Government Wanted To BAN This Cell Phone That Can Only Call One Number

In 1996 the FCC made a rule that would allow any cellular device to call 911 with no delay whether it was in service or not. By 2015 they wanted to take the non-service initialized exception away (and so did everyone else involved). The 911+ Emergency Cell Phone was designed around 2008 to take advantage of this rule. It's a cheap cell phone with no screen, powered by AA batteries, that can call one number... 911. The phone went extinct long ago as there are no records of them, and they connected to networks that no longer exist.
#CellPhone #E911 #TechThrowback

[@Default78334]

I remember when local police departments use to take people's old cell phones as donations that they could distribute to places like women's shelters so they would have an easy way to call 911.

[@coreybabcock2023]

They still do it

[@buckybadger02]

As a person who works in Law Enforcement it’s been a long time since we took in an old cell phone. Seems like everyone has one now.

[@crazysquirrel9425]

But women do not need shelters. EQUALITY, remember?

[@100PercentTHCfilmsX420X]

@@crazysquirrel9425 tell us you're IQ is low without telling us you're IQ is low.

[@huntersmith3888]

​@crazy squirrel you're definitely the reason one of those temporary women's shelters has had to change addresses over the years.

[@aldo-tn]

If you ever feel useless, remember that the 911 phone has a full dial pad

[@POVwithRC]

Our local 911 has menu. 1 for fire, 2 for police, 3 for ambulance. Others may not adhere to 1 2 3 or have a second layer to the ivr. Better to have the keypad and not need it than need it and and not have it.

[@thomasvlaskampiii6850]

1 for fire 2 for police 3 for medical 4 for funeral home 5 for school 6 for a gamer buddy 7 for pizza joint 8 for 811 9 for that Chinese place around the corner 0 to repeat the menu * To hang up # to redial

[@Those_Weirdos]

If you ever feel useless, think about this guy that made this comment after (presumably) watching the video and getting to the point where the video mentions it might work with a pay-per-call service when you dial non-emergency numbers. Amazing.

[@aldo-tn]

@@Those_Weirdos I left the comment before watching it,and I still stand by it. The feature barely worked at the time, it now it fully doesn't since it won't connect to a cell tower. Also, if you call 911 and they get you to a menu instead of a dispatcher immediately, they've already failed as an emergency number, you're in an emergency, not in T-Mobiles customer service.

[@cfhay]

I understand the dial pad part. What I don't understand is - why the green button doesn't call 911 automatically? Why do you have to dial the actual 911? (I guess because then they didn't need a special programmed chip dedicated for this model)

[@timothybaker8234]

My first cell phone was actually a car phone, complete with the curly window antenna.

[@Cartier_specialist]

I remember those.

[@XRROW_]

Groovy

[@FBISHOJI]

Did you own Mercedes or Lexus perhaps because majority comes with the phone

[@FrarmerFrank]

My Dad's first Cell Phone look like Military Surplus......always look like he could call in an air strike 😹

[@AlexB-qf9te]

@@FBISHOJI I have a W140 S Class from 93‘ Still has the original Motorola phone inside and actually works in areas with 2G available!

[@Cartier_specialist]

I bought my first cellphone in 2004 just 2 weeks before I crashed my motorcycle and definitely needed it. I guess you could say it saved my life.

[@trashyraccoon2615]

Every time I think of getting a motorcycle I hear a story like this

[@KMon1111IND]

​@@trashyraccoon2615 You're right no other vehicle ever crashes, like have anybody ever heard of a car crash? No.

[@trashyraccoon2615]

@@KMon1111IND Ypur chances of dying in a motorcycle crash are way greater than in a car. Thanks for playing.

[@OleJanssen]

​@@KMon1111IND The difference arises once you compare the fatality rates of car and motorcycle accidents.

[@Ordlnary_Gamer]

@@OleJanssenyes because there are so many cars and not many motorcycles

[@Ebacherville]

My wife is a 911 dispatcher and I can confirm, kids playing with old phones etc.. and yes the dispatcher can't call it back because it has no associated number with the phone or service. Fraud calls are far less a problem. But yes some calls are emergencies and any network compatible phone can call 911. Interesting someone made a phone just for 911. A cool part of this is that all those in car cellular services like OnStar and Toyota connect, fords systems if they can connect also can call 911 for free.. if you are conscious to call it.. With no service paid for. Does it save lives, sure it can if you know its possable to do. Another interesting 911 fact , they are now doing SMS text messages.. you can text 911 in many locations.

[@ProtoV33MK1]

That's actually really good to know, I always thought that button put you through some dispatch service run by OnStar that would call 911 on your behalf, and it would only work if you had a active subscription.

[@texanarchy666]

It can also end lives

[@TriflingToad]

Once when I was in cub scouts we were at the police station for a 'field trip' of sorts, some kids found a pay phone outside and thought it'd be funny to dile 911, much to their surprise someone came out of the police station saying that they had just called the dispatcher in the same station. I don't think anyone got in trouble bc they had no idea calling 911 on a payphone was free, also they were like 7 and really dumb.

[@mrjoe5292]

I remember being in school and a friend/ass that I knew decided to call 999 (emergency services in UK) on my phone. Being a dumb kid I just ignored any of the call backs but I think the advice is to answer and let them know it was a mistake and there's no emergency, for the reasons stated in the video, so they don't have to decide whether to put more resources into determining whether help is actually needed.

[@Everything817]

I pocket dialed 911 over 100 times a couple of years ago. The lock screen on my Sonim phone had a hotkey for 911 that couldn't be removed. After a few years they finally changed the lock screen so this wouldn't happen. Apparently I wasn't the only one this was happening to.

[@TAKIZAWAYAMASHITA]

this happens with most phones, if your phone is locked and you happen to hit the call button the only number you can dial is an emergency number so it makes it fairly easy for people to butt dail 911 without realizing it

[@litigioussociety4249]

I had this problem on my S21, so I had to use applock instead to lock the screen. On my S23, this doesn't seem to be a problem.

[@IDoABitOfTrollin]

Happened to me on my blackberry as a kid. The keypad had 9 and 1 unlocked so it would dial and call in my pocket in class alot

[@IvanOoze1990]

I butt dialed 911 three times on a tracphone

[@bariltrailette]

I have android version and I can lock 911 alert or put another phone number to evade that or I can put a higer number press button up to 5 I need to press 5 time non stop to evade that.

[@jeffreywoods4040]

I think one of the biggest selling points with these was the fact you didn’t have to remember to charge them and you could stash them places like your car. Some of the models came with lithium, AAs, etc..

[@100PercentTHCfilmsX420X]

all phones have lithium Ion batteries now days.

[@thefreeaccount0]

@@100PercentTHCfilmsX420X He probably means low-self-discharge AA NiMH cells (aka eneloop cells). Once charged, they can be stored for decades.

[@robertmartinu8803]

​@@100PercentTHCfilmsX420Xfor rechargeables, yes. But for emergency I'd use lithium primary cells like the good old reliable cr123. Decade+ of storage time and work at temperatures that killed a li-ion battery long ago.

[@seraphina985]

@@robertmartinu8803 Yes although for this use I am guessing it might be one or two LS14500's those have more capacity and would easily fit just fine in a phone handset sized form factor. I'm not sure that 50mAh or so would necessarily cut it in some situations if the transmitter needed to be active until first responders arrive which may be the case where the operator is providing guidance to the caller on dealing with the emergency until they arrive. At 50 mAh you would probably be looking at a few minutes at best an 0.6W transmitter if it was the only load and was 100% efficient would drain that in about 18 mins assuming it was at full charge. In practice you would actually be drawing significantly more than 0.6W during the call as the transmitter is not 100% efficient and the signal amplifiers draw about as much power again and such. So I think an LS14500 would do the job better here as those pack around 2500mAh with one of them it should boast talk time similar to features phones from about 20 years ago that used to run with about that and would easily handle even a complicated case where the call lasted 10's of minutes.

[@alansmith4734]

There are two types of 911. 911 and Enhanced 911. E911 stands for Enhanced 911, and it's the part of the 911 system that automatically ties a location to the call-whether it's a specific address or coordinates. If we had to explain enhanced 911 (E911) in five words or less, we'd tell you that it's location services for 911 calls.

[@TechThrowback]

Of course but the FCC guidance for NSI is all part of the E911 rules that came out in 1996.

[@nomore-constipation]

​@@TechThrowback BTW that phone almost looked like a toy. I could see near the end when it wasn't being offered or sold anymore that a dollar store bought it Hence the tons of calls probably from kids who got their hands on it before 3G was taken down 😅

[@FlorenceSlugcat]

@@nomore-constipation3G down? Man I can tell youve spent your entire life in cities…

[@JRcomments]

NG911 is a new form of 911 (Next Generation 911) to fulfill the Ray Baum Act recently passed regarding dispatchable locations as SIP services are bcoming more prevalent. NG911 services will provide additional information that can be transmitted to 911 dispatch like "2nd floor", "basement", etc. It will be a while before NG911 is everywhere, once analog lines are completely gone.

[@SnakeBush]

That's some 1984 stuff right there

[@buckybadger02]

As a 911 Dispatcher disconnected cells phones have been more of a problem then a help. Parents give these kids the cell phone and the only number they know is 911. They keep playing with it and it’s a waste of our time. Thank goodness a lot of these newer phones have GPS and we can try and track a location.

[@GRBtutorials]

Are you referring to special phones? Because I doubt they get the GPS location for regular phones, as you need access to the phone to get it. What is more likely is that they use triangulation with cell towers, which has increased in precision with successive generations of cell service.

[@dylan_00]

@@GRBtutorials en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_9-1-1 Looks like you may be right - it's most likely using triangulation judging by a cursory glance at this Wikipedia article

[@buckybadger02]

@@GRBtutorials I believe you’re correct. Even with triangulation we’ve gotten a really close single and we’ve gone to the house to find out the parents gave the child the cell. What if it’s a disconnect cell and they have Wi-Fi on. Will that use a GPS single or would that still be triangulation or through the Wi-Fi provider?

[@TBButtSmoothy]

@@GRBtutorials I worked on a job developing a system for what I'm about to explain. Aside from triangulation, you can concurrently track other signals as well to make the location more precise. also, there are ways to force permissions or bypass them completely via user action (not normal means)

[@damiencouturee6240]

Years ago I didn't have a passcode on my phone, and it would always unlock in my pocket and call random contacts (it was a shit phone lol). So one day I decided to set a passcode so it wouldn't be able to do that. What I didn't realize is that it put an 'emergency call' button on the lock screen. I found out when I was digging something at work, noticed my phone vibrating in my pocket, and answered the phone to "This is the state police, your phone called 911 is there an emergency?". I explained what happened and everything was cool, I checked my recent calls, and I had pocket dialed 911 SEVENTEEN TIMES. Fuckin WHOOPS, took the passcode back off right then and there lmao

[@YaretziaGarcia]

It sucks that companies don’t sell these anymore and shame on the government. My girlfriend works at a homeless women shelter and when I showed her this video she said that these things would be so helpful for them.

[@alakani]

Get them set up with free Lifeline phones that can call any number not just 911

[@leftysheppey]

Nokia 3310s work just as well. All mobiles can call 911 without a sim card

[@sirius940]

​@@leftysheppeyThey will only work as long as T-Mobile keeps their 2g signals up, which is probably only for a year or two at this point.

[@2ProTecK]

Any current cell phone can do the same thing. Why would any company make a product that you can get for free?

[@stingray1947]

Back in the day, we bought my Dad a phone similar to this. He never had a cell phone nor did he want one. He just carried it in his car in case of emergency. Thankfully he never had to use it, but it was nice to know it was there.

[@confestpete]

I really like the historic backstory you present with each of your old bits of technology. In Australia we had CDMA. It was absolutely brilliant in the country and NEVER dropped out (probably because it was military technology). I loved its background noise suppression technology, too. Alas, it fell victim to 4G, as it was voice and text only and not data friendly. But as just a 'phone, great user experience, particularly in rural places.

[@Hotlog69]

CDMA is what Verizon and Sprint used in the US.

[@paulsengupta971]

3G is WCDMA - wideband CDMA.

[@jetjazz05]

I used a Motorola cellphone for almost 20 years; growing up in rural america the only signals you could get were CDMA, and the Motorola phones were rugged and cheap. I've since moved to a very populous area, but even my parents still need to make sure they have CDMA capable phones.

[@sw6188]

We had a CDMA network with one provider over the ditch here in NZ as well, but that was shut down in 2012 and now they run XT.

[@johnrehwinkel7241]

One of CDMA's big problems was its ungraceful degradation when signal conditions weren't good, it would rapidly transform to a robotic buzzing that was incomprehensible and hard on the ears. AMPS and GSM are much better in that regard.

[@richard51]

When cell plans were limited the local cops would call 911, identify themselves to the 911 operator forward their calls to their wife or girlfriends. This tied up 911 switches and put a local cell phone company out of business. The local sheriff defended his cops doing this when it was covered by local news.

[@sleepy1697]

So basically the story boils down to; "Too many adults can't grow up and stop abusing emergency service personnel." Yeah... no surprise there I guess.

[@Br3ttM]

Calling 911 a thousand times a year isn't "not growing up", it's more like a severe personality disorder.

[@TheRealCaptainFreedom]

I heard some crazy old dumb lady at the battery store say she called the local fire department to tell them to come over and change her smoke alarm batteries.

[@mythicalducky]

​@@TheRealCaptainFreedom there are some fire departments that'll do something like that

[@TheRealCaptainFreedom]

@@mythicalducky If not, she should be going to jail.

[@bcubed72]

No, it's a shitty phone design that allows "butt dialing" 911 from your pocket.

[@scottcol23]

Great topic! This is a double edged sword for sure. On one hand, it has probably saved countless lives being able to call 911 from an old phone. BUT on the other hand, being anonymous makes it easy for the swatters out there to call in their swattings. This is why we cannot have nice things . Keep up the great work!

[@fish3977]

Swattings happening is more of an issue with the police being fucking gun ho

[@garbagebag185]

This is an AMPS phone, confirmed by the specs at 9:56. (The channel spacing, channels, and frequencies match AMPS networks). Since all AMPS networks have been sunset by ~2010, this phone doesn’t find a carrier and thus doesn’t work.

[@SecondLifeDesigner]

I used to keep my old Motorola Brick with a 12 volt cigarette adapter as an emergency phone in my car. It worked well into the 2000's up until analog phones were no longer supported. I actually called 911 with a phone that didn't have a phone plan after I crashed my bicycle. It had GPS tracking and I had an app on the phone to keep track of my rides. Besides keeping track of my workouts I had it mounted on my handlebars as an emergency phone just in case. Ironically it was my bad decision to try and catch the phone as it flew off my handlebars after I had hit a bump that caused me to crash. The phone didn't have a scratch on it. Me a broken collar bone and broken elbow. I got briefly knocked out and had to craw over to where the phone landed. I dialed 911. The 911 operator asked how I was calling 911 since no phone number was showing up on her screen. I had to explain it was a cell phone that wasn't activated with any plan. So the phone was kinda the reason I had to call 911 but it also saved me.

[@gregdiamond6023]

I love the channel JR. So informative and a cool look back at yesterday's technology. Well done!

[@mikehunt9884]

back then you could call peoples cells at night, and get their voice messaging, hit star, and it would ask for a password. A lot of people wouldn't even know about this so they didn't change the default password, but either way it was a 4 digit, sometimes 5 digits, and somewhat easy to crack. Once you had access to that you could then make calls, make long distance calls, and the person who owned the phone would get the bill. I believe companies lost so much money because of this.

[@kerrylewis2581]

That was a very interesting tech throwback episode. I had no idea that many 911 calls were placed in error or worse on purpose.

[@ponder12]

It seems like if false calls are really such a big problem, a better solution rather than discontinuing the service would be to set up some way for the phone to be activated with a temporary number so they can call back.

[@alakani]

Not necessarily possible due to limitations with old style SIM cards. But even if the phone doesn't have GPS they can easily use tower triangulation to get close then portable directional antennas to find the exact location. It's really just a push to continue repurposing the spectrum for more profitable things than saving poor people's lives, combined with utter laziness

[@wasgeht8567]

I can remember there were some dubious shops for used cell phones that regularly used the emergency number as a test number because they were too lazy to insert a sim card each time.

[@AgentOrange96]

I keep an old cellphone in my glove box for emergencies with this in mind. It's not a smart phone or anything, but it's new enough that it can still get reception.

[@TAKIZAWAYAMASHITA]

aslog as its not 3g you should be fine they discontinued 3g so theres no service for that

[@Sentient.A.I.]

$30-$50 you could get the basic smartphone for that much. Im pretty sure those 911 phones were like 20-30$ new and they got bargain binned for $5-$10 eventually. They are probably some type of weird collectors item now.

[@sabinrawr]

Generally, you are allowed to make a test call to 911 to ensure that your emergency service is working. This is useful to make sure that the old cell phone you keep in your junk drawer will work in an emergency. If you make such a test call, quickly and clearly state that this is a test call to make sure of service, thank you. Stay on the line until the dispatcher acknowledges this information, then disconnect. Also, don't do these any more often than necessary..

[@derpmellow2]

Your still going to get a officer, they are required to check all calls.

[@sabinrawr]

@@derpmellow2 I think that depends on departmental policies. Not every emergency requires police. It would be a waste of resources for a police officer to respond to a sports injury or an acute health issue, for example. I have probably done 6 or 7 test calls in my life, and never had a police response.

[@fotografotimido]

you are supposed to call their non emergency number first, after they aprove a time (usually a low volume call time )

[@sabinrawr]

@@fotografotimido I haven't heard that before, but I agree that is a fantastic idea. Added to that, a bit of common sense could go a long way, too. You can expect Friday night at 11pm (23:00) will be busy, but Tuesday at midday should be fine

[@thepeopleschamp9076]

I'd love to do a poll and see how many of us called 911 as a kid. I did it around 8 years old and I had no idea they could call back. When they did , I hung up and took the phone off the hook. So THEY CAME TO MY HOUSE! I'm no snitch, so I denied everything in front of my dad and the cops. I played dumb so long, the cops went from upset to laughing, and they left. 20+ years later and this is the first time I've ever admitted it.

[@SOTP.]

i didint... whats the issue with ppl being dumb? I guess its still a funny story but not so for ppl who really need the services.

[@blairlichtenstein4792]

My head just exploded, I had no idea JR had a tech channel. Instantly subscribed.

[@Evansmustard]

what the heck. I had no idea you had this channel! what great content i can’t wait to binge later

[@nicholasr39]

The analogue mobile phone system in the UK was the same and people abused the Vodafone and Cellnet(O2) networks running up bills to insane amounts of money. Today's mobile phones are designed to be used to call 911/999 without a sim card and will connect to any network for this purpose. We still have payphones in large numbers in the UK and a lot of 999 calls are still made from these. Its a shame there aren't many payphones left in America and I'm sure if advertising on the phone booths would be profitable

[@lawrencetalbot55]

I was listening to local police, sheriff, fire and EMS on my Scanner Radio app in my phone, last night and I heard the dispatcher say "911 only phone" during one call. This particular rule makes good sense.

[@onyxtay7246]

That doesn't only describe these phones. There are sometimes phones outside businesses which can only call 911. Basically a pay phone that's free for 911 calls. We've got a few outside clinics in the area, and they've definitely saved lives.

[@PhilXavierSierraJones]

In Korea, they "solved" this issue of butt dialing on smartphones recently by requiring you to either press the button fast 3 times (giving you 10 second countdown so you can cancel it if it was an accident) or swiping left then pressing a number from pre-approved list of numbers (119, 112, etc), then pressing Call button.

[@liquidrockaquatics3900]

iPhone can be set up to 5 button presses and either with or without an audible alarm. I keep mine off just in case I need to call 911 discreetly and leave an open mic

[@dennisp.2147]

That sort of thing would have been a brilliant addition to a first aid kit in a car or public spaces in case of disaster. Even with the ubiquity of cell phones today, something like this could be a lifesaver for someone trapped in a collapsed building or overturned vehicle.

[@hegedusuk]

Apparently 832 channels was applicable to the American analogue mobile networks, which got turned off in around 2008. That’s why it didn’t get a signal. It’s not even 2G let alone 3G! Here in the uk, analogue networks got turned off a lot earlier, in 2001.

[@KayleeVRC]

Wow, i can't believe your channel only has 9k subscribers. Your editing, the story about the product and general way of presenting this product is super high quality. I thought i was watching someone with at least 500k - 1 million subscribers. Your channel will definitely blow up, the quality on this is amazing! Loved the video :)

[@Jwthemechanic]

His car focused channel JRGO has over 370,000 followers. I wish he linked to this channel on his car page because I've watch it for years and this is first time I've seen this channel.

[@chevyhead7274]

@@Jwthemechanicsame i was confused i was like isn’t this jr wth lol

[@A3Kr0n]

12.5K subs? That's probably changing fast now with YT recommending it to people and I liked it and I subscribed.

[@Engineerd3d]

Your crushing it lately JR. Awesome content! Well worth the ads.

[@drrenard1277]

I have had to use a non service phone a few times. Many operators didnt get get that I couldn't be called back though. Mind you, one time in north Dakota and one time in Idaho. They might have not been informed on it but has been a save for me those times.

[@matthewdropco]

That's so crazy! I wanna say I rememeber it. I do remember being told to keep an old cellphone in the glove box when going on a trip, in case of an emergency, and make sure it had the cigarette lighter charger so no need to worry about battery life. I think I may have even gotten one from goodwill. Part of the issue too, I think is that I think sprint got rid of their PCS network, which was 2g? I don't rememeber. But I do remember when I got to beta-test the 3G always on network with the sanyo SCP 4900 I mentioned to you before. Although it wasn't a "life hack" per se, sprint stores got rid of the desk-top stand cradle, (similar to a walkie talkie charging stand) when they turned on the 3G network. Because it had a sanyo charge port to USB input on the side to charge it, but also to sync the phone to a computer or laptop. Well That was meant for Dialup. Not the always-on 3G network (At least for Sprint in the US). So I got one of those and utilized the phone on that 3G as a modem always on and although not super fast, it wasn't bad for the time. around 2002 was when it came out. I kinda wanted that phone they made for the Matrix Movie. they had something sold like it was. Anyway, thanks for the info on this 911 phone! ( www.cnet.com/reviews/sanyo-scp-4900-silver-cdma-amps-cellular-phone-review/ )

[@pinksnowbirdie2938]

I don't watch your main channel a whole lot, got this video recommended to me and I was curious and thought to myself "I think that's WatchJRGO didn't know he ran a tech channel too lmao" and I tried digging on this channel to see if any reference had been made to the main channel but it took going to the main channel to figure it out lmao

[@DTND]

Didn’t know you had a second channel, very cool, subscribed! Love old cars and old tech

[@ianbelletti6241]

I could see them requiring all phones calling 911 both in and out of service to provide its gps location to emergency services during the call and that all cell providers provide the capability to call back the device even when its connecting out of service and that emergency only phones must have the capability to accept calls from emergency services.

[@SRQmoviemaker]

I remember selling these or something similar at circuit city back in the day. They went for like $50 if I remember but were on sale for $30 frequently, with some leftovers selling during the liquidation sales for like $5 [I was there the last 3 years, great first job]

[@XRROW_]

Rest in peace, Circuit City

[@TechThrowback]

Press F to pay respects 😢

[@XRROW_]

@@TechThrowback fffffffffffffffffff

[@ExtraThiccc]

Selling this this for $50 of early 2000s money is criminal. That's like $200 today EDIT: oh it was made after the recession, still selling this for more than $10 is criminal

[@billwheeler1213]

My non-work cell was 2006, got rid of service in 2007, sat in a drawer until 2012 when I charged it and gave it to my toddler to play with. Wasn't too long before I herd it ring, picked up and it was a 911 operator calling me back!!! She was not happy but I had no idea it would connect to anything 😮, learned a lesson that day. (The lesson was old phones are awesome) Phone finally died when it was taken into a bath, but man, those old phones had so much more quality.

[@mrgmc6314]

I'm subscribing because jr is the type of guy you can just listen to for hours to fill the void ...

[@PeterBellefleur]

I'm willing to bet this is AMPS analog and why it never got a signal. Also: at least in the Northeast, they did indeed have a system in place where if a phone was inactive and you dialed a number other than 911, you would be forwarded to a service that could connect you using a credit card, calling card # or making a super expensive collect call. It also functioned as a fallback when phone carriers were much more highly regionalized and roaming even within the same state was still a thing in some place, and you sometime ran into situations where you had service, but your carrier didn't have a roaming agreement with anyone in the area.

[@antikommunistischaktion]

If this was released in 2008 then it would have been GSM and/or CDMA. AMPS was long dead by this point.

[@gblargg]

Using regular batteries is the best part of this emergency phone. Other than its 3G or whatever being unsupported in the future, there is no internal or special removable battery you won't be able to get in the future.

It probably is 2G which will get shut down in the next few years.

[@x2006charger]

surprised no one realized the drawbacks of these during development. Also, completely came across this at random, been watching your main channel for a bit and had no idea you also had a tech one.

[@mustangnawt1]

Good vid, new sub. Thought for sure u were going to find 3 acid Covid batteries in the back:)

[@hummel6364]

My smartphone I had in school would sometimes activate when it was in my pocket, I ended up calling 110 (German emergency number) a few times without ever noticing, maybe four times. One day I looked at my call logs and it said that my outgoing call to 110 had been rejected. I think the police actually blocked my number lmao. I still use the same number too so that could be an issue...

[@okaro6595]

Emergency number in Europe is 112, but no matter what emergency number you use, it just makes an emergency call which has no number.

[@hummel6364]

@@okaro6595 110 and 112 in Germany. Technically they're split between Police and EMS/Fire department but it doesn't actually matter. My phone back then defaulted to 110 for emergency calls.

[@AKuTepion]

@@okaro6595 But every country handles it differently. Here in Czechia, 112 gets forwarded to the firefighters, but at least in some regions of Italy, it actually gets answered by Carabinieri (something like a police). The best they can do in other emergencies is to reconnect you, which creates a delay. It's recommended to always call the specific number if you know one.

[@JUST_ONE_ID10T]

I've pocket dialed 911 many times with my old LG V60 it had the quick emergency buttons on the display and they were easily hit in a pocket.

[@Daddy_Longnuts]

I love how just a few years ago people understood the importance of being able to call emergency services whenever on whatever device without restrictions. Now good luck doing that if you're phone is going through an update. You also can't use voice commands to dial 911 on some phones if they're locked. I used to ride a motorcycle as one of my main forms of transport. One night I was riding home and spotted a huge fire roaring on a section of freeway I was on. I had a Bluetooth device connected to my helmet that was synced with my phone and I used my phone's voice command signal to try calling 911 and my phone lit up (it was in a RAM mount on my handlebars) but asked for my passcode. Since I was doing 70 on the highway, really had no ability to take one of my hands away from what I was doing, and had leather gloves on in addition to that I couldn't do anything until I got home. Even when I crashed said motorcycle and dislocated my shoulder and my phone flew out of my pocket and onto the highway. I had to hobble into the fast lane to pick my phone up and have it in my hands to call an ambulance since I knew the voice controls wouldn't work. Thankfully I was able to find it. I feel like this is a pretty big oversight by some of these tech companies. And yes, I'm aware of the "emergency call" option that lets you call 911 without using your password. You just can't access that through voice commands solely, at least not that I'm aware.

[@RealRickCox]

I had no clue what your other channel was named or that you had launched it. I remember when you showed the studio being build on the Watch JR Go channel, but I don't recall you ever making an announcement about this one. Maybe you should do a little more cross promotion. :)

[@roxcyn]

Wait, 8 people made 8,000 prank calls to 911?! Didn't they get thrown in jail? You think they could proximate their location with their phone.

[@benjurqunov]

But why didn't they defend homosexual special rights. That should've saved them unless they were mexicans ?

[@onyxtay7246]

@@benjurqunov What the fuck are you talking about?

[@William_Nowin]

​@@benjurqunovWhat are you talking about?

[@orangequill1645]

@@benjurqunov Huh?

[@aaron71]

What a strange device! Never knew these were marketed. Too bad you couldn't get a signal, wonder if it really did work with a calling card or not!

[@r0bertfrank]

awesome video! super interesting. also that outro music is ideal

[@MyDogSteppedOnaBeee]

This is a cool channel...Hey don't you have another youtube channel fixing up cars? you look familiar 😅

[@radioactivekitty9174]

There's some old AMPS emergency cellphones as well out there. Magnavox's Mobile911 product identified to the tower as ESN 1234567890 and just dialed 911 with even less hardware (a giant red 911 button basically).

[@dancingwiththedogsdj]

I'm not sure if it has been asked already, but was it tested outside or attempt to call that 3rd party that was mentioned? Outside may have given it a better chance to acquire signal. Still quite interesting of a product. I actually didn't even realize it until after a few days ago when I had to call 911 I had an older out of service phone in my hand at the moment but it wasn't so old to be analog or anything but even 3G still occasionally pops up when my phone switches or searches for a network. Have a great day everyone!

[@XRROW_]

Great point. I'm curious now

[@xyzrandom3981]

Based on the radio channel specs, this is an AMPS (analog audio, digital signaling) phone. That’s why there was no service. Interesting video!

[@FantomLightning]

Wait wait wait... So on top of cars JR is into tech too??? I think I'm in love...

[@mycosys]

Gotta love those Star-Tac styling cues.

[@Glitch-Gremlin]

I *HATE* That we live in a Society where people call 911 just to waste time and money from people JUST TRYING TO HELP.

[@FantomLightning]

Slight correction JR, this most certainly isn't after 08. The radio specs especially the available amount of channels indicate that this is an AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) aka analog device. The networks were shut down before the end of 2008. I saw an advertisement on an ancient web archive months ago for this phone under a different name, I wish I could remember where. But if my memory serves I believe the website archive was from the 2003-2005 range. Back when there was analog coverage still blanketed nationwide and this would've truly worked almost anywhere.

[@WillOnSomething]

Damn. That would be pretty scummy on the manufacturer's end, because i'm pretty sure both Cingular and Verizon announced AMPS sunsetting around 04, 05. And they decided to release a product marketed for emergencies that will be completely useless 3 years later.

[@cypresscustoms]

Hey! Watch JR with his retro tech! Never knew you had a tech channel. Got a new sub in an old fan.

[@welldontdothat]

Would it work with a 3G microcell? My old microcell had to be programmed to provide service to my phone, but at some point, 911 dispatched an officer to my address after absolutely no one in my house dialed 911. Makes me wonder if microcells are rather agnostic about who gets to make 911 calls through them.

[@LymanGreen]

If you just take the SIM card out of any gsm phone (aka any AT&T phone in the last 15-20 years) I’m pretty sure that stops your kids from accidentally calling 911

[@LouisSubearth]

It still makes the call

[@ReclaimOurFreedom]

No taking the SIM card out still allows you to call 999

It‘s not the case for most countries including the US. In Germany however, a SIM has become a requirement to make emergency calls since a few years. The SIM doesn‘t need to be active, but needs to be associated to a number.

[@wubbsy]

Here in Germany they enforced a law that you need to have a valid SIM card in a phone to make a emergency call. Because they value going after people that miss use the Emergency number over saving someone’s life. So if want to give my grandma a Apple Watch to make automatic emergency calls I would have to pay 50€+ per month to get a contract that supports eSIMs. For maybe making one emergency call.

[@RicoCantrell]

I remember this!! I worked at circuit city during this time. Then I went on to run 2 road shops.

[@Tuttomenui]

I accidently called 911 with a cellphone i was playing with. I was trying to get to a menu and it was being stupid and out of frustration i mashed the menu button several times. Turns out any button mashed 3 times will call 911.

[@tetsuoshiva]

Happened a couple of times where I attempted to adjust the volume and I was pressing the power button.

[@SwanseaTitanFan]

It’s not throwback, but how about a video on Radar detection and your favourites?

[@Cartier_specialist]

I thought everyone knew JR loves the latest Escort Redline 360 radar and laser detector? If not, now you know.

[@Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

I’m a bit interested in what the guts of the phone look like. When you mentioned the Motorola tone, It made me wonder if this phone might use some of the same chips that it’s fully-functional contemporaries would have.

[@danielgodfrey4415]

I had a cell phone that would pocket dial 911 super easily. 9 times i did it in one day. I was in high school at the time and the dispatcher probably figured it out. Felt bad for her. The pocket dial was super easy because of the 2 button emergency contact

[@REAL-UNKNOWN-SHINOBI]

Sad that the United States wants to go backwards in time, to a time you had to have a phone in order to call the emergency number.

[@anatolykosychenko8038]

Hì Ya & best wishes. Thanks for work. Be Happy. Sevastopol/Crimea.

[@nbrown5907]

This kind of accident can easily happen on a modern phone. My mom was handing my sister her Galaxy s21 phone and apparently the screen was open to the sign in screen and if you bump it it will swipe up and boom there is an emergency call button there and she accidentally touched it. The police showed up in a couple of minutes lol. They must route the calls to the closest law enforcement office, that was outstanding.

[@ragnarocking]

I've never heard of a cellphone that uses AA batteries. 😁

[@PeterBellefleur]

There were a few in the analog days, The Motorola Populus and the Philips ISIS (that name didn't age well) Both had the ability to pull the Ni-Cad out and swap in some AAs in an emergency. There were also aftermarket battery housings available for the Motorola DPC range that you would fill with AAs as an emergency power source.

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

Energizer make one.

[@69Dartman]

I think we got our first cell phones during the flip phone/slide out keyboard era in the early 90s and I still have a couple of the Motorola brick phones I picked up at garage sales just because they were super early and cool. Pretty sure I do have the first phones I got and I mainly wanted them for the camera. I didn't want to pay extra for data and mom insisted we all get phones so she could get a hold of us at any time and safety. She never remembered to turn hers on of course 🤣.

[@albtckl]

Ummm the early 90s cell phones didn't have slide out keyboards or cameras. I think you meant early 2000s.

[@fakejeepman06]

WatchJRGo!?!? I didn't know you had a tech channel!! Keep it up, it looks good!

[@mattmc5069]

My uncle had a dial button cell. No flip design. That one had a number shortcut built in but problem was if you bumped number 9 then 911 came on. And with no lock screen it was easy enough to bump send in your pocket as well. I remember one time cops came and where accusing him of pranking them (he was laughing because he was at a bar with a friend and had no idea he was butt calling 911) they let it go with a warning but where about to fine him for it

[@alexandrecouture2462]

It comes with Duracell batteries, which means that in case of emergency, it won't work because these would have leaked out and destroyed the phone. Oh well...

[@wojciechtechtips1602]

Duraleaks

[@codyserucsak2501]

Back then they werent so bad. I had a camper tv that took D batteries that said best if used by 1999. And when i dug it out in 2016 it STILL turned on and worked. The darn duracells were still working. They have since finally drained out because i used it for awhile.

[@thepfeiffenator2990]

You should take it apart and see if it's the guts of a different phone in there.

[@PeterBellefleur]

100% its some low end motorola board in there, judging by the power up sound.

[@samgray49]

My grandparents kept one of these at our Cottage in Central Lake because around the time this came out, we didn't always have a reliable connection

[@awesomecoolfilmz8420]

Watchjrgo got that side hustle going!! Got this in my recommended and knew that guy in the thumbnail looked familiar lol

[@HPad2]

Since it has an ESN it would be CDMA. In a US Cellular area you could use it to call 911 or a collect call in 2023 at least anyway 😅

[@AppaTalks]

Great video! Really good presentation. New Sub just added!

[@sethsevaroth]

Organized crime often calls in fake incidents and could even flood emergency services while carrying out a more sophisticated attack. Imagine multiple lines calling in active shooters on one side of town and then robbing a bank or doing a hit on the other.

[@bradforester3635]

Im not a subscriber, but i feel like you are doing a good job..

[@nerdyaviator732]

I found something similar at goodwill years ago it had one button and no dial pad. It seemed to work but never tested it😅

[@A1_Entertainment]

In Norway we don’t need service on our cellphone to call our 911 (112 in Norway) because our emergency service use a emergency radio technology so it would just connect to the closest radio emergency antenna or to a cell tower, with this it means all phone created for 2G network and upwards will connect to emergency service even they don’t have any service, SIM card or is locked.

[@abqmalenurse]

I remember seeing those years ago. Only once or twice. Can't recall where I saw them.

[@fomocopowersgarage7103]

Love this channel.

[@pineappleroad]

I believe where I live, phones may be required to differentiate between no signal whatsoever, and only being able to pick up a signal from other networks (which a phone I had in the past would display “Emergency calls only”) (There are some parts of the country where I live where even contacting the emergency services can be impossible, generally very remote locations)

[@austinwilburn1772]

I had a friend who was basically saved by that. He got lost in the woods while hiking a mountain and found a cabin. He tore the place apart and found a old Nokia phone. Called 911 and got through. It was like a emergency but things could of gotten worse. This was mid 2000s so cell phones were all the way common among everyone.

[@JamesChessman]

Cool video but also it MIGHT seem suspicious when someone is so interested in phones, I mean it begs the question of WHO are the mysterious people who you MIGHT want to call or text? With a very secretive phone? Ya know?😂

[@machinech183]

The very last thing you want these days is an unexpected "wellness" check by the cops.

[@ndb_static_6850]

I didn’t know you had a second channel till now

[@tcdahn7]

I work at a ski resort and we had a dozen calls from 911 because they were getting automated calls from Iphone users for car accidents. The new iPhones have a feature that calls 911 if the phone's accelerometer detects G forces found in a car accident. It seems those same G forces happen when skiing.

[@bricegraham8256]

Lol WTF. I didn't know you had a tech channel. I'm so used to seeing you working in cars.

[@jni34108]

When I was younger in the 90s my mom gave me a really cool Spider Man landline phone for my room. I was so proud. Then one of my dumb neighborhood friends came over. I hadn't even thought of prank calling and wouldn't dare risk trying it at the expense of losing my own personal super cool SPIDER MAN landline phone. Well... Sure enough... Sometime when I wasn't watching he dialed 911. At first I was confused when the police showed up. Then I realized what that fool had done. I told on him IMMEDIATELY!!! I WASN'T ABOUT TO LOSE MY SUPER DUPER COOL AMAZING SPIDER MAN LANDLINE PHONE BECAUSE OF HIM!!! He admitted to it and had to listen to a lecture from the police and then I made him go home 😂

[@btarg1]

I never knew i was taking for granted the fact that i can call emergency services whenever I want for free in the UK