Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR Pixel 10 series users report that they cannot reliably make 911 calls.
The 911 call connects but only delivers garbled, incomprehensible audio, described as “shrill electronic screeches.”
Google’s Pixel series has had a long history of not connecting 911 calls. This bug is technically different, but the end result is the same.
Google’s Pixel lineup has an unfortunate history of being unable to make 911 calls, a statement that doesn’t incite confidence at all. Reports first emerged in 2021 about Pixels being unable to connect to 911, and the issue was traced to a Microsoft Teams bug and fixed in 2022. More 911 call failure reports emerged in 2023 on Pixels, but Google never acknowledged the problem or publicly issued a fix. It seems even the Pixel 10 series cannot make 911 calls reliably, and that’s frankly scary at this point.
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Reddit user YellowWidget had to call 911 for an emergency. Unlike previous Pixels, the call went through. However, the user only heard what they describe as “garbled beeps, shrill electronic screeches, and the occasional ghost of a human word buried in the noise.” The user tried four times, but faced the same issue. Ultimately, the user had to pick up an older Pixel 7 to call 911, and the call went through just fine on the same carrier (Google Fi).
Reddit user katzi6543 also allegedly faced the same issue twice on their Pixel 10 when calling 911. Ultimately, 911 emergency services called the user back. The user didn’t mention this, but we presume the callback sounded normal.
It’s important to point out that the issue on the Pixel 10 series appears to be technically different than the previous 911 calling failures, where the call would fail to connect. However, the result for the end user is the same — they are unable to contact 911 during an emergency, which is a rather catastrophic failure for any smartphone, let alone the latest and greatest flagship series.
Have you faced any issues with calling 911 on your Pixel 10 series? 14 votes Yes, I have faced issues with calling 911 on my Pixel 10. 14 % No, I have not faced any issues with calling 911 on my Pixel 10. 0 % I do not own a Pixel 10 series phone. 86 %
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