Whether you run into an unfortunate accident or scary situation, fall ill or face life-threatening dangers, contacting emergency services is easier than ever on the top iPhones. Emergency SOS is a handy feature that silently works in the background to rescue you from any situation, and it's available on all iPhone models. Here's how to use and customize it on your device.

It’s important to note that you should only ever use Emergency SOS when it’s a true emergency since doing so will immediately contact your local emergency number. This is why it requires a specific set of button presses to activate, so it’s unlikely ever to be done by accident. While you hope never to have to use Emergency SOS, it’s worthwhile to know exactly how to do it should the need ever arise.

How to add Medical ID and emergency contacts

Before we show you how to use the Emergency SOS on iPhone, it's important to add your Medical ID and emergency contacts first. That way, the service can send text messages and location coordinates to selected contacts. Adding a Medical ID is also essential, as the information shows up on the lock screen for emergency responders. They don't even need to unlock your iPhone to learn about your health conditions or meds.

  1. Open the Health app, and tap Summary (if it isn’t already the default that opens).
  2. Select your Profile Photo.
  3. Tap Medical ID.
  4. Tap Edit at the top right to add pertinent information like known medical conditions, allergies, and reactions, and if you’re an organ donor. You can also add your blood type as well as the medications you are taking or require.
  5. Scroll down to Emergency Contacts.
  6. Select Add Emergency Contact.
  7. From there, you can add someone right from your Contacts list and include their name, phone number, and their relationship to you.

In the event of a car accident, for example, this will ensure your family knows right away and can head to the hospital instead of waiting to be contacted by hospital staff. For teenagers, having this feature can also be useful in case they are in danger or in an uncomfortable situation and need an adult to arrive and help.

How to use Emergency SOS on iPhone

Now that you have added your medical ID and emergency contacts, check the steps below to activate Emergency SOS in unfortunate situations.

  1. Press and hold the side button and either volume up or down until you see the Emergency SOS slider appear on the screen.
    How to use emergency SOS on iPhone
  2. Drag the letters SOS on the Emergency Call slider to the right in order to immediately call emergency services.
    enable emergency SOS on iPhone
  3. Alternatively, if you cannot reach the slider, you can continue to hold the side and volume buttons down simultaneously. If you do this long enough, a countdown will appear in the red circle where SOS is written, and an alert will sound to confirm. Release the buttons once the countdown is over, and emergency services will be contacted.
    Activate emergency SOS on iPhone
  4. The iPhone automatically sends a text message and location to set emergency contacts. Even if Location Services are off, the emergency trigger temporarily enables the feature to acquire your coordinates and send the information. Your emergency contacts will receive updated information about your location 10 minutes later in case you are moving.
    Medical ID on iPhone

Note that the process is slightly different if you have been holding on to an iPhone 7 or older model iPhone. In this case, press the side or top button quickly, five times in succession. This will bring up the same Emergency Call slider, at which point you can proceed with step 2.

You can also actively choose to use this method, even on newer phones, if preferred to avoid accidental presses from yourself or a child.

How to customize Emergency SOS on iPhone

If the trick above sounds inconvenient to you, enable alternative ways to enable Emergency SOS on iPhone. You need to make tweaks from Settings.

  1. Launch Settings and scroll to Emergency SOS.
  2. Enable the Call with 5 Presses toggle. As the name suggests, you can now press the side button five times to start countdown and alerts.

You can also enable Call Quietly toggle. It silences warning alarms, flashes, and VoiceOver audio when making an emergency call.

How to use Emergency SOS via Satellite on iPhone

While Emergency SOS works as expected on iPhone, Apple took the entire experience to the next level with iPhone 14. If you have an iPhone 14 or later, you can reach out to emergency services without cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity. Whether you are stuck in the mountains, dense jungles or remote areas, Emergency SOS via Satellite helps you establish communication with relevant authorities and contacts.

When your iPhone can't connect to emergency services via a cellular network, you receive an option to send Emergency Text via Satellite instead. You need to answer the emergency questions depending on your situation and receive questions and prompts in return.

You need to follow on-screen directions to connect to satellite and start a text thread with emergency responders. The system sends relevant data like your answers, emergency contact information, location, battery life and medical ID.

Emergency SOS via satellite is available in following countries.

  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • France
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Portugal
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

However, the satellite feature is only free for the first two years after activating the new phone, after which it will require an active subscription.

Crash detection on iPhone 14 and later

With newer phones, including the iPhone 15 as well as the iPhone 15 Pro, there’s also a new feature called Crash Detection. This can detect a car crash like a front- or side-impact, rear-end collision, or even a rollover, then sound an alarm and display (and read aloud) an alert that Emergency SOS will be triggered if you don’t reply within a specified period of time. The alert shows the Emergency Slider at the bottom of the screen and also sends a message with your location to your emergency contacts.

You can then either proceed with calling emergency services if needed or dismiss the alert if it was received in error. The phone also shows the Medical ID slider with your pertinent medical information (if you added it), like known allergies, blood type, and more.

How to disable Crash Detection on iPhone

Some users have accidentally triggered crash detection alerts after riding a particularly bumpy roller coaster. If you frequently run into the same situation, you can disable the function from Settings.

  1. Open Settings and scroll to Emergency SOS.
  2. Disable the Call After Serious Crash toggle.

Using your iPhone to stay on top of your health

Apple didn't implement Emergency SOS and called it a day. Apart from Emergency SOS, the iPhone also comes with several other features that can potentially save your life. With the latest iOS 17, you can track your mood to keep your mental health in check. Check our dedicated guide to log and track your mood in the Health app on iPhone and iPad.

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