A software update on smartphones may be the cause of hundreds dropped 911 calls (opens in new tab)

I love how Google casually shifts the blame to the device manufacturers to avoid any flak.

Don't make it on by default unless you make it blatantly clear to the user - because nobody really cares about phone updates, they'll just do it and won't look at patch notes.

If you're adding features that will potentially put a strain on emergency services, you better make sure that you let your users know as soon as the feature is added and give them the ability to turn it on or off then and there.

I've accidentally triggered this before, but was able to stop it from calling 911 thankfully. Now the feature is turned off.

Ouch.

Also in the US, E911, the requirement and system to locate mobile callers, appears to be haphazardly deployed and under tested. A few years back, I had to call emergency services from Vacaville, CA and the Solano County dispatch was unable to determine my location. I followed up with Verizon corporate, who checked that their systems were correctly configured to talk to Solano County's E911 system.

My assumption is there is no E911 state/federal auditing or testing compliance to assure all 911 centers are properly configured for all carriers.

I became aware of that feature when one of my Pixel's power button got stuck and the phone kept trying to dial 911 while beeping loudly.