free4now
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2005
- Messages
- 1,228
I carry an old deactivated Nokia 3560 cell phone in the car with me as a backup in case I need to make a 911 call and don't have my normal cell phone.
The other day I decided to try it out just to make sure it works. I happen to know from previous experience that the 911 system near me has a recorded message saying "If this isn't an emergency call hang up now", so it shouldn't be too rude of me to call and hang up quickly.
I was startled to find that it didn't work. I've tested the same phone a few more times on different days and different locations, and it definitely won't make 911 calls; it just says "Attempting emergency call" and no signal bars show.
It's an AT&T multiband digital phone (not analog) and I know AT&T digital service still works here since I use it with my activated cell phone. I did open it up looking for a SIM card and couldn't find one; I think this was from the days before SIM cards.
Anyway, just a heads up to anyone counting on an old cell phone for 911 service... you might not want to count on it. When I googled "911 deactivated" I mostly got lots of stories about how little kids accidentally call 911 from deactivated cell phones and how dispatchers don't like all the bogus calls from deactivated phones. And I saw a post about how some carriers are refusing to activate non-GPS phones because they won't work with e911.
I have another deactivated AT&T cell phone, and I verified that it does make 911 calls. It seems like the days of being able to count on free cell 911 service are coming to a close.
The other day I decided to try it out just to make sure it works. I happen to know from previous experience that the 911 system near me has a recorded message saying "If this isn't an emergency call hang up now", so it shouldn't be too rude of me to call and hang up quickly.
I was startled to find that it didn't work. I've tested the same phone a few more times on different days and different locations, and it definitely won't make 911 calls; it just says "Attempting emergency call" and no signal bars show.
It's an AT&T multiband digital phone (not analog) and I know AT&T digital service still works here since I use it with my activated cell phone. I did open it up looking for a SIM card and couldn't find one; I think this was from the days before SIM cards.
Anyway, just a heads up to anyone counting on an old cell phone for 911 service... you might not want to count on it. When I googled "911 deactivated" I mostly got lots of stories about how little kids accidentally call 911 from deactivated cell phones and how dispatchers don't like all the bogus calls from deactivated phones. And I saw a post about how some carriers are refusing to activate non-GPS phones because they won't work with e911.
I have another deactivated AT&T cell phone, and I verified that it does make 911 calls. It seems like the days of being able to count on free cell 911 service are coming to a close.