Surge in 999 calls to Lincolnshire Police blamed on Android phone update

The force has been grappling with a significant increase in ‘pocket dial’ emergency calls, which they attribute to an Android update that activates an SOS feature when a side button is pressed five times.

“We are still receiving a number of pocket dial 999 calls following an Android update. If this happens to you, please stay online so we can ensure you are safe. We do return all misdialed calls, so appreciate your assistance,” they said in a Facebook post.

Several Android users have shared their experiences in response to the post.

Rob Percival said: “This happened to me. I was mortified my phone had wasted a 999 operator’s time and tied the line up.”

This issue is not confined to Lincolnshire. Police forces across the UK have reported similar experiences, with inadvertent silent 999 calls flooding their switchboards.

The National Police Chiefs Council believes the new feature is contributing to record numbers of 999 calls.

Google, developer of the Android phone software, has acknowledged the issue and expects manufacturers to issue updates to address the problem.

The emergency SOS feature is included in Android 12 and has been reported to cause particular issues since the update to Android 13 last year.

Forces are urging people who accidentally dial 999 to stay on the line and inform the operator it was a mistake in order to reduce the time and resources spent following up these calls.

Most handsets allow users to turn off the emergency SOS call option in their settings.