New iPhone safety feature triggers mass mistake 911 calls at Bonnaroo
Panic at Bonnaroo as iPhone Feature Causes Chaos with Accidental 911 Calls
Last weekend, the Tennessee festival, Bonnaroo, experienced some unexpected chaos due to a new feature on iPhones. On Thursday, June 15, multiple accidental calls were made to emergency services, causing panic among festival-goers. The police in Manchester took to Twitter to share details of the situation, attributing the calls to a malfunction with the iPhone’s feature.
The Facebook post from the Manchester Police Department explained, “It’s likely that these calls are a result of ‘Crash Detection Mode,’ a new feature on Apple iPhones.” They also urged attendees to be mindful of this and to consider deactivating the feature until the conclusion of the festival.
According to information found on the Apple website, the iPhone’s Crash Detection Mode automatically sends an alert to emergency services if it detects that the user has been involved in a severe car crash. After displaying an alert, the phone will initiate an emergency phone call after 20 seconds if there is no cancellation. In situations where the user is unresponsive, the iPhone will play an audio message for emergency services, providing them with latitude and longitude coordinates and an approximate search radius.
The organizers of Bonnaroo also used Twitter to address the issue, posting a tweet that called for teamwork to resolve the situation. They shared simple steps for festival-goers to turn off the feature through the iPhone settings.
Thankfully, no actual crashes were reported during the four-day music festival, which featured headliners such as Foo Fighters, Paramore, Korn, Knocked Loose, and AFI. However, this is not the first time that the iPhone’s Crash Detection Mode has caused accidental 911 calls. In January, there were reports of overwhelmed 911 centers near ski mountains due to accidental calls from fallen skiers’ and snowboarders’ phones and watches.
FAQs:
Q: What caused panic at the Bonnaroo festival?
A: Panic at the festival was caused by a new feature on iPhones that resulted in multiple accidental calls to emergency services.
Q: What was the reason behind the accidental calls?
A: The calls were due to a malfunction with the iPhone’s Crash Detection Mode, which automatically sends an alert to emergency services if it detects a severe car crash.
Q: What did the Manchester Police Department advise festival-goers to do?
A: The police department advised attendees to consider deactivating the Crash Detection Mode feature on their iPhones until the conclusion of the festival.
Q: How can the Crash Detection Mode feature be turned off?
A: The Bonnaroo organizers shared simple steps on Twitter to turn off the feature through the iPhone settings.
Q: Were there any crashes reported at the festival?
A: No crashes were reported during the four-day music festival.
Q: Has the iPhone’s Crash Detection Mode caused accidental 911 calls before?
A: Yes, there were reports in January of overwhelmed 911 centers near ski mountains due to accidental calls from fallen skiers’ and snowboarders’ phones and watches.
Bonnaroo Witnesses Surge of Accidental 911 Calls Due to New Safety Feature on iPhones
Chaos ensued at the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee last weekend when a new iPhone feature led to multiple accidental calls being made to emergency services. On Thursday, June 15, the festival’s opening day, festivalgoers at Bonnaroo found themselves caught in a panic as their iPhones automatically dialed emergency services without their intention or knowledge. The Manchester Police Department took to Twitter to address the issue, attributing the calls to a malfunction in the iPhone’s “Crash Detection Mode.” This feature sends an alert to emergency services if it detects that the user has been involved in a car crash.
In a Facebook post, the police department explained, “MPD has responded to multiple accidental 911 calls at Bonnaroo. It’s likely that these calls are a result of ‘Crash Detection Mode,’ a new feature on Apple iPhones.” They advised festival attendees to deactivate this feature on their phones until the conclusion of Bonnaroo. Apple’s official website provides details on how the feature functions – if the iPhone detects a severe car crash, it displays an alert and automatically initiates an emergency call after 20 seconds, unless the user cancels it. This led to numerous unintentional calls being made to emergency services throughout the four-day festival.
Bonnaroo organizers also joined in the effort to spread awareness and resolve the situation. They took to Twitter and posted a tweet urging attendees to work together to address the issue. They provided simple steps to disable the “Crash Detection Mode” in the iPhone settings. Bonnaroo tweeted, “Heads up Bonnaroovians! Let’s work as a team to resolve this! You can take action by going Settings>Emergency SOS and deactivating the ‘crash’ feature.”
Fortunately, no actual crashes were reported during the festival, which featured headliners such as Foo Fighters, Paramore, Korn, Knocked Loose, and AFI. However, this is not the first time this particular iPhone feature has caused unintentional 911 calls. In January, reports emerged of overwhelmed 911 centers near ski mountains due to accidental automated calls from skiers’ and snowboarders’ phones and watches.
Despite the panic and chaos caused at Bonnaroo, festival organizers and attendees managed to stay focused on the music and successfully navigate through the unintended consequences of the iPhone feature.