In the United States, emergency call center managers are irritated by automated calls sent by iPhone 14s to improperly report an accident. In question, the collision detection system which takes a ski descent or a carousel ride for an accident.
In September, Apple launched the iPhone 14. Equipped with iOS 16, the device has a crash detector. By analyzing the data produced by the smartphone’s multiple sensors (accelerometer, barometer, GPS, microphone), the system must identify a collision, trigger a countdown and, if the user does not respond, directly call the rescue. First launched in the United States, the feature has been available for a few months in certain European countries, including France, but not Switzerland.
Except that the system misfires and triggers unexpectedly when it shouldn’t – false positives in tech parlance. The website iPhoneAddict.fr relates several situations leading to unjustified emergency calls.
Roller coaster or downhill skiing
In October, several American media reported that in the King Islands amusement parks, several users of iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 (also equipped with the function) saw their device call for help when they were on a roller coaster. So much so that one of the parks has placed a sign at the entrance to the rides asking users to turn off their smartphones or put them in airplane mode (iPhones don’t yet have a “ride” mode). An Apple spokesperson then recalled the precautions taken to ensure that the system is robust and promised improvements.
A few months later and despite the release of iOS 16.1.2 supposed to optimize the functionality, the undue calls for help continue, especially on the ski slopes. In Colorado, emergency call centers received up to 71 robocalls over the weekend from iPhone 14s and Apple Watches from people hurtling down the slopes.
In Minnesota, a sheriff reports 700 false alerts sent to the central in 2022.
Waste of time and resources
What irritate the services because of the efforts and resources wasted to deal with these supposed emergencies. “Worst case scenario we have to try to find out where you are, what went wrong and what resources we need to send to fix the problem. It can range from a 30-second phone call to God knows how long,” the New York County 911 communications officer from Greene told the New York Post.
Contacted by the daily, an Apple spokesperson explained that the company is in contact with 911 call centers currently experiencing a spike in robocalls due to the collision detection feature, and that it collected their comments.