Help Lock screen and Emergency Call Problem

[dcdixon]

I like the finger print unlock feature, however when the phone is in my pocket it will sense skin contact through the pocket on my leg or with my hand on the outside of my pocket (if the display side is oriented away from my leg).

This has caused random calls to 911 and to people in my ICE group and is extremely annoying - it is by far the most annoying problem I have with the S5.

Is there anyway to disable the Emergency call button or at least require a swipe or an extra physical button push to pull up the dialer screen? This is costing tons of money in accidental calls to emergency services (assuming others are having this problem, and they are), plus the associated embarrassment and having to constantly think about whether my phone is possibly in a position where this can occur.

THIS NEEDS FIXED ASAP, otherwise the lock screen is useless to me. This is also a problem if you use pattern or PIN lock options.

PLEASE FIX THIS in the next update, or if anyone knows of a solution I'd be more than happy to learn what it is.

Rooting is not an acceptable option.

 

[mikedt]

I like the finger print unlock feature, however when the phone is in my pocket it will sense skin contact through the pocket on my leg or with my hand on the outside of my pocket (if the display side is oriented away from my leg).

This has caused random calls to 911 and to people in my ICE group and is extremely annoying - it is by far the most annoying problem I have with the S5.

Is there anyway to disable the Emergency call button or at least require a swipe or an extra physical button push to pull up the dialer screen? This is costing tons of money in accidental calls to emergency services (assuming others are having this problem, and they are), plus the associated embarrassment and having to constantly think about whether my phone is possibly in a position where this can occur.

THIS NEEDS FIXED ASAP, otherwise the lock screen is useless to me. This is also a problem if you use pattern or PIN lock options.

PLEASE FIX THIS in the next update, or if anyone knows of a solution I'd be more than happy to learn what it is.

Rooting is not an acceptable option.

Think it's going to be a problem with any phone that you can activate by touch alone, i.e. sensing skin contact rather than pressing physical buttons. Some Oppo Find users have reported similar issues as well, with unwanted emergency calls while in pockets. Myself, I've got the phone in a wallet type case which keeps the screen covered when not using it. Pretty sure you can't disable the lock-screen emergency dialler, even with root, because that could be a legal requirement in countries like the US, FCC rules.

So I think really you're going to have to either turn off the fingerprint unlock feature, or keep it in a wallet case that covers the front.

 

[dcdixon]

Thanks for the response. What is happening is that I receive a text or a phone call and the touch screen/display becomes active while it's in my pocket. Then random touch events cause random things to happen, typically emergency call.

A good improvement would be to require a double power press or something like that to make an emergency call from the lock screen - Emergency Call button should just have text on how to make an emergency call. Full swipe down or up could also work.

I'll keep an eye out for a solution other than rooting or requiring a flip cover case.

 

[AZgl1500]

Okay, I have answered this before but I just did a review to see what my phone does when the Lockscreen is brought up, and then the Emergency Button is pressed.

Mine just displays four '+' (plus) signs.

What I did was to erase all of the emergency contact numbers from the Contact List.

end of problem.

But, you still have the option of dialing 911 on the keypad w/o having to unlock the Lockscreen.

For me, that is more a nuisance than a problem. I use the "Draw a Pattern" unlock method.

I detest having to enter a pincode or a password to use my phone. That is not something that can be done with gloves on, nor can you do it quickly and accurately if in a hurry.

 

[dcdixon]

I did the same thing, removed all numbers from the + buttons which helped to eliminate calling friends/family.

However, it appears pretty easy to accidentally touch the bottom left button on the emergency dialer (bell symbol) and then touch the 911 entry in the next screen. Anyway, I've searched far and wide and it appears it is something I'll have to live with until someone comes up with an improved design. I could do an sql edit of the ICE 911 property and change the number to an invalid number, but there doesn't appear to be a good/available root solution for S5 AT&T phones and I loath the downsides of rooting to work around what is a poorly designed feature.

Thanks for the response.

 

[dcdixon]

One idea would be to require a full swipe or maybe something like asking for confirmation by having to press the home button 3 times. Something that would filter out noisy random touches.