The Samsung Galaxy S24
ShawnMH's profile

Teacher

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15 Messages

Thursday, July 13th, 2017 10:45 PM

911 auto (POCKET) dial feature

LG X Venture phone, how do I turn the 911/Emergency auto (pocket) dial feature off? This is a MAJOR pain in the butt. It is not the only phone I have had that has done this, I had an S5 Active that was notorious for the same thing.

It is not required by FCC to have it be an auto dial feature, they actually recommend you turn it off (if you can) if you are having pocket dial problems.

I have scoured the internet for any clue as to what to do here, the only way I can find to do it is to root the phone. I don't want to do that, as I do enjoy having safe and reliable updates. The only other recommendation I have seen, from an AT&T rep I believe, was to not have a pin number/lock screen.

I don't know about anybody else, but Android pay requires this to be in place, and I do like to use the features that are touted as part of my smartphone. This one also has a thumbprint scanner, and it is linked to the pin number lock screen as well.

So, any chance there is a real solution to turn off any auto dial numbers that I do not set up for myself?

This is a very hugely obvious problem for people and the 911 system. Please AT&T, make this problem go away!

Community Support

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230.7K Messages

7 years ago

Hi there @ShawnMH!

 

Thank you for letting us know about this issue on the Forums. I am more than happy to help with this!

 

Having the phone pocket dial 911 is a concern. This is not the experience we want you to have. I will gladly assist with getting this fixed for you.

                                                

After research I see one possible option is to remove the screen lock and just use swipe to unlock. Another option is 3rd party lock screens. A third option is adding a slip case with screen protection. Here is a forum post regarding this verify issue on the S5.

 

I hope you find this information helpful. Thank you for being the best part of AT&T! Have a great weekend!

 

Daniel, AT&T Community Specialist

Teacher

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15 Messages

7 years ago

Anything other than to HAVE the ability to decide to turn on or off a 911/emergency autodial feature, is a tiny bandaid at best.

I tried going without a lock screen on my S5 before, and that was before I used Android pay. If you think I can't pocket dial 911 without a lock screen, try again.

I am amazed at the things my pocket has done on it's own. Really, a lock screen should be a LOCK screen. It should stay that way until somebody punches in an exact pin number or scans an exact thumbprint on it. For anything at all.

Android Pay requires a lock screen. I use Android pay because it's a convenient and secure way to pay for things, and it is touted as a feature of a modern-day smartphone using Android.

A third-party lock screen only overlays the other one, and does not have thumbprint scanning support for this phone.

Phones have much more than just phone numbers on them nowadays, they have people's entire identities and many things that need to be secure from others.

Even if I wanted to give myself the added inconvenience of having my phone stuck in a slip case, I have not seen any on the market that fit the LG X Venture yet.

Community Support

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230.7K Messages

7 years ago

Hi there @ShawnMH!

 

I definitely understand wanting to use the lock screen, especially when using Android Pay. I am happy to help further with this!

 

The KnockON feature shown on this page may be playing a role in this issue. Please see if KnockON can be disabled by going to Settings > Display > More > KnockON. Disabling this may help with this.

 

If the phone hardware is defective, the phone may have to be replaced. It is a good idea to back up the phone’s data in case replacement is required. This link has options for backing up this phone’s data.

 

To troubleshoot the phone to see if the screen is defective please start on the AT&T Troubleshoot & Resolve page. For best results Log in. After logging in select the phone’s make and model. Scroll down and select Screen to begin troubleshooting.

 

Thank you! Have a great afternoon!

 

Daniel, AT&T Community Specialist

(edited)

Teacher

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15 Messages

7 years ago

Knock On isn't any part of the problem. This didn't even startup out of the box with it on, and I have never used it.

The phone itself is in no way defective.

The problem is the result of AT&T and the OEMs who choose to put an autodialer in such a place where it will easily be unintentionally swiped. Giving the paying and using customer an option as to whether they want it there or not is a SOLUTION.

Having the lock screen be an actual LOCK screen, example: No camera buttons or 911 auto-dialers, should be an option (and actually would THEN be a REAL lock screen).

If you set your phone to lock upon closing the screen, you shouldn't EVER have any worries about auto-dialing or pocket dialing anybody. Or pocket surfing even. Until you open your phone - and either swipe your fingerprint, or put your PIN number in.

If a communications giant and many different large corporations (Samsung, LG, Motorola, etc) can't handle this kind of thing on high tech smartphones in the twenty-first century, something is seriously wrong in here.

This shouldn't be part of the out-of-the-box experience for a customer, yet it is so obvious that many many people are having it. 911 systems are overloaded because of this. It's stressful, embarrassing, and it may even get somebody into serious trouble.

Why isn't there a solution on your (AT&T's) end that doesn't involve putting a tiny Band-Aid on a stab wound - so to speak? This is been happening since smartphones came out, and the solutions that are offered is always put upon the customer to figure out something (compromise) that will suffice.

The solution should be built-in, there should be an option for whether somebody has a 911 auto dialer or not. Turn it on, or turn it off, - whatever one's personal choice and needs may be.

The FCC actually tells people in this situation to turn it off -if at all possible on their phone. So I ask: why is it not possible to turn it off on this phone? Or the last one that I owned? Why doesn't my lock screen actually lock the phone down so I don't have to think about it?

How about an update for this particular phone, the LG X Venture, that actually allows one to turn off the 911 auto-dial, and even the camera on the lock screen too?

Teacher

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15 Messages

7 years ago

Checked on my dog via Arlo cam from work today, closed my screen, put my phone away, and apparently dialed Albany county 911 from my pocket. Again. From work. Thanks to a screen lock that does not truly lock down the phone.

The phone rang: got the obligatory call back (because my pocket never stays on the line), gave the obligatory explanation to the 911 operator. Embarrassing, frustrating, maddening, sickening.

This needs a corporate solution, and NOW!


Teacher

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15 Messages

7 years ago

Is there any official word on this yet?

Any updates being prepared to allow the phone owner to decide whether to enable 911 auto (POCKET) dialling or not?

Any updates to allow a user to have a thumbprint or 4 digit pin number to 100% lock down their own personal phones?

Teacher

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15 Messages

7 years ago

Does AT&T really care??

If so, a REAL solution should be conceived and implemented on THEIR end of things - for us, the customers and users of their hardware/software and network.

The fact that this thread turned silent now, only shows me that nobody corporate side is going to go that route.

Does LG care? The military spec, supposedly heavy duty phone, built to take more abuse than the average phone, can't TRULY lock its own screen?

A construction worker is not expected to be able to keep his phone in his pocket? There is no way I could have this phone in a holster or other case outside of my pocket. Military spec or not, it would not last a day with me.

The S5 Active (Samsung) had the same problem of pocket dialing 911, and many other things as well. At least they attempted to change something to make it less apt to dial 911 in an update. It also had a proximity sensor which helped to some extent.

The true solution to this problem (LG X Venture, lies with LG and AT&T. They need to give the customer a CHOICE of whether there is something on the lock screen that can activate anything, or not.

Some of us, and I feel it is the majority of us, would like a lock screen to just plain LOCK the phone down.

None of us want to hear our phones ringing in our pocket, and get that dreadful feeling that the 911 operator is calling us back to tell us that we've pocket dialed them.

Every single time my phone rings now, I am assuming the worst.

Teacher

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15 Messages

7 years ago

I guess AT&T and LG don't have or want to offer any solutions that don't compromise the smart phone's abilities and the users experience with it.

Just turn a blind eye to this potentially hazardous problem, and ignore the cited FCC recommendations for same issue?

Teacher

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15 Messages

7 years ago

Hello out there? This is still happening. A problem without a REAL solution.

FCC? Hello? Are you out there??? I would think they would rethink what is going on, - WHY it is going on, - and FIX this problem - across the board - all cell phone models and brands. With no penalty of any functions being crippled, or any security features being disabled for the consumer.

The news has been highlighting the hurricane in Texas, and how badly the 911 system was beaten during that emergency. Just imagine how many times a day people across the America are pocket dialing nine-one-one and chewing up system resources.

FIX THIS - AT&T, LG, the FCC! And all the other carriers and manufacturers whose phones do the same thing! FIX IT NOW!!!
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