emergency calls

Earlier this week, Google confirmed it was aware of a nasty Android bug that, when mixed with Microsoft’s Teams app, could break emergency calls.

Since then, a partial fix has been rolled out via an update to Microsoft Teams. However, a larger Android update is still expected in January to resolve OS-side of this particular puzzle.

In case you missed it, the explanation shared by Google said that an “unintended interaction” between Teams and Android was behind the bug. Specifically, trying to place an emergency call would freeze the smartphone if the Microsoft Teams app was installed but the user hadn’t logged in.

Google didn’t provide much more information about the cause, beyond noting that it believed the issue was “only present on a small number of devices” with Teams installed. However, Mishaal Rahman, former editor-in-chief at XDA Developers, wrote a detailed blog post analyzing the bug and what caused it.

Rahman’s post is well worth the read if you care about these types of things, although it’s pretty technical. Still, it’s fascinating to learn more about how complex something as seemingly basic as a phone call is.

Two small bugs, one big problem

In short, Rahman’s analysis identified two main issues, one with Teams and the other with Android. The Teams app creates a ‘PhoneAccount’ instance whenever it’s cold-launched when the user isn’t signed in. Apps with calling capabilities create PhoneAccount instances so that Android has a list of apps that can handle phone calls. An important part of these instances is that they list other details about what the app can handle — for example, whether it’s capable of emergency calls.

The second part of the issue revolves around what Android does when it checks the PhoneAccounts ahead of placing an emergency call. A very simplified explanation of this is that the check can create an error if there are too many PhoneAccount instances (such as all the instances Team creates with its bug).

Microsoft’s new Teams update resolves the PhoneAccount creation part of the problem. According to Rahman, Teams will now clear PhoneAccounts it created at first launch, which should prevent it from amassing multiple PhoneAccount instances over time. However, that still leaves the Android bug open — it requires very specific circumstances to trigger, so most users probably won’t need to worry about it. Regardless, it’s a problem that needs to be addressed, and Rahman spotted at least two potential fixes submitted to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). A patch sporting one of the fixes should ship in January as part of the monthly Android security update.

For now, if you have Teams installed on your Android phone, you should make sure to update it to the latest version (1416/1.0.0.2021194504) right away — you can download the update for free from the Play Store.

Source: 9to5Google, Mishaal Rahman

Google is aware of a strange issue with Android and Microsoft Teams that can prevent emergency service calls, such as dialling 9-1-1.

The company posted a detailed response following an investigation into a report about a Pixel device preventing someone from calling 9-1-1. A Reddit user detailed what happened with their Pixel 3 running Android 11 on U.S. carrier Verizon:

“I got off a phone call with my mom, and proceeded to dial 911 just by typing and calling on my pixel. My phone got stuck immediately after one ring and I was unable to do anything other than click through apps with an emergency phone call running in the background. This is all while the phone informed me that it had sent my location to emergency services.”

In its response, Google said it was able to “reproduce the issue under a limited set of circumstances,” and shared the following:

“We believe the issue is only present on a small number of devices with the Microsoft Teams app installed when the user is not logged in, and we are currently only aware of one user report related to the occurrence of this bug. We determined that the issue was being caused by unintended interaction between the Microsoft Teams app and the underlying Android operating system.”

The key here is that the issue only seems to impact people who have Microsoft Teams installed on their phone but haven’t signed into the app. Google also notes that the issue only impacts Android 10 and up. If you fall into that group, Google advises that you uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Teams — that should fix the problem in the interim.

Moreover, Google said that it and Microsoft had prioritized the issue due to the impact on emergency calling and it expects an update to Microsoft Teams to roll out soon. Additionally, Google will push an Android platform update to the Android ecosystem in January.

Finally, Google thanked Reddit user ‘KitchenPicture5849’ for bringing the problem to the company’s attention. Although the issue is quite concerning, it’s good to see Google and Microsoft taking fast action to resolve the problem.

You can check out the Reddit post for yourself here.

Source: Reddit Via: 9to5Google