Emergency calls on smartphones | What the Tech?
[anvplayer video=”5182519″ station=”998122″]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — A recent study found nine out of ten elementary school children are unable to dial up 911 in an emergency.
One of the reasons is they don’t have access to a phone but parents can make it easier for them.
On an iPhone, it’s as simple as saying, “Siri, call 911.” Even if the phone is locked with a passcode, they can ask Siri. That is provided the parent allows Siri to respond on a locked phone.
Swiping up on an iPhone or Android device will show an option to call “emergency”. On iPhone, they’ll simply tap “call”.
On an Android phone, they’ll need to enter 911.
A recent study found nine out of ten elementary school children are unable to dial up 911 in an emergency.
On an iPhone or Android device, teach the child to press the side button five times which will dial 911.
They’ll still need to find a smartphone to use.
By now, you may have an old smartphone lying around.
Connect it to a charger and place it in a room like we did with old landline phones.
Then, connect it to the home WiFi network and make this your family emergency phone. The child will know where it is at all times. It’ll also dial 911, even if it can’t be used for anything else.
When you practice dialing 911 with a child, put the phone in airplane mode. That prevents the call from interrupting 911 call centers.
Even if a child doesn’t know where they are, 911 call centers can determine the location of the phone call.
See more “What the Tech?” stories by clicking here.