Emergency SOS offers remarkable, even automated help when something’s wrong. But review settings so you know exactly what will happen for what reason.
Emergency SOS on an iPhone or Apple Watch lets you quickly reach emergency services, sometimes without even lifting a finger. But if you haven’t reviewed the settings for this potentially life-saving feature lately or never have, now is a good time.
These settings get their own top-level item as Settings > Emergency SOS in iOS and Watch > Settings > Emergency SOS in watchOS. Depending on your model and operating system version, you may see different options.
For all of the below, you need a cellular connection or Wi-Fi. Emergency SOS work over nearly any cellular network; you don’t need to have a contract or roaming services for the reason that it’s for an emergency call. Apple’s advanced Emergency SOS with satellite (iPhone 14/14 Pro and 15/15 Pro) requires active involvement when there’s no network nearby and doesn’t work in all countries.
Emergency SOS settings in iOS and watchOS let you customize how and when calls are placed, including automatically.How to trigger Emergency SOS
Starting with the iPhone 8, you can trigger Emergency SOS on any iPhone (no unlock is required) by pressing and holding the side button (right) and either of the volume buttons (up or down at left) until a Emergency Call slider appears. If you continue to hold the two buttons, iOS begins a countdown, followed by an alert. Releasing after the countdown is over or when you hear the alert, and your iPhone makes a call to emergency services with no further intervention. (This option is not available in India or with an iPhone; see “Add a trigger” below.)
The notion is that if you are too incapacitated to view the screen or perform any other action, if you remember to squeeze those opposite side buttons, you get an audio alert, and then merely have to let go.
