Honor Phone Lock Screen Ad Linked to Delayed Emergency Call; Family Drops Claims After Meeting
AM730 · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago6 MIN
Summary
A family dispute with Chinese smartphone maker Honor over a lock screen advertisement feature has been resolved after the family dropped their public claims following a face-to-face meeting with the company on September 11. The incident, which occurred on August 30 when a woman in Jinan suffered a heart attack, has ignited broader debate about smartphone design accessibility for elderly users in China. The son initially alleged that the phone's full-screen promotional feature trapped his elderly father, delaying his emergency call by 5-10 minutes and contributing to his mother's death. After meeting with Honor representatives and witnessing a re-enactment of the scene, the son publicly apologized and stated his earlier posts contained inaccuracies. Honor has declined to take legal action against the family, citing humanitarian grounds, while legal experts note that proving product liability would require demonstrating both a design defect and direct causation with the outcome. The controversy has drawn attention to the deep-buried settings required to disable such promotional features on smartphones.
Key Points
- The incident occurred at approximately 4:00 AM on August 30, when a woman in Jinan suffered a sudden heart attack; her husband attempted to call emergency services but was blocked by a full-screen advertisement on their Honor phone
- The phone displayed "swipe up to unlock" instructions, but even slight deviation from the exact gesture triggered a promotional page requiring a small corner button to exit, a process that confused the elderly user
- Mr. Zhang (張先生), the deceased woman's son, posted on social media accusing Honor's "Magic Poster" feature of trapping his father and delaying emergency response by 5-10 minutes while he sought help from a neighbor
- On September 11, Zhang met with Honor representatives and conducted a scene reconstruction; he subsequently apologized, stating he had misunderstood the phone's operation and that the incident was unrelated to Honor
- Honor announced it would not pursue legal action against Zhang for reputational damage, based on "humanitarian considerations," while legal experts say product liability claims would require proving design defect and direct causation