Police forces in the UK have cautioned that an attribute on some Android cell phones has been causing numerous unintended "silent" 999 calls to inundate switchboards.
By pressing the side button multiple times, the Emergency SOS feature is triggered.
Police chiefs have suggested that they believe it is contributing to the unprecedented amount of emergency calls.
Google, the maker of the predominant Android phone software, anticipates that producers will roll out patches to address the issue.
The National Police Chiefs Council announced that an updated system has been installed, which enables people to make a direct call to 999 by pressing their device's power button five or more times.
Nationally, emergency services have seen an unprecendented surge in the number of 999 calls. This could be attributed to a few factors, but one of the likely contributors is an update to Android smartphones.
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Devon and Cornwall Police revealed that it takes 20 minutes to handle silent calls. They suggested that those who inadvertently dialed 999 should remain on the line and explain that it was an error.
The force informed the BBC they had received a total of 169 emergency calls without speaking on Sunday from midnight to seven in the evening BST.
Police Scotland declared that BT had notified them of "a noticeable escalation in unintended calls to 999".
Since the update to Android 13 in 2020, there have been reports of certain problems with the feature that was introduced in Android 12 the following year. For instructions on how to deactivate the feature, refer to the manufacturers' websites.
The UK isn't the only area experiencing this issue. At the beginning of June, the European Emergency Number Association voiced concerns after some of its members reported a "huge increase in automatic false calls made from Android devices".
A spokesperson from Google informed the BBC that it is up to the makers of devices with Emergency SOS capabilities to decide how the function will function on their gadgets.
Android is offering manufacturers guidance and resources with the aim of avoiding any unintentional emergency calls from being made on their devices, the company noted.
It is expected that updates from device makers to fix this issue will be sent to those affected soon. People still having problems should turn off Emergency SOS for the next few days.
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