Surge in false 911 calls linked to Apple watches

(Photo courtesy of Apple Inc.)

Public safety officials in Connecticut are warning about a surge in false 911 calls due to Apple Watches.

The Tolland County Mutual Aid Fire Service sasy that its 911 operators are dealing with the problem at it call center.

They have dubbed the problem "Wrist Dialing" and posted a warning on their Facebook page.

They says that Apple Watches may easily dial 911 without the user's knowledge if the Apple SoS feature is enabled.  It automatically starts a process to dial 911 in 10 seconds if the side button is pushed or held down for three seconds.

Emergency workers are asking users if they accidentally wrist dial 911 to please stay on the line and inform the operator what happened. They warn that if a user disconnects the call prior to speaking to someone, they have to attempt to contact them to determine that they are not experiencing a true emergency.

The feature can be disabled by the user by going into the watches settings.  It only works if the user is near their phone.