Yesterday, I was out and about, shopping for groceries, having an all-around good day. I packed my groceries in my truck and started to drive home.

About half way home my cell phone rings. I answer it and it is the 911-operator. She says “This is the 911-Operator, we just received a call and hang-up from your phone. Is everything OK?”

I told her that I was fine but that no one had called 911 on my phone. She told me, matter-of-factly, “There was a call and a hang-up. Are you sure everything is fine?” I repeated to her in very stern words “No one called you lady. In fact, I had my cell phone locked making it impossible to dial out. ” She repeated that someone did call. Again I argued that no one did. She said that cell phones can not dial themselves. I told her either their system was wrong or my cell did call on its own because I was the only one near it and I did not call.

She asked for my name and again had me reassure her that I was OK. Next we declared a stalemate, she was thinking she was right…me knowing that I was.

When I got home I called my cell provider. The dude who took the call said he had never heard of such a thing. He said he wanted to confer with colleagues. After a minute or so he came back saying that this could not happen. This made me frustrated. I told him that it does happen and I am living proof of it. He did not believe me…so I said to hell with them all.

Then I got to thinking. There must be another instance of this somewhere. I know that cell phones can call 911 on there own. Google provided me the proof I was looking for.

According to the Center for Problem-Orientated Policing phantom 911 calls are possible in a few circumstances:

nokia Phantom Wireless 911 Calls

Phantom wireless calls are a documented problem in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, although other countries where wireless phones are extensively used probably also experience this problem since wireless systems are similar, despite location. Such calls occur for the following reasons:

* Automatic dialing: If a cell phone user inadvertently presses the 9 or 1 key on a phone preprogrammed to dial 911, the phone automatically dials 911, even without the user having to press “send.” This often happens when a wireless phone is attached to a belt or in a pocket or purse, and the 9 or 1 is bumped. Most wireless users are unaware that their phones are preprogrammed to dial 911 and retail salespersons do not inform purchasers that their phones are susceptible to unintentional 911 dialing.
* Redialing or resending: If, after completing a 911 call, a wireless caller accidentally presses or bumps the “redial” or “send” key, the phone dials 911 again. (Note that landline users may also accidentally redial 911 this way.)
* Random dialing: Some older wireless phones dial 911 when the phone’s batteries are low.†

† When their batteries are low, some phones start randomly dialing numbers, eventually dialing 911. The call goes through without pressing the “send” button.

The random dialing on older phones seems to partially fit in my circumstance. I own a Nokia 6185i. My wife had owned it for 3 years before giving it to me this year. Lately I have noticed that when I power it up, it takes a lot longer to turn on than it used to.

I think there is something wrong with the power, although it still holds a charge for 3 or 4 days, when receiving a digital signal.

One of life’s oddities

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