New iPhone feature causes accidental 911 calls at Bonnaroo

19 June, 2023

Bonnaroo in 2019

A new iPhone feature has been causing accidental calls to 911 at this year’s Bonnaroo festival.

The feature was first noticed to be wreaking havoc on the first day of the Tennessee festival on Thursday (June 15), when multiple calls were made to the emergency services by accident.

As now revealed, the problem stemmed from a new feature on visitors’ iPhones, which automatically sends an alert to first aid responders if it detects that the user has been involved in a car crash.

While the feature sounds pretty impressive and would no doubt come in handy during a real emergency, it seems that the developers may not have anticipated how lively mosh pits can get, or quite how much people can move when dancing to their favourite bands.

The fiasco was brought to light by police in the area, who shared an update on Twitter, warning festival-goers about the possible disruption.

“MPD has responded to multiple accidental 911 calls at Bonnaroo. It’s likely that these calls are a result of ‘Crash Detection Mode,’ a new feature on Apple iPhones,” they wrote in the post. “Please be mindful and consider deactivating this feature on your phone until Bonnaroo concludes.”

Following the announcement, the official team at Bonnaroo also took to Twitter to raise awareness, writing: “Let’s work as a team to resolve this!” They then shared details on how to switch off ‘Crash Detection Mode’, which can be easily accessed through the iPhone settings.

With performances from Foo Fighters, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Nas X and Knocked Loose all lined up for this year’s Bonnaroo, it comes as no surprise that the devices have been picking up some pretty vigorous movement from those in the crowd.

Earlier today, Foo Fighters made headlines with their Bonnaroo set, after Dave Grohl and co. were joined onstage by Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams. Taking place during the second half of their 19-song set, Williams made a surprise guest appearance with the band during their rendition of ‘My Hero’.

The band were later joined by Grohl’s daughter, Violet, who took to the stage with the band to contribute vocals to two songs: ‘Shame Shame’ and ‘Show Me How’.

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