Skip to main content Skip to footer
Support

SAFETY

9-1-1

Public Safety / 9-1-1

T-Mobile USA is committed to a partnership with Public Safety to provide the best possible 9-1-1 service for our subscribers and roaming customers in times of emergency.

T-Mobile's public edication efforts

T-Mobile USA is committed to a partnership with Public Safety to provide the best 911service for our subscribers and roaming customers in times of emergency.

T-Mobile is committed to educating our customers about mobile phones and 911. On T‑Mobile.com and in materials sent directly to customers we also address issues such as accidental calls to 911. The State of Washington's 911 Office created these brochures:

Accidental 9-1-1 calls
9-1-1 llamadas accidentales
What's Your Location

Remember, when calling 9-1-1 during an emergency:

Stay calm and speak clearly.

Do not hang up until the 911 operator has obtained all of the information that is needed, including your name, location, phone number, and nature of the emergency.

When you are calling 911 from a wireless phone, your call may be disconnected if the signal is lost. Be sure to call 911 back if you are cut off. If you are driving, consider pulling off the road and stopping the vehicle to complete the 911 call.

Your 911 call may need to be transferred to another 911 Communications Center.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Basic 9-1-1 service is an emergency telephone system which automatically connects wireless 9-1-1 calls to a designated 9-1-1 Communications Center. Basic 9-1-1 may or may not provide the wireless phone’s 10-digit call-back number and estimated location. The handset must have battery power and be in a coverage area to complete a 9-1-1 call.

  • No. All of T-Mobile’s wireless handsets give T-Mobile subscribers access to Enhanced 911 services (also called “E911”). E911 service gives T-Mobile the ability to route a 911 call to the designated 911 Communications Center serving your location and deliver your telephone number and location information automatically to the emergency operator answering the call. E911 is different from Basic 911 service because Basic 911 does not provide the 911 Communications Center with your telephone number or location information.

  • Enhanced 9-1-1 Phase I service is the first step in providing better emergency response service to wireless 9-1-1 callers. Public Safety/9-1-1 Communications Centers need to send a letter to T-Mobile requesting Phase I service deployment at their agency. Once Phase I service has been implemented, when a wireless 9-1-1 call comes into the 9-1-1 Communications Center (also called a Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP), the call-taker's computer screen will show the wireless phone's 10-digit call-back number if one has been assigned to the calling handset. In the event the wireless phone call is dropped, the call-taker may contact the caller. Phase I service also identifies the cell site/sector location information that the call was originated on to the call-taker's computer screen. This provides the call-taker with a general location (i.e. within the site coverage area) of the caller. The handset must have battery power and be in a coverage area to complete a 9-1-1 call.

  • No. The Public Safety/9-1-1 Communications Center serving a particular area requests the service from T-Mobile, not the subscriber. Once the service is requested by the 9-1-1 Communications Center and deployed by T-Mobile, it is provided for all the T-Mobile network users in that area. T-Mobile has deployed Enhanced 9-1-1 Phase I and Phase II service throughout much of the country.

  • Public Safety/9-1-1 Communications Centers need to send a letter to T-Mobile requesting Phase II service deployment at their agency. With Phase II service, the location information that is provided to the 9-1-1 Communications Center is the approximate X, Y (longitude, latitude) location of the handset making the 9-1-1 call. This location information is typically more accurate than the Phase I location information (cell site/sector). As with Phase I, Phase II service allows call-takers to receive both the caller's wireless phone number and their estimated location information. Since early 2004, T-Mobile has been deploying Phase II services. T-Mobile utilizes a hybrid solution, referred to as U-TDOA, Uplink-Time Difference of Arrival and AGPS, Assisted Global Positioning System, to provide an estimated Phase II location to the 9-1-1 Communications Center. The handset must have battery power and be in a coverage area to complete a 9-1-1 call.

  • Because there are over 6,100 9-1-1 Communications Centers in the United States, we suggest you contact the 9-1-1 Center in your area by calling their non-emergency/administrative phone number (usually found near the front of the local phone book or directory) to determine that agency's ability to receive wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 calls.

  • Placing a voice call to 9-1-1 is your best option during an emergency. At this time, some 9-1-1 Centers are able to receive and/or respond to text messages sent to 9-1-1 via a T-Mobile handset. If a customer attempts to send a text to 9-1-1 in an area where the service is not available, an auto-reply message will be sent to the handset stating: “Please make a voice call to 911. There is no text service to 911 available at this time in this area. This is a free message.” T-Mobile entered into a voluntary agreement to begin the deployment of Text to 9-1-1 service starting in mid-2014. Public Safety/9-1-1 Communications Centers will need to send a letter to T-Mobile requesting Text to 9-1-1 service deployment at their agency once they are ready to receive text messaging. Please note, making a voice call to 9-1-1 is still the most efficient way to contact emergency services.

  • The Federal Communications Commission has mandated wireless carriers to deploy Phase I and II services within 6 months of a request from the Public Safety/9-1-1 Communications Center. Occasionally, this timeline is adjusted per mutual agreement.

  • Yes. The T-Mobile network will route your 9-1-1 call to the designated 9-1-1 Communications Center, regardless of the 10-digit phone number assigned to the phone. Be sure to provide your area code with your phone number to the 9-1-1 dispatcher.

  • No. T-Mobile’s Phase II solution does not require subscribers upgrade or change their handset. The level of service is the same regardless of whether you are a postpaid, Monthly4G or prepaid subscriber. Note for Monthly4G and prepaid subscribers: If your call to 9-1-1 is disconnected for some reason and there is a need for the 9-1-1 Communications Center to call you back, you will need to have minutes available on your account for the return call to be completed.

  • You should stay on the line until the 9-1-1 dispatcher has answered the call and indicate the call was made by mistake and no emergency assistance is needed.

  • The T-Mobile network will route your 9-1-1 call to the designated 9-1-1 Communications Center (also called a Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP). When your call is answered by the 9-1-1 dispatcher, be ready to answer questions such as: 1. Where is the emergency? Provide highway name, direction of travel, mile marker, intersection, etc. 2. What number are you calling from? Always give your area code and wireless phone number. 3. What exactly has happened? Clearly describe what has taken place.

  • Yes. When you first enable Wi-Fi Calling on T-Mobile, you must provide us with the primary street address at which the Wi-Fi Calling service will be used (“Your E911 Registered Address”). When you a place a 911 call, even if you have Wi-Fi Calling services enabled, if a cellular connection is available, your handset will always place the 911 call over the handset’s native dialer using a cellular connection to improve call quality and location accuracy for emergency services. However, if you call 911 over Wi-Fi, we will route your 911 call to your designated 911 Communications Center based on Your E911 Registered Address. We will transmit Your E911 Registered Address to the 911 Communications Center that answers the call and it may be used to help emergency responders locate you, but due to the limitations associated with Wi-Fi calling you should always provide the 911 Communications Center with your contact information and current location when calling 911. You agree to update Your E911 Registered Address if you plan on using the Wi-Fi Calling service at a location different from your E911 Registered Address. You can update your E911 Registered Address by accessing your MyT-Mobile.com account or by contacting T-Mobile Customer Care.

  • Yes. All T-Mobile wireless handsets can process 911 calls, regardless if you are a prepaid or postpaid subscriber. The wireless handset must have battery power and be in a wireless coverage area to complete a 911 call. If your call to 911 is disconnected for some reason, you will be able to receive a call back from the 911 Communications Center as long as your wireless handset has battery power and you are still in a wireless coverage area.

  • Wi-Fi Calling services use a broadband internet connection to make calls, including 911 calls. Calls to 911 using Wi-Fi Calling operate differently than 911 calls made over a cellular network or a landline phone. If possible, use a cellular connection or a landline phone to place any 911 calls. When you a place a 911 call, even if you have Wi-Fi Calling services enabled, if a cellular connection is available, your handset will always place the 911 call over the handset’s native dialer using a cellular connection to improve call quality and location accuracy for emergency services. However, when you first enable Wi-Fi Calling on T-Mobile, you must provide us with the primary street address at which the Wi-Fi Calling service will be used (“Your E911 Registered Address”). If you call 911 over Wi-Fi, we will transmit Your E911 Registered Address to the 911 Communications Center that answers the call and it may be used to help emergency responders locate you. However, because of the limitations associated with Wi-Fi 911 calling, including the fact that the broadband internet connection utilized may be supplied by a third-party unaffiliated with T-Mobile, you should be ready to provide the 911 Communications Center with your contact information and current location when calling 911. You agree to update Your E911 Registered Address if you plan on using the Wi-Fi Calling service at a location different from Your E911 Registered Address. You can update Your E911 Registered Address by accessing your MyT-Mobile.com account or by contacting T-Mobile Customer Care.

  • RTT calls may be answered by emergency services personnel using TTY devices. Consumers using RTT to contact 911 should be aware of the differences between RTT and TTY, including how certain characters are translated between the two and that emergency responders who answer the call are likely to use TTY etiquette in their responses. If you experience difficulty making an RTT call to 911, you may want to try an alternative means of reaching 911, including making a voice call or using a Telecommunications Relay Service.

  • When you first enable Wi-Fi Calling on T-Mobile, you must provide us with the primary street address at which the Wi-Fi Calling service will be used (“Your E911 Registered Address”). When you a place a 911 call, even if you have Wi-Fi Calling services enabled, if a cellular connection is available, your handset will always place the 911 call over the handset’s native dialer using a cellular connection to improve call quality and location accuracy for emergency services. However, if you place 911 call over Wi-Fi, we will route your 911 call to your designated 911 Communications Center based on Your E911 Registered Address. For example, if Your E911 Registered Address is in New York, but you place a 911 call over Wi-Fi while in California, the 911 call will be routed to a New York-based 911 Communications Center based on Your E911 Registered Address. Therefore, you should provide the 911 Communications Center with your contact information and current location when calling 911 using Wi-Fi. Furthermore, you agree to update your E911 Registered Address if you plan on using the Wi-Fi Calling service at a location different from Your E911 Registered Address. You can update Your E911 Registered Address by accessing your MyT-Mobile.com account or by contacting T-Mobile Customer Care.

  • No. Please do not call 9-1-1 to simply test the system. T-Mobile works very closely with the 9-1-1 Communication Centers to deploy the best possible 9-1-1 service. Please be sure to register and update the location of your service as described above.

  • Calls to 911 from a TTY will not work when using WiFi Calling or Voice over LTE (VoLTE). If you are deaf or hard of hearing and need assistance in communicating over the telephone, T-Mobile recommends that you use an internet-based Telecommunications Relay Service such as Video Relay Service, IP Relay Service, or IP Captioned Telephone Service, including for calls to 911. T-Mobile’s HSPA+ and LTE data services can support these relay services. In addition, as of December 31, 2017, T-Mobile Real-Time Text (RTT) technology is available on T-Mobile’s network and can be used on select devices to contact 911. For more information, see www.t-mobile.com/accessibilitypolicy

    • Federal Communications Commission
    • National Emergency Number Association
    • Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials
    • Emergency Services Interconnection Forum

  • Federal regulations require all wireless carriers to deliver 911 calls to the correct Public Safety/9-1-1 Communications Center. However, T-Mobile cannot guarantee any level of 911 service on any network other than T-Mobile's own.

Contact information for Public Safety and 9-1-1 Communications Centers ONLY

Please note: Any correspondence that is sent to the 9-1-1 Regulatory Team that is meant for T‑Mobile Customer Care will not be answered. See Customer Care contact information

For subpoena requests

Fax: 973-292-8697

Law Enforcement Relations

Phone: 973-292-8911

For 9-1-1 network issues

Phone: 1-888-662-4662

Regulatory Team contact information

Phase I and Phase II request letters should be addressed to the 9-1-1 Regulatory Manager at the address below. To expedite the processing of the request letter, please:

Send the original request letter via US Mail or by courier service to: 
T-Mobile 9-1-1 Regulatory Manager
601 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
North Building Suite 800
Washington DC, 20004