iOS 10.3 Fixes Flaw That Lets iPhones Repeatedly Call 911

Back in October 2016, it was discovered that a flaw within iOS 10 could be exploited in which iPhones were made to dial 911 repeatedly. Given that dialing 911 as a prank is illegal as it basically ties up the lines for people who actually do have an emergency, this was clearly a bug that needed to be addressed.

The good news is that according to The Wall Street Journal (via 9to5Mac), Apple has confirmed that the latest update to iOS has fixed the problem. According to the report, “The code only triggered 911 calls from iPhones, exploiting a feature in the smartphone’s software that allows users to click on a phone number and immediately initiate a call. Apple says the update supersedes that capability and now requires users to always press a second confirmation before initiating a call.”

As for the 18-year old teen that discovered and exploited the flaw, he has since been arrested for three counts of felony computer tampering. Note that this isn’t the first time that such flaws or loopholes have allowed for accidental calling of 911. For example about a week ago, it was discovered that saying “108” to Siri would dial 911, as 108 is India’s equivalent of 911 and Siri will interpret that number depending on where you are.

We’re not sure if this particular loophole has been closed, but it’s something to keep in mind in case you don’t want to get in trouble for accidentally dialing 911.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: iOS, iOS 10