Apple‘s new iPhone feature designed to make users safer is having unintended consequences at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, where local police received multiple accidental 911 calls on Thursday. A statement from Manchester, TN police blames the new iPhone 14’s “Crash Detection Mode” for an influx of unwarranted emergency calls on the festival’s first day.
“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,” the police department tweeted. “Please be mindful and consider deactivating this feature on your phone until Bonnaroo concludes.”
The new feature is designed to detect when a user has experienced a crash or injury through sudden acceleration and deceleration. This isn’t the first hiccup for Apple’s latest safety program, with skiers and rollercoaster riders also generating accidental calls to emergency services. It appears that Crash Detection Mode also has trouble with raves, as day one of ‘Roo hosted a bass-heavy lineup of Zeds Dead, Liquid Stranger, Daily Bread, and more. There’s also the chance that New Orleans bounce queen Big Freedia generated too much ass shakin’ at her set for the system to handle.
The official Bonnaroo Twitter account chimed in as well, instructing concertgoers how to disable the feature.
Heads up Bonnaroovians! Let’s work as a team to resolve this! You can take action by going Settings>Emergency SOS and deactivating the “crash” feature. https://t.co/11MqYk0JKE
— Bonnaroo (@Bonnaroo) June 15, 2023
Bonnaroo continues all weekend long with top acts Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, ODESZA, Tyler Childers, My Morning Jacket, Paramore, Vulfpeck, GRiZ, Portugal. The Man, Umphrey’s McGee, Three 6 Mafia, Charlie Crockett, and many more. Find out how to stream the festival with Hulu here.
Stay safe out there.