AN URGENT warning has been issued for Android users due to a bug in an app that blocks 911 calls, preventing them from accessing help in an emergency.
Any Android user who has Microsoft Teams installed on their phone needs to update the application right away or risk being unable to call emergency services.
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The glitch apparently causes Android phones to “freeze” during an attempted 911 call.
Though the phone will say it’s trying to share location with emergency services, the call does not connect, and there’s no indication that any data is shared.
According to Bell, an “unintended interaction” between Microsoft Teams and the Android operating system renders cell phones unable to place outgoing calls to 911.
Outgoing calls to other numbers were completed successfully.
The flaw was initially pointed out by a Google Pixel user who shared their experience on Reddit.
The user titled their post, “Pixel prevented me from calling 911.”
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In their account of the incident, the user said the Google Pixel “froze” and was unresponsive when they called emergency services during their grandmother’s medical emergency.
After dialing 911, the phone was “stuck immediately” and the user was “unable to do anything” on the device or complete the call.
The Reddit user had a landline nearby, and was able to access 911 that way, but replicated the glitch again on their cell phone later.
Google responded to the user’s post, saying that the glitch only appeared under “a limited set of circumstances” on “a small number of devices.”
The glitch apparently only appears in phones that have certain versions of the app, and only when the user is not logged in to Teams.
Both Google and Microsoft are reportedly working to ensure the glitch can’t happen again.
Updating to the newest version through the Google Play store fixes the dangerous flaw.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
