I’ve been told that unactivated cell phones are still capable of connecting to 911. Is this true? If so, is it true everywhere, or only in some locations? Are there any other numbers an unactivated phone is capable of reaching (like “0” for operator)?
I ask this because I’ve got an unused cell phone I’d like to keep in the car for emergencies, and, being a cheap bastard, I’d rather not pay a monthly fee for something that I’m only going to use in an emergency.
Sure does. I bought one at a garage sale for five bucks about eight years ago. Not really sure what I was thinking at the time, but it would/could call 911 even without a service provider.
I recall hearing/reading/making-up-in-my-mind a while back that service providers had to provide 911 service regardless of activation or not.
(BTW- My experience only relates to the Mineapolis, Mn. area.)
Ack!
Forgot the ‘n’ in Minneapolis.
Another note- When trying to call the operator, all I got was a line to the SP’s customer service department.
By law they must. It does create a problem for the Public Safety Answering Point in that they have no way to call you back since no number is displayed.
You an be arrested for calling 911 to test it probably as its a false alarm. I would suggest you take it to police station & ask them to test it for ya & let them call 911.
I’ve inadvertantly called 911 when I was programming a phone. I told the operator that I had done it. They didn’t seem to mind. They then know that they don’t have to dispatch someone.
Yes, they will dial 911, if charged.
I just got a new cell phone and didn’t know what to do with the old one. The salesperson at Verizon told me it would still dial 911, and that many women’s shelters will take them, for emergencies.
I donated mine (with the regular charger, cigarette lighter charger and case) to House of Ruth in Baltimore.
Yes, any cell phone connected or not will call 911. This works anywhere there is a ‘911’ service in the first place. People like me who pay for their service are charged an extra tax to pay for the 911 service that lets others call it for free.
Anyway, my brother is an authorized agent of a half dozen cellular companies. He has assured me that any five dollar cell phone will call 911, activated or not.
Also, if you are stuck in an emergency- not a 911 emergency, but a ‘I really need a tow truck because I’m in the middle of nowhere’ then you can still use the phone as long as you have a credit card with you. A recording will pick up telling you to press some other button to speak with a rep. They will charge something rediculous like 5 dollars a min or something, but you will be able to talk to the towing company or your husband/wife or whatever.
So definitely keep it!!
BTW handy, though you could be arrested I don’t think the 911 service would be that upset if you called quickly just to say you were testing a line. There is an old lady here who calls 911 almost daily just to ask what day it is. They haven’t arrested her yet. Not to mention all the other non-emergency garbage calls they get everyday.
Thanks for the answers, all!
Err, sorry, but could you alleviate my ignorance just a bit more? Do you get this recording automatically upon turning the phone on, or do you have to dial “0” or some such? Is this true everywhere?
We get a lot of used phones in our thrift shops. However, a lot of them can’t be used because they require a code to turn on, naturally the people didn’t give us such.
You know, you turn it on & it says on the screen something to the effect of enter code. sigh.
A local cell phone company should be able to disable the code.
Arjuna34
zut, when you dial any number on an unactivated phone it should say something like “I’m sorry, we do not recognize you number as an authorized user” or some crap like that, “if you believe there has been an error, press (something) to speak with a rep”. “Press (something else) to place a call with your credit card” err something like that. If the credit card recording does not come up, speak to the rep on the phone and he/she can take care of that…
Just did it on an old Alltel phone. No credit card message came up. Just said to dial *611 to speak with a rep.
I know that I have heard the credit card message before Alltel bought GTE here. I am now only ‘pretty sure’ you can use a credit card on ANY unactivated cell phone. I will talk to my brother later today and get back with you.