Note: Android 12 Phones Can Accidentally Call 112: Here’s What You Can Do
With the Android 12 update, some Android phones get a shortcut that allows you to quickly call emergency services. On phones of certain brands, 112 is called if you press the power button five times in quick succession, which leads to problems.
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Android phones call 112
On phones that have had the update to Android 12, there is a risk that you will accidentally call the emergency services. With the rollout of the update, the so-called SOS function is on on phones from some Android brands.
“Quickly press the power button at least five times to activate the actions below,” is the description of this feature. The default action is ‘Call for help’. Unless you choose an emergency number first, your phone will call 112 by default.
Androidworld saw Twitter user @wimberkhof discuss the problem. A Motorola user has already called 911 several times while the phone was simply in a handbag. After the question was put to Motorola’s support service, it emerged that it was about the SOS function that has been active by default since the Android 12 update.
=https://twitter.com/wimberkhof/status/1519569757703442432″ data-service=”twitter”>
These phones suffer from it
The SOS feature is not enabled by default on all Android 12 phones. Androidworld found this after a poll in our Androidworld community on Telegram. It turned out that at least some Android 12 phones from the brands below have the SOS function on:
Please note that this was a limited survey and in practice it is possible that not all devices of the above brands have the function activated by default. Although it may still be that some specific models from other brands are affected.
This is how you turn it off
The SOS function can be very useful, but especially if you are aware that the feature is active on your phone. Then you can also pay extra attention that the on/off button is not accidentally pressed. If you would still like to disable the function, you can follow the steps below on your smartphone:
- Go to Settings
- Tap on Safety and emergencies
- Choose SOS
- Move Using SOS from
If you are still not sure whether your phone has Android 12, you can easily find out with the steps above. The ‘Safety and Emergencies’ menu is new in Android 12.
Big consequences
The consequences of this problem with the SOS function can be significant, because it is punishable in the Netherlands to misuse the 112 number. Adults can be fined or jailed for this and there are also penalties for children, according to information on the website of the national government.
Have you accidentally called 112 on your device in this way? Maybe you have an Android 12 phone from the above brands, but the SOS function is turned off for you? Or do you have another brand of phones where the feature is enabled by default? Please contact the Androidworld editors via this route. Also let us know in the comments at the bottom of this article.
