What made 911 fail?
June 26, 2013 10:53 AM Subscribe
Yesterday, when I called 911 twice after a car accident, I got an error message both times. (I don't remember what it was because I was probably in shock.) Was it my phone (an ANCIENT LCD Nokia candybar), my location (on a major highway in the SF bay area, but surrounded by fields), or my service (AT&T)? Or other? I have a commute of about 80 miles RT, sometimes 100 miles RT, and I want to be safe!
Just for the record, I was able to make other calls to my insurance, AAA, etc. And I seem to be OK. :) Thanks!
Just for the record, I was able to make other calls to my insurance, AAA, etc. And I seem to be OK. :) Thanks!
What does your outgoing calls history tell you?
posted by oceanjesse at 10:56 AM on June 26, 2013
posted by oceanjesse at 10:56 AM on June 26, 2013
Seems like the most likely explanation is a problem on their end. It happens.
posted by 2bucksplus at 10:57 AM on June 26, 2013
posted by 2bucksplus at 10:57 AM on June 26, 2013
Response by poster: I just checked my call log and I did not misdial.
posted by wintersweet at 10:57 AM on June 26, 2013
posted by wintersweet at 10:57 AM on June 26, 2013
What exactly was the error message? Was it the "Doo-dee-doot We're sorry, the number you have dialed..."?
posted by rtha at 11:12 AM on June 26, 2013
posted by rtha at 11:12 AM on June 26, 2013
Best answer: Given that your call log says you didn't misdial, you should call your phone company and ask them what happened. Perhaps it was an outage on their end, or your provider doesn't provide 911 service unless you pay more/have a contract, or perhaps they don't provide 911 service at all. Best to find out definitively, considering the importance.
posted by davejay at 11:14 AM on June 26, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by davejay at 11:14 AM on June 26, 2013 [6 favorites]
Are you using something like Google Voice that somehow routes your calls through VOIP?
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 11:16 AM on June 26, 2013
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 11:16 AM on June 26, 2013
Yeah, if you didn't misdial you should check with AT&T.
davejay: all cell phones provide 911 service. As far as I am aware they must provide that service even if the caller isn't a subscriber!
posted by Justinian at 11:23 AM on June 26, 2013 [9 favorites]
davejay: all cell phones provide 911 service. As far as I am aware they must provide that service even if the caller isn't a subscriber!
posted by Justinian at 11:23 AM on June 26, 2013 [9 favorites]
Best answer: I'm a smartphone user, so this may not be of help to you.
But it seems like there are some different situations that could have happened:
1. You didn't have enough reception to place the call in the first place. Do you usually get good cell reception on your commute?
2. The call failed due to some error with your phone hardware. Is this the only time you've ever had a call fail or drop with this phone? How does your phone perform, usually? Is it in great working order, or are you one of those hold-outs where 90% of the phone's functions are dead but you can still creak out a call so you soldier on out of... whatever causes such people to soldier on despite the cell phone companies practically giving away new phones.
3. There was a problem on 911's end. This seems far less likely than the other two options. But, I don't know, I guess that could happen.
If it were me, and there was any possibility that it was a hardware problem, I'd get a new phone. Because, again, the phone companies practically give them away. And life's too short to be stuck broken down on the side of the road because you like that Nokia you got in 1998 just fine, thanks.
posted by Sara C. at 11:26 AM on June 26, 2013
But it seems like there are some different situations that could have happened:
1. You didn't have enough reception to place the call in the first place. Do you usually get good cell reception on your commute?
2. The call failed due to some error with your phone hardware. Is this the only time you've ever had a call fail or drop with this phone? How does your phone perform, usually? Is it in great working order, or are you one of those hold-outs where 90% of the phone's functions are dead but you can still creak out a call so you soldier on out of... whatever causes such people to soldier on despite the cell phone companies practically giving away new phones.
3. There was a problem on 911's end. This seems far less likely than the other two options. But, I don't know, I guess that could happen.
If it were me, and there was any possibility that it was a hardware problem, I'd get a new phone. Because, again, the phone companies practically give them away. And life's too short to be stuck broken down on the side of the road because you like that Nokia you got in 1998 just fine, thanks.
posted by Sara C. at 11:26 AM on June 26, 2013
Best answer: About 5 years ago I called 911 on a cell phone with Sprint service when I was on 101 in Santa Clara. The call didn't go through the two times I tried. The first time, there was just silence on the other end for several minutes. I gave up and redialed; I got a fast busy signal. Basically: 911 on cell phones was a crapshoot then, and probably still is. In the situation I was in, fortunately the Highway Patrol was driving by and solved the problem (a dangerous piece of debris in the roadway that I and others hit). My experience cemented my decision to have a backup for 911 at home, either landline or VOIP.
posted by zsazsa at 11:31 AM on June 26, 2013
posted by zsazsa at 11:31 AM on June 26, 2013
Best answer: 911 routing on cell networks is weird; there's logic built into the network at several levels that tries to figure out where you are and direct you to a nearby 911 system. Newer phones, if I'm understanding it right, have features that help that process. (That's the "Handset data" in the diagram on this surprisingly interesting E911 article.) It's supposed to default to *something* if it can't determine enough about your location (the tower, at least, should be a known location), and you should have gotten a human somewhere, but that seems to have failed.
That's reason enough to upgrade your phone, if you're driving that much and that far. But you could also contact AT&T and see if they have any additional information about what happened or can report the failure somehow.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:41 AM on June 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
That's reason enough to upgrade your phone, if you're driving that much and that far. But you could also contact AT&T and see if they have any additional information about what happened or can report the failure somehow.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:41 AM on June 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Yes - 911 call is a requirement even if the caller is not a subscriber or even if there is no SIM card in the device.
The way it works however is technology and location dependent (it used to anyway). For example in order to comply with location services requirement, a 3G call used to drop to 2G. I do not know if this is the case still.
In other words - contact your service provider. They will (or should) take this very seriously.
posted by 7life at 11:42 AM on June 26, 2013
The way it works however is technology and location dependent (it used to anyway). For example in order to comply with location services requirement, a 3G call used to drop to 2G. I do not know if this is the case still.
In other words - contact your service provider. They will (or should) take this very seriously.
posted by 7life at 11:42 AM on June 26, 2013
Response by poster: oceanjesse: My phone lists the 911 calls; att.com doesn't, so no information there.
other people: I was able to place other calls immediately afterwards, so reception was OK, I guess.
The call did not go through in any way that I could hear or see; there was just an error message on my phone's screen. I don't think it was the occasional "all circuits are busy" thing. I wish I'd been less out of it! I will contact AT&T just in case. :) (And I do WANT a new phone, but I'm a part-time teacher and so is my husband; we have been thinking we were on the verge of full-time jobs and being able to buy smartphones + data plans for a while now. Argh. We haven't upgraded because our monthly costs are almost nothing. But yeah, believe me, I'd like to and I'll take a second look at our finances.)
posted by wintersweet at 11:48 AM on June 26, 2013
other people: I was able to place other calls immediately afterwards, so reception was OK, I guess.
The call did not go through in any way that I could hear or see; there was just an error message on my phone's screen. I don't think it was the occasional "all circuits are busy" thing. I wish I'd been less out of it! I will contact AT&T just in case. :) (And I do WANT a new phone, but I'm a part-time teacher and so is my husband; we have been thinking we were on the verge of full-time jobs and being able to buy smartphones + data plans for a while now. Argh. We haven't upgraded because our monthly costs are almost nothing. But yeah, believe me, I'd like to and I'll take a second look at our finances.)
posted by wintersweet at 11:48 AM on June 26, 2013
The one time I called 911 from my previous (android) phone - the phone recognized that it was an emergency call and switched into some sort of special emergency mode. Having never seen it before - I at first interpreted it as some sort of weird error (it looked like one), but it was actually my phone just trying to be helpful.
posted by kickingtheground at 12:12 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by kickingtheground at 12:12 PM on June 26, 2013
If the error message was on your phone's screen, as opposed to an audible error message that you heard, then most likely you didn't have service and your phone was unable to get the call out or there was some other issue with your phone (if it bounced around in the accident it's possible it rebooted and wasn't ready to place a call yet). In my experience a busy signal or a dropped/non-completed call won't generate any kind of error message.
posted by bizwank at 12:15 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by bizwank at 12:15 PM on June 26, 2013
A few years ago, when I tried to make a 911 call on my cell phone, the phone went into "emergency mode" (it said this on the screen, which I didn't realize until the third time I tried calling because I had the phone up to my face, so I could talk, duh). This meant that I had to press a key to connect the call, which was *never* required for normal calls. Terrible interface design. Maybe your phone behaved similarly?
posted by unknowncommand at 12:57 PM on June 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by unknowncommand at 12:57 PM on June 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
Verizon has a feature where you can update the network information on your phone by dialing a special number. Verizon does this for all phones, not just smartphones. If AT&T has something similar it might be worth trying.
posted by tommasz at 1:08 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by tommasz at 1:08 PM on June 26, 2013
when I tried to make a 911 call on my cell phone, the phone went into "emergency mode"
Yes - I also have an ancient Nokia candybar phone on a pay-as-you-go plan, and this is what happens when I dial 911 with it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:12 PM on June 26, 2013
Yes - I also have an ancient Nokia candybar phone on a pay-as-you-go plan, and this is what happens when I dial 911 with it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:12 PM on June 26, 2013
Best answer: If I had been you in that situation, I would flip out and do as much as I could to prevent this from happening again. Not only would I immediately get a new cell phone, but I would also switch providers. If they try and give you early termination fees, escalate as much as you possibly can with your terrifying anecdata.
A cellphone/cellphone provider that does not dial emergency services on your daily commute is as useful as airbags and seatbelts that do not work in your car on your daily commute.
Make the "get shit done about it and be on hold forever" phone calls to AT&T from another phone so that you can preserve your outgoing call history.
posted by oceanjesse at 2:25 PM on June 26, 2013 [2 favorites]
A cellphone/cellphone provider that does not dial emergency services on your daily commute is as useful as airbags and seatbelts that do not work in your car on your daily commute.
Make the "get shit done about it and be on hold forever" phone calls to AT&T from another phone so that you can preserve your outgoing call history.
posted by oceanjesse at 2:25 PM on June 26, 2013 [2 favorites]
To help ensure your future safety in case of emergency, I strongly recommend that you place a test call to 911 from your cell phone. The accepted procedure for doing so is:
1. Call 911 during a non-peak-emergency time (such as during daylight/business hours on a normal business day).
2. Announce that THERE IS NO EMERGENCY, and that you are making a 911 test call from your cellular phone.
3. Ask the 911 operator to verify the phone number you are calling from to make sure they are seeing the correct Caller ID / Automatic Number Identification information.
4. Ask the 911 operator to tell you what, if any, data he or she is seeing on the location of your cell phone. The required accuracy of this data may vary from one jurisdiction to another.
If the test call to 911 does not go through, make a note of the EXACT message you receive, whether it is a textual message on your phone's screen or an audio message from your phone's earpiece. Then call your cell phone company's customer service line and tell them what happened. If they do not get back to you or solve the problem within a few days, you should contact your state public utilities commission and file a complaint. They take these matters very seriously and I strongly suspect you will get rapid action if needed.
Also, I would ask that you please update this thread with the outcome of your test call and any followup that may be needed.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 4:03 PM on June 26, 2013 [3 favorites]
1. Call 911 during a non-peak-emergency time (such as during daylight/business hours on a normal business day).
2. Announce that THERE IS NO EMERGENCY, and that you are making a 911 test call from your cellular phone.
3. Ask the 911 operator to verify the phone number you are calling from to make sure they are seeing the correct Caller ID / Automatic Number Identification information.
4. Ask the 911 operator to tell you what, if any, data he or she is seeing on the location of your cell phone. The required accuracy of this data may vary from one jurisdiction to another.
If the test call to 911 does not go through, make a note of the EXACT message you receive, whether it is a textual message on your phone's screen or an audio message from your phone's earpiece. Then call your cell phone company's customer service line and tell them what happened. If they do not get back to you or solve the problem within a few days, you should contact your state public utilities commission and file a complaint. They take these matters very seriously and I strongly suspect you will get rapid action if needed.
Also, I would ask that you please update this thread with the outcome of your test call and any followup that may be needed.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 4:03 PM on June 26, 2013 [3 favorites]
Verizon has a feature where you can update the network information on your phone by dialing a special number. Verizon does this for all phones, not just smartphones. If AT&T has something similar it might be worth trying.
The information updated by this procedure is known as a PRL or Preferred Roaming List. In normal operation, it tells your phone which roaming networks it should try to use when you are out of your home carrier's service area, and which networks it should not try to use.
However, by law, every cellular phone sold in the USA *must* disregard its PRL and attempt to connect to any and every network available when an emergency call is placed.
While a PRL update may help with normal calls when you are roaming, it will not fix your 911 situation.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 4:06 PM on June 26, 2013 [2 favorites]
The information updated by this procedure is known as a PRL or Preferred Roaming List. In normal operation, it tells your phone which roaming networks it should try to use when you are out of your home carrier's service area, and which networks it should not try to use.
However, by law, every cellular phone sold in the USA *must* disregard its PRL and attempt to connect to any and every network available when an emergency call is placed.
While a PRL update may help with normal calls when you are roaming, it will not fix your 911 situation.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 4:06 PM on June 26, 2013 [2 favorites]
Finally, although this should go without saying: Make sure that you are not breaking the law and that there is no contraband in your immediate area when you place the test call, just in case something goes wrong and they send an officer to check on you.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 4:20 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by Juffo-Wup at 4:20 PM on June 26, 2013
Response by poster: Soooo then my insurance announced that my car was totaled (to my huge surprise), and I decided to deal with this later. oceanjesse, I agree with you though--I need to address this as soon as I humanly can. (Coming soon: My second Ask about buying a car. SIGH.)
posted by wintersweet at 7:34 PM on June 26, 2013
posted by wintersweet at 7:34 PM on June 26, 2013
2. Announce that THERE IS NO EMERGENCY, and that you are making a 911 test call from your cellular phone.
This is a bad idea, since as mentioned many dispatch centers have a policy to send an officer regardless -- since the caller may be under duress.
posted by dhartung at 3:40 AM on June 27, 2013
This is a bad idea, since as mentioned many dispatch centers have a policy to send an officer regardless -- since the caller may be under duress.
posted by dhartung at 3:40 AM on June 27, 2013
This is a bad idea
Really, it's not. Placing emergency test calls in order to test 911 functionality is an industry standard procedure and *especially* recommended when there is reason to suspect 911 unreachability from a given phone or phone system.
[n.b. it is wholly unacceptable to call 911 to test whether your phone is working; that is a completely different matter than explicitly testing whether 911 itself is working]
Yes, it is possible (though unlikely) that they will send an officer anyway, which is why I suggested making sure to place the call at a time and location at which the OP is not breaking any laws.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 8:16 AM on June 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
Really, it's not. Placing emergency test calls in order to test 911 functionality is an industry standard procedure and *especially* recommended when there is reason to suspect 911 unreachability from a given phone or phone system.
[n.b. it is wholly unacceptable to call 911 to test whether your phone is working; that is a completely different matter than explicitly testing whether 911 itself is working]
Yes, it is possible (though unlikely) that they will send an officer anyway, which is why I suggested making sure to place the call at a time and location at which the OP is not breaking any laws.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 8:16 AM on June 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
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I'd put forward the possibility, however, that if you were in shock you might have misdialed. Even twice. When I was in a car accident on the freeway (determined to be 100% the other driver's fault!) and attempted to give him my insurance card I was in a daze and handed him my dentist appointment card instead. And then some other card I don't recall. So it took me three tries just to hand a guy my insurance card.
posted by Justinian at 10:56 AM on June 26, 2013