Google confirms under some circumstances Microsoft Teams can interfere with 911 calls

Google has confirmed that due to an unusual interaction between Microsoft Teams and Android, some Android users may have issues dailling 911.

A user on Reddit complained:

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.

Google was able to reproduce the issue, saying:

We determined that the issue was being caused by unintended interaction between the Microsoft Teams app and the underlying Android operating system. Because this issue impacts emergency calling, both Google and Microsoft are heavily prioritizing the issue, and we expect a Microsoft Teams app update to be rolled out soon.

The issue appears to surface if you have Microsoft Teams installed but not logged in (a situation which must be relatively common with company-supplied handsets).

Google says for now the solution is to uninstall and reinstall the app, saying:

If you have the Microsoft Teams app downloaded, but are not signed in, uninstall and reinstall the app. While this will address the problem in the interim, a Microsoft Teams app update is still required to fully resolve the issue.

Google says both Microsoft and Google are working on a fix, with Google saying an “Android platform update to the Android ecosystem on January 4” (security patch) to provide a more definitive fix for this emergency calling bug.

Microsoft wishes to make it clear that the issue is with Android rather than the Teams app, with a Microsoft spokesperson saying:

“We are aware of Google’s plans to roll-out an Android platform update in January. We are working on an update to our own application to avoid triggering the underlying Android operating system issue. We are collaborating closely with Google to resolve this unintended interaction.”

Google also reiterated that the issue does not affect Microsoft Teams users who are logged into the app.

via 9to5google