Accidental 911 Dialing

[scout30]

My wife and I both got the Galaxy S5 Active. So far so good, specially when you have children at home.

One of the problems we've had since switching is how easy is to dial 911 from the lock screen. Case in point, so far our 3 year old has called more than 5 times by accident just by pressing what he sees on the screen, not knowing what he's doing.

Called AT&T and they're saying they can't block 911 by law, which I understand. What concerns me is how EASY Samsung has made it for anyone to dial 911 via the ICE Address book. It's a special contact that is hidden in the Address Book and shows only there. I reached out to Samsung Support via twitter, and their response was not too promising. I've attached a screenshot of a proposed idea, but shot down. I wish they could take this more seriously.

Calling 911 is no joke and while hiding the phone from toddlers is an option, it can happen again.

 

[Golfdriver97]

It would be kind of nice if they added a tap then swipe to call.

 

[thatguy97]

Just hide the phone from them it would be easier than trying to get Samsung to change it and having easy access to 911 is important and having it possible to accidently be hit is a tradeoff I'm willing to make for safety

Posted from my Nexus 7 2013 or Samsung galaxy S5

 

[AZgl1500]

I just made it a point to have the four + signs left unfilled.

but that Contacts button is still there....

I just now tried it..... all that comes up is a screen saying "No Contacts Listed".

no harm , no foul.

just make sure there are no contact names listed for the four +signs


but, keep the phone out of reach of toddlers, it is not a play toy.
put it up high, like on the fridge....

 

[1Coopgt]

Not trying to be a Jerk here . But don't let the little ones play with the new phone . Let them play with the old phones that aren't connected to a network . Plus if the old phones are smart phones you can load games on them by wifi for the kids to play .

 

[Almeuit]

Not trying to be a Jerk here . But don't let the little ones play with the new phone . Let them play with the old phones that aren't connected to a network . Plus if the old phones are smart phones you can load games on them by wifi for the kids to play .

That can still be dangerous. Even if a phone doesn't have an active account on it if you call 911 the carrier will still allow the call to go through. Emergencies trump having a phone plan.

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

 

[dpham00]

That can still be dangerous. Even if a phone doesn't have an active account on it if you call 911 the carrier will still allow the call to go through. Emergencies trump having a phone plan.

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

Also airplane mode might not help, on my unactivated moto g, if I dial 911,it will automatically exit airplane mode and allow 911 calling

Sent from my XT1028 using Tapatalk

 

[jonebk12]

but, keep the phone out of reach of toddlers, it is not a play toy.

I'm 100% with you on this, exactly what I was going to say.

 

[dpham00]

I just made it a point to have the four + signs left unfilled.

but that Contacts button is still there....

I just now tried it..... all that comes up is a screen saying "No Contacts Listed".

no harm , no foul.

just make sure there are no contact names listed for the four +signs


but, keep the phone out of reach of toddlers, it is not a play toy.
put it up high, like on the fridge....

My daughter pick pockets the phone without my knowledge. Putting it on the fridge is fine at home but when I am going somewhere with my daughter, I put the phone in my pocket.

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 

[alil25]

I'm a former 911 operator and I can't tell you how much this happens. It does take away from real emergencies because sometime kids call repeatedly. Even disconnected phones with an active battery can call 911 and those are really hard to trace so it makes a lot of wasted time and effort away from true emergencies. Please, please don't give those to your kids as toys.

 

[AZgl1500]

My daughter pick pockets the phone without my knowledge. Putting it on the fridge is fine at home but when I am going somewhere with my daughter, I put the phone in my pocket.

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

This might seem a bit harsh, but my children ONLY DID A THING ONCE and got a hard slap immediately when doing things wrong.

After that, they knew in advance if I told them NO, that I mean NO, and they will get a very nasty whipping if they do it again.

Raised two very smart kids, both have gone on and accomplished far greater things than I ever have. Very proud of them...

But, I do realize that in today's hypocritical world you are not allowed to admonish your children.
this is exactly why there is so much wrong doing going on now. There is no retribution for kids doing wrong.

sorry, getting off topic... but .....

 

[Johnly]

My daughter pick pockets the phone without my knowledge. Putting it on the fridge is fine at home but when I am going somewhere with my daughter, I put the phone in my pocket.

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

We have a multiple phones at the house and a stationary one. My seven year old takes my phone as well lol. Then I am like "Kinzie," where is my phone lol! She also knows what 911 is and when to use it. Having a new phone recently, I make her grab my old iPhone 5s.

 

[neonworm]

This might seem a bit harsh, but my children ONLY DID A THING ONCE and got a hard slap immediately when doing things wrong.

After that, they knew in advance if I told them NO, that I mean NO, and they will get a very nasty whipping if they do it again.

Raised two very smart kids, both have gone on and accomplished far greater things than I ever have. Very proud of them...

But, I do realize that in today's hypocritical world you are not allowed to admonish your children.
this is exactly why there is so much wrong doing going on now. There is no retribution for kids doing wrong.

sorry, getting off topic... but .....

Wait, WTF? You WHIP your kids? That's just wrong, in my opinion.

 

[prlundberg]

I'm a former 911 operator and I can't tell you how much this happens. It does take away from real emergencies because sometime kids call repeatedly. Even disconnected phones with an active battery can call 911 and those are really hard to trace so it makes a lot of wasted time and effort away from true emergencies. Please, please don't give those to your kids as toys.

I agree with this. It can be a felony to disable 911 dialing. A kid calling 911 is a small issue. Hey, it happens. If it keeps happening that's a parenting issue. Disipline the kid and/or restrict their access to the phone. It's not rocket science. If you want them to have a toy, buy them a toy.

 

[VidJunky]

Have you tried Kid Mode? It offers its own lockscreen that requires tracing or writing a letter to unlock the phone. While in Kid mode the child can play games, watch videos and more. You can also add your games (other apps) to what they are allowed to do and it grows with them. Register and it offers age appropriate things for them to do. We used it with our kids until they were old enough to start asking to download their own games. Meanwhile there are draw backs. When we upgraded we let the kids have the old phones. They could still do all of the stuff they liked, but Kid Mode only works with a network connection, i.e. WiFi or Carrier. On non activated phones this meant the kids could only play if we had WiFi. Also there is no dialer on the lock screen so no accidents and they can only get to Kid Mode, that is until they see you unlock it once or twice.

 

[prlundberg]

Also there is no dialer on the lock screen so no accidents and they can only get to Kid Mode, that is until they see you unlock it once or twice.

They can still access the emergency dialer when they hit exit.

 

[AZgl1500]

Wait, WTF? You WHIP your kids? That's just wrong, in my opinion.

You missed the point, they only did it once. My kids were well behaved at school, church, or just playing in the neighborhood.
Today's brats don't know the word "no" and way too many end up in jail.

And, this was 55 years ago.... long before society decided to get into every family's business with their snotty noses.

 

[anon8380037]

13 years ago, employers just arrived top of the line Audi S8, me in the drivers seat, his 6 yr old boy standing in the back waiting at the house with the engine off. Playing with the new detachable built in Motorola phone. Me telling the boy you must never, ever, ever in a million years dial 999 (here) because the police will come and arrest you and your daddy for calling the police or fire or ambulance for no reason. They will put you in a horrible jail for a very long time. Or some really scary s@*t like that. I over did it. Sue me.
So a bit later he starts punching in a whole bunch of numbers. I was about to ask him to please stop now. He was pressing 2's and 7's and started getting faster and pressing keys randomly. About 25 digits in, a loud voice came over the connected car audio - "999 Emergency Services. Which service do you require?". Before I could exhale twice he had shot out the rear door, up through the open front door and up a winding staircase, while I started explaining and apologising to the operator that he accidentally dialled 999 I could hear his bedroom door slam upstairs, and see his mother looking at me quizzically from a window.
He's going to Stanford now.

 

[Mike Parsons1]

Some times my G s5 will dial 911 by just being in my pocket and i have a pin to get in to it.
So i called at&t and he got in my phone and change some setting and it happen again this morning.
if this is happing to me you can just imagine what's going on everwere else. 911 its for emergencies
Samsung needs to get this fixed soon!!!!

 

[Dizfunctions]

A smartphone is not a toy. Buy him a cheap tablet to keep him occupied.