Samsung just can’t win this week. First, still no Froyo for the Fascinate, and now this. The recent DL09 OTA for the Verizon Samsung Fascinate seems to have accidentally caused an issue with the Emergency call feature available with the pattern screen lock enabled.
When working as it should, the Emergency call button will allow you to make emergency 911 calls by automatically bringing up the dialer, this is without having to use an unlock pattern. The bug that has been reported has the Emergency call feature doing absolutely nothing! Most of us will never need to use this feature, but knowing that it is available is a nice safety net, especially if an actual emergency was to arise.
In response to the problem, Samsung has issued the statement below, which says that they are “evaluating” the issue, while not putting complete blame on the latest OTA. Take a look for yourself, and if you have updated, to be on the safe side just don’t use the pattern lock for now.
“It has come to the attention of Samsung Mobile during the recent DL09 OTA (Over-the-Air) update for the Samsung Fascinate that some users utilizing the Pattern Lock are finding that the Emergency Call shortcut is not automatically launching the dialer. However, unlocking the device will allow the user to make calls as they normally would, including emergency calls. We apologize for the inconvenience and are continuing to evaluate the issue, including if the issue is linked to the update.”