OnePlus 5 Issues: Company Releases Software Update to Fix Bug That Prevents 911 Calls

OnePlus 5 owners recently complained that their devices suddenly rebooted when they tried to call emergency hotlines like 911.

A Reddit user started a thread earlier this week to share his experience with the said OnePlus 5 bug. In his account, he said he saw a building fire nearby. And just like any good citizen would, he tried to call 911 for help. However, after trying twice to call for assistance, his OnePlus 5 began rebooting a few seconds after dialing the emergency number.

The Reddit user, Nick Morrelli on Facebook, was able to videotape proof that the 911 call was forcibly shutting down his device. As was seen in the video, Morrelli dialed 911. His phone restarted on its own a few seconds into the call attempt. 

Several days after Morrelli started the Reddit thread, other OnePlus 5 owners from outside the United States shared that they had experienced the same bug with their smartphones. Someone from the United Kingdom said he or she tried dialing their local emergency number and "it did the same thing."

Morrelli and several news outlets immediately contacted OnePlus after learning about the 911 call bug on their newest flagship. The company's initial response was: "We have contacted the customer and are currently looking into the issue. We ask anyone experiencing a similar situation to contact us at support@oneplus.net."

Then, after a couple of days, Morrelli revealed in the same Facebook video post that he was in constant communication with OnePlus about the 911 issue. He shared that the company privately sent him a "test update" which worked and eventually allowed his device to successfully dial 911.

"The fix they shared with me is only for my phone but they will be using it as a template either for OTA updates or to send the fix to people who are also having the same problem," Morrelli added on Reddit.

Meanwhile, OnePlus recently announced in its forums that they now have a fix for the said issue - the OxygenOS 4.5.6 hotfix. Its change log says it "fixed reboot caused by dialing 911 on certain OnePlus 5 units." The company asked affected OnePlus 5 owners to install this build immediately once it becomes available to them.