neadods: (do_not_want)
neadods ([personal profile] neadods) wrote2007-11-19 10:22 am
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Got a Verizon cell phone? DITCH IT NOW!

Got a new Verizon cell phone? DITCH IT NOW. Seriously, the morons over there have added the world's stupidest new feature: an alarm that can be heard for several yards that sounds when you dial 911.

They say it's a new feature. They say the FCC demands it. They say nobody has complained. (Don'tcha just love that? The woman who complains is essentially told "well, you're the only one with a problem.") But out in the real world the FCC is going "WTF? Oh, HELL no, we're not that stupid!" and I don't think there's a person alive who hasn't twigged to the concept of hiding from attackers/hunters/housebreakers while calling for help.

There are too many cell phone companies out there for you to have to tolerate one that's going to put a big, audible "Come and get her, she's right here!" target on someone in trouble. Switch, or failing that, return to an older phone model... and give Verizon an earful. "Nobody's complained" my ass. Nobody probably believed they were that insanely careless with safety... or possibly this woman is the first to have survived to complain.\

ETA: According to this source, the tone is in all 2006 and newer Verizon phones -- some 35 models.

[identity profile] acroyear70.livejournal.com 2007-11-19 03:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Features on devices meant for people "with disabilities" (can't they just be honest and say for blind people?) should not be turned on by default on devices used by those without said disabilities. When a person "with disabilities" gets a new device, chances are they aren't the ones to set it up because of those same disabilities. As such, the person setting it up (usually a phone company employee or retail clerk with the right experience or training) can turn those features on as they enable the device for use.

The idea that we ALL should have devices meant for the lowest common capability is downright insulting. We can be equal in shared respect while at the same time acknowledging openly that we are not equal in capability.
Edited 2007-11-19 15:51 (UTC)

[identity profile] avidbeader.livejournal.com 2007-11-19 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Complaint sent. And boy, did I have to jump through some hoops to get to their email address!

[identity profile] harmonyfb.livejournal.com 2007-11-19 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
What scares me is that I just bought a new Verizon phone for my teenager, and this was never mentioned. ::is seeing red::

[identity profile] harmonyfb.livejournal.com 2007-11-19 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
According to Jonathon, the Verizon phone rep I spoke with, the signal is not audible from the handset.

Now, I obviously haven't tried to call 911 to test it out, but this being the internet, perhaps the truth lies somewhere between the two reports (piercing tone versus not at all audible).

[identity profile] bana05.livejournal.com 2007-11-19 05:30 pm (UTC)(link)
and now i want to dial 911 on my new phone just to test out the theory. that be bad . . . and this be real stoopid. jeez. really, verizon? really?

[identity profile] swallowedbysky.livejournal.com 2007-11-19 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Man am I glad the only time I had to call 911 from my cellphone was before they put that alarm in. I was held up at gunpoint on walking home from work a few years ago and I could still see the jerks running away when I was connected to the 911 operator. I can't imagine what would have happened if they'd turned back to take my phone off me while I was calling for help.

That being said, it gives me greater motivation to do what I've known I should do since I moved: Call the local police and ask for their direct line to program into the phone. 911 calls from cellphones aren't always routed to the local department, and it can take up to five minutes to be transfered to someone in your area, or so I was told the one time I did dial 911.

Sigh. I really didn't need anything else to make switching phone carriers more attractive.
Edited 2007-11-19 18:25 (UTC)
fyrdrakken: (Futurama)

[personal profile] fyrdrakken 2007-11-19 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
And suddenly I'm glad I'm on T-Mobile. I'm going to find myself replacing my phone at some point in the foreseeable future, too -- so I'm glad this is just Verizon.

[identity profile] maypanic.livejournal.com 2007-11-20 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
So that's what that noise was.
I have Verizon- it's the only service that works at my house- and a newer-than-'06 phone. I have called 911 more than once to report having witnessed an accident. Noticed that it made a quick series of little beeps, but at least on my phone it's no louder than the beeps it makes when I press keys. If the phone wasn't at my ear, I wouldn't have heard it.