(WXYZ) — Smartphones and smartwatches might be some of the greatest technology that we have, but some of their features may be causing a problem for dispatchers.
"I've seen it floating around online that you're supposed to let them know it was a mistake lately," metro Detroit resident Kyle Carmack said.
He's no stranger to mistakenly dialing 911. And recent updates on smartwatches, iPhones, and Android devices are making it happen more often.
"I didn't even know it was a thing until it happened to one of my friends on the ski mountain when they took a bad fall, and yeah the phone went off," Kyle said.
"Fall detection on phones is a great feature if you need fall detection, but it can also go off accidentally," Caption Jennifer Miles with the Oakland County Sheriff's Department said.
Those mistaken 911 calls can take up time, especially in an emergency .
"We have a little over 600,000 calls that come into our center here yearly," Miles said. But some of those calls include 911 hang-ups.
In 2022, there were over 5,789 abandoned 911 calls. So far in 2023, there have been just over 3,300.
Miles says if you don't need fall detection on your iPhone and Android phones turn it off.
On iPhone and Apple watches, go to settings, emergency, SOS, and then take a look at the options and disable or enable what you need. For Android devices go to settings, emergency, SOS, and turn it on or off. But, the cardinal rule is, if you do it by accident call 911, don't hang up. Stay on the line and say you called by accident so they won't have to call back.
"You live and learn," Miles said.
