apple watch while standing, and push your palm on the table so that the palm is at around 90 degree to the arm
Boom! It dials 911 and your spouse, your parents (if you set them to be the emergency contact) together with your location information via SMS.
No confirmation, no buzz, no vibration or tap.
 
I have done this twice myself. One time I was climbing a ladder to my roof and carrying iPhone in my hand and I must have squeezed it to activate the 911 call. I felt horrible and apologized to the 911 emergency people.

Then another time it happened while in line at a grocery store - same "squeeze" type of cause.
 
And millions of alarms at businesses go off accidently on the regular. How is this news. Just silly fodder for the apple haters.
The ignorance with this one is strong. If you don't know the difference between monitored alarms going off and contacting an alarm company's dispatch (who may in fact reach out to the police) vs accidentally dialing 911, log off and go educate yourself.
 



emergencysos-250x408.jpg
Repair technicians who work at Apple's repair facility in Elk Grove, California make frequent accidental 911 calls when testing Apple devices, Elk Grove police dispatcher Jamie Hudson told a local Sacramento news site.

The influx of calls started back in October of 2017, which coincides with the introduction of the Emergency SOS feature that was added to the iPhone with the launch of iOS 11.To activate Emergency SOS, iPhone 8 and iPhone X simply owners need to press and hold on the Side button while also holding the two volume buttons at the same time, or rapidly press on the side button five times. Older iPhone users simply need to press the Sleep/Wake button five times in rapid succession to call emergency services.

An Emergency SOS feature is also available on the Apple Watch and is activated by pressing on the side button of the device. It's not clear which devices are making the accidental calls, but placing a 911 call can be done with simple button presses on either device.

Elk Grove Police have received an average of 20 accidental 911 calls per day from Apple, adding up to about 1,600 calls since October. Police dispatcher Hudson says the calls take "valuable seconds" away from real 911 calls that could be life and death situations.It's not just the Elk Grove Police department that's affected -- the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Communication Center has also received 47 accidental 911 calls since January 1, and sometimes, dispatchers can hear technicians working in the background. There is a loud tone and a countdown that plays when Emergency SOS is activated with the auto call feature, but it may be that repair technicians are not able to hear it.

In a statement, an Apple spokesperson said the company is aware of the 911 calls coming from the repair facility and is working with law enforcement officials to put a stop to it.Emergency SOS is a feature that's enabled on every iPhone and Apple Watch by default, and it can't be disabled, so Apple may need to come up with a unique solution for its repair facilities.

While Emergency SOS can't be turned off, there are settings that can be turned on to cut down on accidental calls. On Apple Watch, "Hold to Auto Call" can be disabled by opening up the Watch app, choosing the "General" section in "My Watch" and then selecting "Emergency SOS."

On iPhone, auto call can be disabled by opening up the Settings app, navigating to "Emergency SOS" and toggling off "Auto Call."

emergencysosiphone-800x711.jpg

With Auto Call disabled on iPhone or Apple Watch, the same button presses will still activate emergency services, but you will need to use physical interaction in the form of a finger sliding across the screen to call 911 (or other emergency services numbers depending on your country).

Emergency SOS was recently credited with saving a woman and her 9-month old baby after she was hit by a drunk driver. The woman lost her phone in the collision, but was able to use the SOS feature on her Apple Watch to make an emergency call.

In addition to contacting 911, Emergency SOS serves another important purpose on the iPhone -- it quietly and discreetly disables both Touch ID and Face ID, allowing iPhone users who are being threatened to lock down their phones and require passcode entry instead of biometrics.

Article Link: Apple's Elk Grove Repair Facility Makes ~20 Accidental 911 Calls a Day
 
I'm appalled that Apple is aware of this and has not put a HALT to its testing lab until this problem is completely solved. As the article makes clear, the disruption to the 911 system comes with real costs to those in real emergencies.
I have to believe that the local police have cut Apple A LOT of slack here, due to the company's aura and stature in the community. I'd like to know how their response to this situation compares to how they've handled similar problems in the past.
 
Trust me... Apple is possessed by negligence. What a huge pile of garbage that company is. One of my best friends works there as a manager of whatever. He is actually the one who oversees the entire OS and iOS interfaces. When I talk to him, he keeps his mouth shut because he knows what I am saying is true. He is there because of the money and the reputation of the company but he knows the guts of Apple is pure garbage today.

I don't know if it is pure garbage, I think that's over-stating it a bit, but I agree somewhat with your point.

I would say that some things lately at Apple have the appearance that they were "Designed by Committee".

I am hopeful that things will work out, but I think they need a chief designer that will enforce his will on the various design projects. Of course Steve Jobs did this a lot, but I don't really want to be one of those guys who says "no innovation without Steve" - because I don't believe that either. I think it's a huge company and a lot of good engineers are tossed up between Google and Apple - lots of talk about what it's like to work at Google vs Apple.

A little bird told me that at Google, it doesn't matter if their projects fail - they just don't care. They have some super smart people, but if they goof up the project, it's no biggie - they just cancel it. At Apple there is hell to pay if you screw up. Anyways - that doesn't even really go along with what I think, that is just some more information that a little bird told me about a year ago.

I have faith that the biggest and best company in the world will fix things - it just takes them a little longer to get it right, but it is an unstoppable juggernaut of a company. So don't fret about interface problems, or Siri falling behind - it will all get fixed in time.
 
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