Does anyone know how to turn OFF the AUTOMATIC dialing 411 when the side buttons are pushed “Accidentally?” I had it happen to me last month and was charged $2.99 and called Verizon Technical Support ~ the Technician told me there was No Way of turning this feature off 🤔 This seems So Wrong!!!
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 17
It takes some effort and purposeful actions to call emergency services. See all the ways you can do it here --> Use SOS to contact emergency services on your iPhone - Apple Support
It takes some effort and purposeful actions to call emergency services. See all the ways you can do it here --> Use SOS to contact emergency services on your iPhone - Apple Support
Looking at Verizon’s website the only way to call 411 Search is by dialing 411 (as others have pointed out the side buttons on the iPhone don’t call it). I have been a Verizon customer for over 20 years and thankfully never had this happen…didn’t even realize 411 was still an option. Curious…when you look at your call log on your device does it actually show these calls?
As far as turning it off…here is the only option Verizon shows on their website:
Can I prevent phones on my account from calling 411 Search?
Yes, Verizon Smart Family™ lets you block individual lines on your account from calling 411.
If you already subscribe to Verizon Smart Family, refer to the step-by-step instructions in the Block Contacts section of our How to Use Guide.
Otherwise you can sign up for Verizon Smart Family online at any time.*
I would have to dig around a little more in My Verizon to see if there is any other option that doesn’t require signing up for a monthly subscription if you don’t have or want that subscription. There probably isn’t though unfortunately.
Apple_Jack-12 wrote:
I thought that the buttons on the side were to call 911 also I wasn’t even aware that they could call 411. However, I didn’t even have the phone in my hand at the time it made the call to 411.
None of the buttons will call 411. I suspect that Verizon was handing you a line of nonsense. Folded towels resting on the phone can't really do anything, either.
Were you by any chance talking on the phone just before you put it in the basket? If so, a far more likely explanation is that, if you didn't lock the screen, your fingers hit something as you put the phone in the basket. Siri is another possibility. But, these are guesses as I wasn't there to see.
there ought to be a way to turn this feature OFF because it can be called Accidentally, so easily.
As it's not a feature, it can't be turned off. Always make sure the screen is locked on the phone before putting it down.
When I worked for Verizon, credit for one accidental 411 call was practically automatic. They are spending more in customer service time on you than the $2.99.
And no, in all the years I worked for Verizon, I never saw this happen or even had anyone pose it as a possibility.
I see. Maybe they have tap to wake enabled on their iPhone and keep it in their pocket, where movement can inadvertently make unintended touches to the screen? I advise people who carry their phone in their pocket to turn off Tap to Wake in Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Tap or Swipe to Wake (turn it off).
I thought that the buttons on the side were to call 911 also I wasn’t even aware that they could call 411. However, I didn’t even have the phone in my hand at the time it made the call to 411. I had my iPhone 13 Pro Max in my laundry basket and it evidently got mashed between my folded towels on my way back to my apartment. I had my volume turned down a little less than halfway and as I’m walking down the hall I hear a voice coming from my phone and I’m thinking, “That’s odd.” because I never heard my phone ring. I put my laundry basket down and pushed the towels aside and by the time I picked up my phone, no one was talking. So I went to my phone icon and tapped it and tapped on recent, and it showed that “I had called 411” But it really didn’t register at the moment I was just automatically thinking “911” And if they have to send an ambulance and their EMTs out to a call, even if it’s an “ACCIDENTAL CALL” whoever dialed that number has to pay for the ambulance and EMTs that were dispatched. So I immediately dialed the “non-emergency 911” number that I have in my speed dial along with the Original 911# and told the dispatcher what had happened and that it was an accident and I did NOT need an ambulance or the EMTs. So because it was just a few seconds, she immediately dispatched the ambulance and EMTs and told them it was an accidental call and thank God they hadn’t left the fire station yet so I didn’t get charged for the ambulance run but I did however get charged $2.99 from Verizon for making that call. So I called Verizon customer service after I had talked to the Verizon technician and explained to them what had happened and they wrote up a Case ticket. I received an email today, saying that they are “Reviewing my case” where I have requested a refund for the Accidental 411 call that was made by having the two buttons on the side, simultaneously push together when they were in my laundry basket. “So no, it takes very little to no effort to call emergency services ~ Especially accidentally” Even the Verizon representative told me that they get those calls quite often with women having their phones in their purses and they get mashed or people having their phones in their pockets and the buttons simultaneously get pushed so I’m definitely not the first person that this is ever happened to. And like I said to begin with, I had no idea that those buttons even had the option to call 411. Honestly, I didn’t even know 411 existed anymore. My problem IS ~ if Verizon is going to charge their customers $2.99 if they call 411 then there ought to be a way to turn this feature OFF because it can be called Accidentally, so easily.
sorry for such a long explanation, but with you saying that it takes some effort and purposeful action to make this call I wanted to make sure that you had the exact information of what happened and I didn’t even have the phone in my hands or on my person.
No, I wasn’t talking to anyone previously. I have NO IDEA How the buttons got pushed and as I said in my earlier explanations I stated that I wasn’t even aware that 411 was still an option. So I am clueless as to how 411 even got called in the first place and I even have in my settings the SOS options, turned off. So I thought that would keep the phone from accidentally calling 911 if the buttons were ever pushed but obviously that’s not the case either. But after talking to Verizon and explaining what happened I did get a $2.99 credit on my bill this month because they said this kind of thing happens more than one would think by people having their phones in purses or places where the side buttons get pushed together and automatically call 911 or 411. But as I’ve said, I wasn’t even aware that 411 was an option, and if I wanna Find someone’s phone number I’ll ask a friend or someone that knows that person or if it’s a business I’ll Google it.
lobsterghost1 wrote:
It takes some effort and purposeful actions to call emergency services. See all the ways you can do it here --> Use SOS to contact emergency services on your iPhone - Apple Support
I think the OP is calling information, not emergency services. I can't figure out how they're doing that. But yes, VZW does charge an arm and a leg for the call.
lobsterghost1 wrote:
I see. Maybe they have tap to wake enabled on their iPhone and keep it in their pocket, where movement can inadvertently make unintended touches to the screen?
Or, Verizon is trying to come up with a reason that doesn't involve them?
“I” didn’t push or even have the phone in my hands or on my person. And in my settings I have the SOS toggles turned OFF! It happened when I was coming back from the laundry room, and I had my towels folded in the laundry basket, and I had put my phone down between the towels, and evidently the weight of the towels pushed against the two side buttons, therefore causing it to call 411, which I didn’t even realize that Verizon had a 411 option. I thought that if you pushed the two side buttons in and held them, it would bring up a message on your home screen and give you the option to push to call 911 but this just automatically called 411 without me even having the phone in my hands. I am well aware that the power button nor the volume buttons will automatically call “911”. But I do know that if you hold in the two side buttons, you can call 911 that’s why I went into my settings and turned off the option to be able to place an SOS call by using the side buttons so I am at a complete loss of how that 411 got placed. Especially since I didn’t even know, 411 still existed.
And also, I do not use Siri and the 411 call was made On My Way Back to my apartment and I hadn’t used my phone the entire time I had been gone. It had remained in the laundry basket. I appreciate you trying to help but I still have NO IDEA how the 411 call was made 🤷♀️
Which button are you pushing that this is happening? Neither the power button nor the volume buttons will automatically call 411.
No, I do not have tap to wake enabled on my phone. And the call had absolutely nothing to do with touching my screen.
This is still Apple_Jack-12 but Apple Support changed my user name b/c it made me look like I was an employee of Apple - which I definitely am not. Just a 23 year customer of Verizon
How to stop iPhone from auto calling 411?
