Starting today, you'll be able to send a text message to 911 in an emergency situation. The service will be supported by AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile. Text 911 is only available in a small set of select cities in the US to start, however it will be rolled out everywhere by the end of 2014.
Using the service is easy, just send a new text message to 911 with the details of your emergency — though you'll need to remember to send your location as pinning things down over text isn't the same as it is with phone calls. You'll also be able to send a photo along with your message, though that feature isn't supported across the board just yet.
You can read more on the Text-to-911 service at the FCC's website.
Source: FCC; Via: Lifehacker
Reader comments
You can now text to 911 in an emergency
Canada is working on this... http://textwith911.ca/
Posted via CB10
I see this useful also for where a killer is after you or something and you don't wanna make any noise.
This is a great feature. I think an awesome idea as well.
Posted via CB10
How is quicksilver not banned yet?
Posted from my TARDIS!
The NEW, IMPROVED emergency services! 0-118-999-881-99-9919-725....3
Posted via CB10
I see one scenario where texting 911 would be useful-active shooter situations. Hiding and texting would be safer than calling and talking..Other than that and hearing impaired folks using text rather than TDD services, that's about it for text 911 usefulness. It would be more useful in a reverse 911 situation though- everyone carries their phones everywhere.
BlackBerry by choice, blackberry for life...
Posted via CB10
Good old America (the land of the free but only the ones who can afford it)
Tapping and flicking on my Zed 10
You know like in the movies when the bad guys chasing you up the stairs and u get to a room where you can call the cops but then the bad guys hear you and come in, cut the phone line and kill you...
But Now.. you can open your hub, flick and swipe, quietly and efficiently and kick back looking at that blinking LED light.
Posted via CB10
I love how American writers always leave location ambiguous in their posts. Don't they realize that they have an international audience?
Posted via CB10
Plus no GPS tracking/location either, which is a big let down/downside. A call willl definitely allow the location to be sent through faster than a sms and telling them of your location.
Posted via CrackBerry 10 (CB10) application using my BlackBerry Q10.
Shit, I meant send a rogue text.
Posted via CrackBerry 10 (CB10) application using my BlackBerry Q10.
I would always prefer to call than to text. Because sometimes people can abuse this system by being evil and using somebody's phone to send a rogue call and end up incriminating somebody. No thank you!! A voice call is more legitimate.
Posted via CrackBerry 10 (CB10) application using my BlackBerry Q10.
I can see uses for it when talking is not an option, but how will texts help with a GPS lock, especially needed if you don't have a 911 address on your line/account?
LOL, that picture.
Posted via CB10
They don't come out for a car accident.
Posted via CB10
Soo stupid... someone is trying to kill me, let's text for help
White Z10
What about a kid who doesn't know the address where the problem is? 911 is an easy enough number to learn and remember but an app with simple pictures showing different types of emergency situations could be the difference between life and death.
Not that stupid if calling is not an option (low battery, weak signal, etc.) and if the response time is just as good.
Crackberry team, is it possible to incorporate something like the reddit voting for most valuable comments? These children arguing over firsts make me not want to bother opening the comments.
Great idea. Consider this my up-vote for your comment.
I work with people who are speech and hearing impaired... this is a break through we've been hoping and fighting for, it's a pity i've moved to South Africa and this kind of technology won't be available here anytime soon.
Posted via a sexy QTEN
Someone should write an app for this. Preset messages with the location attached to the message might be a help for a response team
ugh I sure hope carriers dont use this as an excuse to up everyones' bills......
I'm pretty sure calls to 911 don't count against minutes lol. Plus, in a REAL emergency situation, do you really care if you're going to go over your text message allotment?
Edit: unless you meant upping the taxes/fees they collect from us already? Most of the government taxes they pass on to us actually are real. I googled the ones on my bill and they were real. The "administrative fee" on the other hand...
thats exactly what i mean. the "911" fees. i dont care about minutes/text as i have unlimited. its the fees section of my sprint bill that keeps growing over the years
A little BBM integration would be nice. I'm sure in the next few years that they will have all of the bugs worked out and we can send a Glympse to our local police or fire department to pinpoint our location. This should have been already in place back when pagers were in style.
Posted via CB10 with my Z10.
About time! This should have been in place years ago.
Posted via CB10 on my Z10
This to be effective, there should be ready made messages in your mobile ready to be sent in one click...
e.g. "Please send firefighters and ambulance. Our house is on fire! Located at House 1, 23rd Street, 45 Ave., City"
Posted via CB10
I agree--some sort of a locator system needs to be put in, and I'm not sure if they would be able to tell a location just off a text. In absence of such an app, a system like word substitutions would be great here. You could set "addy" to House 1, 23rd Street, 45 Ave., City and not type out the whole thing. Fire, addy, space, send.
Who is going to train the 911 text operators in the latest 14 year old's text acronyms and shorthand?
Lol @ the text on the phone's screen in that pic...
Texting 911 is available in some Canadian cities already. It requires the service be set up in advance thru your carrier and is geared towards the hearing impaired.
If you can, call 911, it's best to be able to speak with someone directly.
Posted via CB10
For certain situations, this will be a good thing. Outside of that, it's going to be a headache chasing down every errant text message reporting something someone dosen't like.
Posted via CB10
I think the ability to text 911 is a great idea. Imagine, you're hiding in the closet or under the bed as you can hear your violent ex husband walking only a few steps away...he has a gun and he's sworn to kill you...calling 911 isn't an option right now...if he hears you, you're dead. Oh wait...you have the ability to text 911. Luckily, since you have a BlackBerry Z30 with the greatest touch typing experience ever, you can easily copy and paste your address with a cry for help! All he hears are sirens and the house is lit up with that familiar red and blue flashing lights...and not the panicked call from his ex wife, which would have given away her hiding spot :-P
Maybe not a typical scenario, but plausible :-)
Posted via CB10
Should be available on a worldwide scale, but with severe penalties for false alarms and hoaxes.
Posted via CB10
Hope they don't get any text spammers from China, Vietnam or elsewhere pushing fake Viagra.... ROTFL
They might need some good filters.
"No Q10?" -> "Buy from Chen... "
It will also work in poor service areas. I cannot make a phone call from inside my house but can send a sms message. If I were to fall down the stairs and break my leg I would have to crawl outside to get service and call 911.
Posted via CB10
Add this into bbm so you can just send a glimpse of your location.
Posted via CB10
I think this will work wonders in weeding out non emergencies. It will free up the operators from explaining "missing fries" is not an emergency. Yup, that and other ridiculous 911 calls occur far too often.
Enjoyed the example text in the screenshot... true emergency. :)
When you say it will be rolled out everywhere by the end of 2014, I assume you mean everywhere in the US, correct?
~ TheRealFixxxer
Completely ridiculous on its face.
Unless you have an app that will send a preset text message when you depress an emergency button for people having strokes, heart attacks, choking, or in situations where you can't speak...(Barricaded in a room or in a Domestic situation where the other half is passed out and the children are sleeping) ....etc.
Posted via CB10
"What's up 911, soo my leg is broken!? XD"
This article really needs to make it clear in the title that this is being implemented by the FCC and is therefore only available in the USA.
Posted via CB10
Does the list of carriers not make that clear?
Certainly. Does it hurt to add it to the article to avoid those questions if you so obviously get annoyed by them?
~ TheRealFixxxer
Well it starts by saying a select set of cities in the US and then you say it is rolling out "everywhere" after that.
Maybe just change that to "the rest of the USA". US citizens already have the notion that the entire world ends at their borders. No need to add to that delusion. :-P
Blargh, Blargh! CB10 blargh.
Good one!
Powered by BB10
If Americans are guilty of narrowing the global borders, aren't non-Americans taking it to another extreme here--broadening them too much? The article clearly mentions US carriers and "small set of select cities in the US" and "everywhere" in that context (and same sentence,) at least to me, is quite clearly talking about the US.
For 99.99% of situations texting 911, instead of calling 911, seems like a very bad idea to me.
If you need 911, time if usually extremely valuable. I can see it now:
"My dad is having a heart attack. lol."
What if you're being kidnapped or you can't let anyone hear you talking
If you are kidnapped, the kidnappers would have to be stupid not to search you and take your phone. The idea seems highly impractical.
Blackberry always.....
Absolutely, there are circumstances where texting 911 is useful. Adam also brought up access for the deaf, which very important. I suspect that these are very small numbers overall, but still very important.
I have this nagging suspicion that some people will simply die unnecessarily because they prefer to text rather than call a live person.
"My dad is having a heart attack. Lol."
That made me lol. :)
Cheers. :)
Posted via CB10
Tweet or FB to 911?
Or maybe there's a govt't authorized app for it soon...
"No Q10?" -> "Buy from Chen... "
Who texts in n emergency? Kind of takes away from the danger of an emergency, doesn't it?
CrackBerrians: We stay on our Z's & Q's
Was thinking the same thing. I can see this turning out badly. If you have time to text then you can call too. Although texting can be quieter if there is a break in or something like that. I hope everything is nailed down, no room for errors when it comes to 911.
Z10
Deaf people. Or maybe you're trapped in a closet or trunk of a car and don't have access to a phone. Or maybe your landline was cut. The possibilities are endless (and yes, I watch too many movies).
Hey that stuff happens. TV is just slight fluff of what happens or could happen in real life.
Swiped via CB10 with my T-Mobile USA (Only T-Mo rep still pushing ) BlackBerry Q10...oh wait a sec....its my new BlackBerry Z30 (STA100-5), son! The holy grail of phones! Once you go BlackBerry, everything else is wack-berry! LOL!
Angry iPhone users at the door? Do they carry a gold iPhone? ;-)
"No Q10?" -> "Buy from Chen... "
+++++ yes! Maybe you cannot talk and afraid to make noise if intruder is in your home. The non hearing is awesome as well to acknowledge!
Posted via CB10
It's a novel idea especially in a scenario where audio could jeaopardize ones security. You can fairly quietly with a touchscreen keyboard
Now I think the clickety clack of the pkb phones would be a detriment to one's safety lol!!!
Posted via CB10
Everyone always complains about things they don't have to use...what's wrong with having the option?
[SS]
only good in Murica I guess :( I hope Canada does this in the near future
I can see you chuckling and smiling in the basement
Posted via CB10
aww are you hurt because you haven't been able to be stupid and say first?? I'm at work, unlike you, besides my home computer is in my basement, my home theater room... you know, where you setup thousands of dollars worth of stereo and video equipment and enjoy it as a man cave? Oh but you probably don't have that or have a clue how to live life of luxury.
Now kindly step away wannabe first troll....
Shouldn't you be working on work related things? :S
To be honest, I was under the impression that is was already out. Oh well, it is good to see it is rolling out.
You seem to have a lot of free time yourself to keep refreshing CB to make sure you beat everyone else to the first comment. Must be a very demanding job..
Z10
hahaha when you are a team lead, yes lots of work has to be done, but I also have the time to keep CB open all day long :)
So you have a home theater with thousands of dollars worth of stuff in it, and so you're a team lead. Who cares? You really had to say that here huh, to make yourself feel you're better than other folks here.
Still doesn't give you the right to insult people. You're arrogance makes you the number one troll here in CB.
Z10 STL100-2 / running official 10.2.1.2141
aww are you jealous as well? I'm just stating that I am not anything like what you guys think I am, I live with my fiancee, not with my parents, and I have a decent comfortable life, not bragging about what I have at all, just stating that yes my computer is in a basement, but its in a home theater.
I will stop being the way I am, when people like ibimmer stop being losers about posting first. I left it alone for a bit, and he continues to be stupid, so I decided it was time to be stupid right back.
if he wasn't being immature and saying things like "I'm going to get the P9983rd" or whatever trying to be witty with numerical post positions, I would have no issue at all, but the fact that he does it to try to p!ss me off is hilarious, because it's not p!ssing me off, just shows he's just being just as immature as I am being. I left it alone for a while, and you can see, there are people that say and post first and I don't bother, but its the idiots like ibimmer that do it every time they can, that's just stupid, and immature.
There is no need to post up in the comments that you are first or second or one hundredth. I'm just here to call out those people because they look stupid and I will join them and look stupid with them, as long as they know they are being stupid.
Ok 2 things. First of all what you have and your achievements does not define the person that you are. Your actions do. Secondly, It says a lot that you get so bothered by someone writing first all the time. Why should it affect you? You, getting worked up by that, makes you as bad or even worse than the people you complain about.
Oh Quick! Your rants bring back fond memories of the days we were rival ninjas. Remember where it all started? It started at the battle of Ryan Secret typo article. Oh our battles from then on were legendary!
Swiped via CB10 with my T-Mobile USA (Only T-Mo rep still pushing ) BlackBerry Q10...oh wait a sec....its my new BlackBerry Z30 (STA100-5), son! The holy grail of phones! Once you go BlackBerry, everything else is wack-berry! LOL!
Made my crackin' berry day!
"No Q10?" -> "Buy from Chen... "
Me, jealous of you hanging out in CB religiously and watching out for first comments on every article? Sure. I'm jealous alright.
Z10 STL100-2 / running official 10.2.1.2141
You must know how to speak french. lol just kidding.
Posted via CB10
Just drop it already. This is getting old. Add something to the topic instead like my idea. Get them a bbm pin so you can just send a glimpse with the message. Forget typing the location.
Posted via CB10
Heck they should have something like face time as well. Point your camera at your killer and you may not live but at least the killer would be easier to identify
Posted via CB10
That's funny....in some sick awkward way.
Swiped via CB10 with my T-Mobile USA (Only T-Mo rep still pushing ) BlackBerry Q10...oh wait a sec....its my new BlackBerry Z30 (STA100-5), son! The holy grail of phones! Once you go BlackBerry, everything else is wack-berry! LOL!
Yet again I had to scroll through 20+ comments irrelevant to the post thanks to the first police.
Posted via CB10
Your too much!
Swiped via CB10 with my T-Mobile USA (Only T-Mo rep still pushing ) BlackBerry Q10...oh wait a sec....its my new BlackBerry Z30 (STA100-5), son! The holy grail of phones! Once you go BlackBerry, everything else is wack-berry! LOL!
Ibemmer the first loser
Posted via CB10
I despite the "Murica" meme.
Motorola V3xx -> Nokia E63 -> Nokia N900 -> Nokia N9 -> BlackBerry Z10
'Stralia is next. See you there...
"No Q10?" -> "Buy from Chen... "
Thanks to quicksilver, I had to read a bunch of bullshit before I could actually see what people thought of this. Why don't you stop posting your unrelated bullshit on every article. Just go home, kid-_-
[SS]
In the end you added to it, just sayin.
Z10