Forum Discussion

rockhillmanor's avatar
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
May 29, 2013

What's the REAL scoop on cell phones & 911?

I am parked way off the beaten path for a few months. I called the closest fire department to get their ER number to plug into my cell phone. I was always told out of state cell phones can NOT automatically connect you to the local rescue department by dialing 911.

Fire Chief said you don't have to do that anymore. That the new cell phones know where you are and you CAN dial 911 and reach the local rescue. And went on to say that even on a de-activated phone when 911 is dialed with connect you to the local rescue.

What is the REAL answer?

I don't want to wake up dead back here because I wasn't able to get a hold of the fire department rescue!

27 Replies

  • I would not recommend it for everyone, but I have the GPS locate feature turned on for both of our Cell phones. I do not have any problem with people knowing where we are, and if we need to be located, hopefully someone can do it. I realize that this is a privacy issue for some, and if so, that is fine.
  • Sorry, but let me get this straight... the fire chief (who works intimately with 911 operations) tells you that you don't have to dial the direct # and 911 on your out of state cell phone will get you the local rescue, and you come to a web forum to get confirmation of the REAL answer to confirm what the Fire CHIEF told you about 911?



  • To get an accurate location, the cell towers must be able to triangulate your location. If you're way off the beaten path, there may not be 3 three or four towers to pick up signal and perform the necessary triangulation to give them an accurate location for you.

    Bill
  • He is completely correct in his response. The call will be connected to the 911 center that serves the tower you are connected to and if your gps feature is turned on, it will pin point you on the operators screen. IIRC, the deadline is past or will very shortly, where ALL 911 centers were required to convert to the enhanced technology or shut the center down.
  • He is correct. New technology of cell phones and gps enabling will automatically give 911 operators an approximate location when you dial 911. They will typically notify the local state police or highway patrol if you are not able to tell them where you are. So if you are in an area or city, you should tell them so the highway patrol doesn't respond instead of a local cop.
  • The new digital phones are SUPPOSED to do automatic location and pinpoint it to within a few yards. That being said, it doesn't ALWAYS work like it's supposed to, whether you are on your cell or you home phone. It might connect you with somewhere in Maine when you are actually calling from Texas.

    The 911 operators are good at what they do and they will make every effort to get you to the correct 911 center or emergency response people.
  • The fire chief is correct. What you are thinking is from back in the old days of analog phones, so-called G2 cell service.

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