A rather bizarre bug is preventing some Android users in the US from calling emergency services. The issue was brought to attention after a Pixel 3 user found this bug in the middle of a medical emergency. Google says it's aware of the issue and a fix is on the way.

The emergency calling bug was first discovered by Reddit user u/KitchenPicture5849 last week:

I had to call an ambulance for the grandmother on Friday as she appeared to be having a stroke. 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.

Google has since confirmed the existence of the bug, stating that the company was able to "reproduce the issue under a limited set of circumstances." The bug is a result of “unintended interaction between the Microsoft Teams app and the underlying Android operating system.” Specifically, it only affects users who have installed the Microsoft Teams app but haven’t signed in.

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.

Google says it’s working closely with Microsoft to resolve the issue. Microsoft will soon roll out a new update to the Microsoft Teams app. Meanwhile, Google will release a platform update to the Android ecosystem on January 4.

In the meantime, Google advises users running Android 10 and above to check if they have the Microsoft Teams app installed on their phone. If you're already signed in, you're not impacted. If not, uninstall and reinstall the app and sign in.