Netizens have connected the nationwide 911 outage to a technological problem with Microsoft, while the authorities have yet to comment on the possible causes of the issues.
Police departments in multiple US states have reported issues with 911 calls, including cellular and text messages.
Outages have been registered in Minneapolis, North Carolina, Philadelphia, West Virginia, Illinois, Nevada, Arizona, Ohio, Delaware, Minnesota, Indiana, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Florida, and more.
ATTENTION: The 911 lines are not operational nationwide. This is for phone calls and text messaging. If you need police, fire or emergency medical assistance in Minneapolis, please call 612-348-2345. We will advise when this issue is fixed.
— Minneapolis Police (@MinneapolisPD) September 28, 2020
*** 9-1-1 OUTAGE ALERT ***
*** 9-1-1 OUTAGE ALERT ***
The 9-1-1 lines for Reno Public Safety Dispatch are currently not working. If you need emergency services within the City of Reno, please call (775) 334-2121. Technicians are currently working to resolve the problem. Text-to-911 IS operational.— Reno Police (@RenoPolice) September 28, 2020
Since citizens have were not able to reach emergency services. Police have recommended calling local department numbers, even as the connection has been restored in some areas. Minnesota has suggested calling a local fire department.
911 is currently out in Crystal. If you have an emergency please go a fire department. They will be staffed with crews. More to follow when info becomes available
— Crystal MN Police (@CrystalMNPolice) September 28, 2020
POLICE ALERT: 911 lines are down statewide. For emergencies, please call Prescott Valley
POLICE ALERT: 911 lines are down statewide. For emergencies, please call Prescott Valley Police Dispatch at 928-772-9267 until further notice. pic.twitter.com/V86rwWoTwR
— Prescott Valley PD (@PolicePV) September 28, 2020
None of the states’ authorities have commented on the possible causes of the outages so far.
Earlier in the day, Microsoft said that a “subset of customers in the Azure Public and Azure Government clouds may encounter errors”. The announcement has prompted social media users to suspect that technical issues have triggered 911 to go down since 911 services in many states are operated through Microsoft.