Can you still call 911 from a cell phone even after the service is shut off?

[NNN0LHI]

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081029093854AAGvwXE

Can you still call 911 from a cell phone if your service was shut off?

I have a friend who told me their phone was shut off, but I dont believe them. I was driving past them the other day and saw them on the phone. They said they were calling 911 because they saw an accident, and their actually was an accident in the road, but i thought you could not call any numbers when a phone is shut off.


Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

All phones are capable of dialing 911 even without service. Even cell phones as long as they are charged can dial 911. Many places try to get donations of used cell phones to give to people that may need one to call 911 in an emergency but can't afford phone service.

To donate your old cell phone visit this website: http://www.911cellphonebank.com/
Source(s):

Oh, and don't try calling 911 from an old cell phone just to see if it works. Yes, it does, and they don't need your non-emergency call taking up time.

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Just had mine shut off as a money saving measure and mentioned to my daughter that I was just worried about not having it for real emergencies while driving. She said it will still work for dialing 911 as long as the battery is charged up. Anyone else ever heard of this?

Don

[TheWraith]

1. Yes, that's the case.

It's been legally required practically since the beginning. Any phone can call 911, regardless of service state.

[Go Vols]

2. yep

[NNN0LHI]

6. Well that is a really good thing to know

I have been paying for service on the cell phone I have now for over two years just to have it to call 911 in case of an emergency on the road.

That is the only thing I ever use it for. I was paying for something that was free all along. Damn.

Amazing.

Don

[Politicalboi]

9. What kind of emergency?

An accident yes, but a break down? I have hardly ever called 911. Is it ok to call if your car breaks down on a highway with a flow of traffic? Here in Ca we have call boxes on most highways. But I travel sometimes with my 85 year old mother so a break down can be an emergency I suppose, but is it right to call 911. Just curious.

[NNN0LHI]

12. The kind of emergency where my car slides off the road during a blizzard

And no one knows I am there. And there was a chance I would freeze to death.

That kind of emergency.

As for a car breakdown if the car stops in the middle of the road somewhere and is blocking traffic that is something the county police would want to be aware of so they can come out and put some flares down and call a wrecker.

This is a very rural area. No call boxes here. Just corn fields as far as the eye can see.

I would not call 911 if my car broke down in a grocery store parking lot. I would just go in and use the payphone to call a mechanic.

Common sense rules.

Don

[TheWraith]

13. You might want to consider a prepaid cell phone.

There are options that work out as cheap as $8 a month, and it gives you the added ability to call family, a tow truck, AAA, whatever if you're stranded in NON-life-threatening circumstance.

[tabbycat31]

17. I second the prepaid phone notion

I've only ever used the prepaids on campaigns while phone banking, but for someone like you it would be an ideal option.

Payphones are quickly becoming non-existent and are being removed on a daily basis.

[onehandle]

3. I only know about iPhones. You can call 911 even without 'service.' nt

[RKP5637]

4. Yep! There was a law passed sometime ago (don't have the link) that

requires cell phone companies to allow 911 calls even if service has been disconnected. I don't know about the old analogue phones, but it's supposedly true for digital (but I've never tried it.)

[TheWraith]

14. Believe it was the Telecommuncations Act of 1996.

But don't quote me on that.

[yellowcanine]

5. Yes - that is why when you are out of your own network it says "Emergency Calls Only".

So even when you don't have service with your subscribed network if any other network is available you can make a 911 call with that phone.

[SunsetDreams]

7. Wow thanks for this thread

I really had no clue, that's nice to know

[ag_dude]

8. Doesn't even need to activated

I've gone through two Droids in the past month and they both have two options when you take them out of the box, emergency call and activate.

[MiddleFingerMom]

10. I worked for Verizon Wireless for a number of years and ALL cellphones sold after...

.
.
.
... a certain date (forget, but it's MAYBE 10 years ago) were mandated to have this feature. As long as
you can keep it charged, you have an emergency 911 phone.
.
Some kids, knowing this and knowing it's impossible (or not worth the resources) to track them down will
prank call 911, cutting down on true emergency response calls (also, if you give an old phone to a toddler
to play with, take the battery out so they don't "accidentally" discover this).
.
.
.
I think endless pizza delivery should be mandated, too.
.
.
.

[Raine1967]

11. Yes. I would like to take it one step further.

http://www.ncadv.org/takeaction/DonateaPhone.php

People who have no more need for their old cell phones can donate them for victims of domestic violence.

Cell phones have always been available for people that need to make 911 calls. Always. I've had a cell phone since the early 90's. I knew that even if I could not pay for my service, I had 911 available to me.

Discarded phones are a very good resource for women who may be victims of domestic violence because of this.

[pokerfan]

15. Yes, it's an FCC rule

The FCC’s basic 911 rules require wireless service providers to transmit all 911 calls to a PSAP, regardless of whether the caller subscribes to the provider’s service or not.

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/wireless-911-services

[fascisthunter]

16. great thread... surprised at the lack of recs

wake the fuck up people!

[Generic Other]

18. And you can still call 911 when the phone is buried

deep in the sidepocket of your purse that you tossed onto the passenger seat of the car as you leave work one day.

[TheWraith]

19. That's what the key-lock function is for.

Although some people have trouble with that, as evidenced by my friend who keeps pocket dialing me.

[Generic Other]

20. I am probably opening myself up for criticism

but "Key-lock"?

[TheWraith]

21. Key lock, or keypad lock, prevents you from being able to dial the phone...

...until you've performed a specific set of actions to "unlock" it, such as pressing two widely separated keys right after each other. That way your phone can't accidentally dial anyone, even a wrong number, but having the keypad hit.

[Generic Other]

22. I must have a badly designed phone

or a cleverly designed purse because I am always unlocking and autodialing.