[Abdul Rahman Noor]

Okay, so I've seen the ad where the guy challenges Android/iPhone owners asking if their children have "ever accidentally dialed 911" and then goes on to show how awesome WP is in that it has Kids Corner which prevents kids from doing these things...

...except that it doesn't work this way.

My 2 year old has managed to dial 999 (UK emergency services) on my password-locked, Kids Corner enabled phone.
How?
Simple. When in Kids Corner, press the power/lock key and then again to get it to the regular lockscreen. Slide up and it asks for the password. Below that is the "Emergency call only" button. Press that, dial 999 (or 911 or 112 or whatever) and you're off!
(Thankfully my wife noticed realized what was going on and managed to explain to the dispatcher what had happened)

I don't know if there's a law or anything mandating the ability to dial emergency numbers from every possible scenario, but I find this really lame. What's the point of Kids Corner when I can't leave it in the hands of a child without fearing she'll dial emergency services?

Any workarounds or tips to solve this would be appreciated..

[markfive]

I suspect that's by design for a phone with a PIN code set. I can't turn off my PIN code, but that would be my first suggestion as a workaround.

[Coreldan]

On the other hand it's a bit of a scary thought to have a phone that couldn't be used to call emergency calls, even if you had no full access to the phone. It could be your life on the line there.

[Abdul Rahman Noor]

On the other hand it's a bit of a scary thought to have a phone that couldn't be used to call emergency calls, even if you had no full access to the phone. It could be your life on the line there.

True, and I agree.
There's a fine line between making sure emergency services are reachable and making them too reachable.

But given that an actual advertisement claims that Kids Corner supposedly prevents your children from making unwanted emergency calls, this is a feature that is - quite literally - not working as advertised.

[markfive]

The Emergency Call feature on the PIN screen is purely there to permit someone who does not know the PIN code to be able to use the phone in an emergency.

Just did a little experiment - although I can't disable my PIN code I can set the time before it takes effect. If I enable Kids Corner, every time I unlock the phone I have to enter the PIN code (so the Emergency Call button is always exposed). If I disable Kid Corner then when I unlock the phone I don't need the PIN code.

So I would think that Kids Corner works "as described" when the phone has no PIN code set - so you would have to exit back to normal phone mode to access the dialler, rather than being able to get access to the emergency call function on the PIN screen.

Whether that means it actually prevents kids from making emergency calls - discuss

[Huime]

True, and I agree.
There's a fine line between making sure emergency services are reachable and making them too reachable.

But given that an actual advertisement claims that Kids Corner supposedly prevents your children from making unwanted emergency calls, this is a feature that is - quite literally - not working as advertised.

The kids corner is supposed to be activated by the parents. And I think that is the only way should a parent hand his or her phone to their child.

[Abdul Rahman Noor]

The Emergency Call feature on the PIN screen is purely there to permit someone who does not know the PIN code to be able to use the phone in an emergency.

Just did a little experiment - although I can't disable my PIN code I can set the time before it takes effect. If I enable Kids Corner, every time I unlock the phone I have to enter the PIN code (so the Emergency Call button is always exposed). If I disable Kid Corner then when I unlock the phone I don't need the PIN code.

So I would think that Kids Corner works "as described" when the phone has no PIN code set - so you would have to exit back to normal phone mode to access the dialler, rather than being able to get access to the emergency call function on the PIN screen.

Whether that means it actually prevents kids from making emergency calls - discuss

Actually my phone doesn't have the PIN code set - I only use the lockscreen password (which is set on the phone rather than the SIM). If I disable the lockscreen password as well, from Kids Corner if you get to the lockscreen, all you have to do is swipe the screen up and voila - full phone access...

...rendering Kids Corner even more pointless than with a PIN or lockscreen password.

[Abdul Rahman Noor]

The kids corner is supposed to be activated by the parents. And I think that is the only way should a parent hand his or her phone to their child.

Yes,
My point here is that it still doesn't make your phone 100% safe - a child can still make emergency calls using the procedure I described in the first post.

[xboxonthego3]

Yes,
My point here is that it still doesn't make your phone 100% safe - a child can still make emergency calls using the procedure I described in the first post.

Not sure what kind of answer you are looking for. But I did some digging and found that only the FAQ for kid's corner on windows phone's website is the only place where it says it can't make phones calls, texts etc. Tried looking up laws about emergency calls that you mentioned. Found a law about having access to 911 even if you are not subscribe to a carrier. Doesn't seem to have to do with it. But there probably is a law to make sure there is always access to emergency phone calls. But this would be the case for the USA. Because of that I don't think there is a work around unless you put it on airplane mode before you give it to them. So Microsoft is falsely advertising in a way. You can't make specific phone calls but only emergency calls.

[Huime]

Yes,
My point here is that it still doesn't make your phone 100% safe - a child can still make emergency calls using the procedure I described in the first post.

That made it safe actually. The phone suppose to let anyone to be able to make emergency call without restriction.

[BeaverJuicer]

I am driving and witness a horrific accident. The only phone I have, is the one pulled out of the potentially dying person's pocket. 2 Scenarios:

a) I cannot call emergency services because it is pin protected. Person dies. Their family finds out why I couldn't call emerg services, and potentially sues MS for blocking this..
b) I press the "emerg call" button, and everything is hunkey dorey, even if the guy's kid has dialed 9-1-1 a couple times by accident.

Which is worse, as the consumer or as MS?

It seems pretty straight forward to me.

[Abdul Rahman Noor]

I am driving and witness a horrific accident. The only phone I have, is the one pulled out of the potentially dying person's pocket. 2 Scenarios:

a) I cannot call emergency services because it is pin protected. Person dies. Their family finds out why I couldn't call emerg services, and potentially sues MS for blocking this..
b) I press the "emerg call" button, and everything is hunkey dorey, even if the guy's kid has dialed 9-1-1 a couple times by accident.

Which is worse, as the consumer or as MS?

It seems pretty straight forward to me.

Emergency calls are important. Yes I get that part, thank you.
But that wasn't my point. I have two concerns:

1. While this is allowed by design (or by law?) MS has falsely advertised that it prevents children from doing that. Not that I'm gonna bring a lawsuit about it; but just saying.
2. Is there any way to make a phone kid-proof? Flight mode seems like a good suggestion. Not sure if that allows emergency calls as well. Need to try that...