How to Make Emergency SOS Calls on your iPhone

In an emergency, use the Emergency SOS function on your iPhone to quickly call for help and alert your emergency contacts.   The action will perform two functions:

1.  Your phone will make a 911 Emergency Call.
2. A text message will be send to your emergency contacts in your medical ID.

Make an Emergency SOS Call

You will want to practice the action a few times so that it is remembered when you need it.  When you practice, be prepared to cancel the call before actually calling 911.

There are two different actions depending on the iPhone that you have:

1. If you have an iPhone 8 and later you have the Squeeze Method.  See below for a definition.  
2. If you have an older iPhone, you will need to press your side button five times. 

There is lots more detail below. 

Check this!

Access Emergency SOS in the Settings app to learn your iPhone’s SOS approach  and to control how your iPhone does Emergency SOS.  See Change your Emergency SOS Settings below for the specific details.  

Remember This!

Think of this action as grasping your iPhone in one hand while holding down a button on either side of your iPhone.  If you hold the buttons down continuously through the five second countdown the 911 call will be made without additional action.  

This grasp of your iPhone is your Emergency SOS Action.  

Choose then Practice, Practice Practice

If you have a new iPhone, you can choose either the 5 tap or Side+Volume combination to place an Emergency SOS call.  Choose whichever is most intuitive to you.  I do recommend the grasp (Side + Volume) action.  

Then practice knowing that you can cancel the call during the countdown.  

You can change your Emergency SOS settings  in the Settings app.

Launch the Settings app.  Scroll down to find Emergency SOS.

Tap Emergency SOS

At the top of the settings screen you will view an instruction for making an emergency call.  Below this instruction you will find  the options that you can change.

1 Turn on (green is one) Call with Side Button.  This enable the 5 taps on the Side button to place the call.

2 Turn on Auto Call.  This will automatically call 911 after a countdown of five seconds.  No additional action, for example, dialing 911 or moving a slider is required.  This is a recommended setting.

3 Change your emergency contacts.  The link will take you to the Health app to make the changes.  See our lesson Medical ID Could Save your Life

4 Turn off the Countdown Sound.  This is a warning alert sound that will play during the countdown.  This is good to let you know the call will be made giving you a chance to cancel.

Emergency Contacts

After your call to Emergency Services ends, the SOS function will send a text with your location to your Emergency contacts that are set up in the Health app. The message will say,

Emergency SOS

[Your name] has made an emergency call from this approximate location.  You are receiving this message because [Your name] has listed you as an emergency contact.

The text will also include a link to an Apple maps location.

A step-by-step description of Emergency Contacts can be found in Senior Tech Recipe #118 – How to Use the iPhone Health App — It could Save your Life!

Starting with iPhone 14 models, you can use Emergency SOS via satellite to text emergency services when you are not in an area that provides either cellular and Wi-Fi coverage.  If you become stranded in a wilderness location, you can connect with emergency responders using satellet text messages.  

Here is how the process works:

1. Try a regular SOS or 911 call for emergency services. 
2. If the call doesn’t go through because there is no service, tap Emergency Text via Satellite to text emergency services.
3. Tap Report Emergency and follow the onscreen instructions.  Using taps to the questions, you can report your situation, status and location.  

Your iPhone starts a text conversation with emergency responders by sharing critical information like your Medical ID and emergency contact information (if you have set them up), the emergency questionnaire answers, your location (including elevation), and remaining battery life for your iPhone.  You can have a text conversation with emergency responders as they respond.  

Try a Demo

If you anticipate a wilderness adventure, you can do a demo of the process before it is needed.  This is found in Settings > Emergency SOS.