Running Android 10+ and Microsoft Teams? Hope You Don’t Need 911

Applies To More Than Just A Pixel 3 Running Android 11

It is not often that a software bug on your phone is life threatening, unfortunately that is very much the case on at least some Android phones running version 10 or higher with Microsoft Teams installed.  A user of a Verizon Pixel 3 discovered this the hard way, thankfully they had a land line available to be able to complete a call to 911 as their mobile phone was incapable of doing so, and yours may not be able to either.

The person in question attempted to dial 911 during a medical emergency and was greeted with a single ring … and then nothing.  Google’s official response, posted on Reddit confirms that this is an issue present on some. but not all phones running Android 10 or higher which has Microsoft Teams enabled.  They suggest the bug may be triggered when you are not logged into Microsoft Teams, which somehow makes things even worse than they already are.  This raises serious questions as to how an app is able prevent the basic operation of a phone, let alone a function which can literally mean the difference between life and death.

Microsoft and Google claim that fixing this deadly bug is very important to them, so important that the fix is due in early January.  Make sure you don’t have any emergencies until then unless you are within reach of someone’s land line or can take the time to ensure you are properly logged into Microsoft Teams.  It is not suggested you dial 911 to see if you are actually able to connect to emergency services, instead you might want to remove Microsoft Teams from your phone unless you consider keeping in touch with your clients and coworkers is more important than your own life.