Certain AT&T callers in Kansas City won’t be able to reach 911, police said

Update 5:30 a.m. Wednesday: Kansas City police said the issue has been resolved in its entirety.

Update 8:30 p.m. Tuesday: AT&T said service was restored for some landline customers.

AT&T landline customers with specific prefixes in Kansas City are unable to reach 911, Kansas City police said Tuesday.

Police said they were alerted to the problem by Mid-America Regional Council, which said that an AT&T central office isolation issue has affected wire line customers with 816-482-XXXX phone numbers.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, AT&T said the issue has been fixed for some customers.

“Service has been restored for some landline customers in the Kansas City area who were unable to complete calls to 911 because of defective equipment,” an AT&T spokeswoman said.

Those AT&T customers with that specific prefix who need to reach Kansas City police in an emergency should dial the non-emergency number of 816-234-5111. Calling a number that is not 911 is not affected, the police department said in an email.

The problem has affected emergency call for police departments in Independence and North Kansas City.

Police officials said they would alert the public when the issue is resolved.

This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 4:42 PM.