SOS on iPhone: What it is and how to use it

What is Emergency SOS on iPhone? This is a feature that could save your life.

Apple’s Satellite SOS feature for iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro has partnered with Globalstar Satellite Communications Company to use satellite connections to connect people with local emergency dispatch centers when there is no cellular network or Wi-Fi coverage.

If you’re in an emergency, your iPhone can ping one of Globalstar’s 24 low-orbit satellites. The satellite will then send the message to one of its ground stations, which will route the call to a local dispatch center or relay center if the dispatch center cannot receive the 911 text message. These relay centers are staffed by third-party and Apple-hired experts who are trained in emergency protocols and can communicate with dispatchers and relay messages back and forth.

Testing this feature is a bit of a Catch-22. Apple hopes you’ll never be in an emergency situation where you have to use it, and it real Don’t want you to test it in a non-emergency situation. Did you know that prank calling 911 is a felony? (Yes, Apple doesn’t want you to do that.) That said, the best time to learn how to use SOS via satellite is when you’re not in an actual emergency. When faced with mortal danger, the last thing you need to do is scroll through the settings to find that feature. So Apple developed a demo mode for users to test in non-emergency situations.

Mashable can demonstrate this functionality in a controlled environment. Here’s how it works.

SOS on iPhone: How to use

You’ll find this feature when you make a call, send a text message, or contact 911 using Siri or collision detection in an area without cellular service or Wi-Fi. If you set it up to send emergency services through your iPhone, you can also activate it through the Apple Watch’s fall detection.

Emergency SOS via satellite is ready to activate when the SOS icon appears in the upper right corner of the screen, indicating that there is no cellular/Wi-Fi connection and satellite service is available. This feature is powered by a combination of hardware and software components and is therefore only available on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models.

You can activate this feature by calling 911. Click this icon to activate this feature. It is worth noting that since this function sends a message to the satellite, there will be a delay. Apple says it takes about 15 seconds to send the message, which could take up to a minute if you’re under some trees with leaves.

This feature can be used when you are trying to call 911 in an area where there is no cellular connection.
Credit: Apple

A close-up of how to activate SOS via satellite.
Credit: Apple

Report an emergency

The next screen gives you information about using the feature: you need to be outside to get a satellite connection, sending messages takes longer, and you need to answer questions to get a faster response. At the bottom of the screen, click “Report an Emergency” to start communicating with emergency services. So far, emergency services have been notified.

Now it’s time to describe your emergency.
Credit: Apple

Provide detailed information about the emergency situation

Next, the feature will ask you a series of questions to gather information about the nature of the emergency. Remember: If you are unable to fill out the report, emergency services will be notified anyway as long as you complete this step. For demonstration purposes, it helps to come up with a specific emergency situation, so I imagine I broke my leg while hiking in a remote mountain range. (For the record, I’m not trying to project that energy.) The report asks you to specify from a list of common emergencies that are most applicable.

Hope my leg isn’t broken.
Credit: Apple

The next screen asked for more details about my imaginary accident, such as “Who needs help?” and “How is your breathing?” and “What best describes the emergency?” I made it clear that I was the one injured, There was no difficulty breathing and “Trauma” was selected from the list of options.

Looking for me or a friend?
Credit: Apple

Just need more details.
Credit: Apple

The final step in emergency reporting is the option to notify an emergency contact. This uses an existing feature called Medical ID, which notifies designated personnel in the event of an emergency and emergency services if you have any health conditions, allergies or are taking medication. In theory, I would fill out this information before my destined trip and my emergency contact would be alerted about my trauma. Your emergency contacts can also access text conversations between you and emergency services personnel so they can follow the conversation in real time (although they can’t reply in chat).

You need to fill in your medical ID before using this feature.
Credit: Apple

Your emergency contact can track you instantly.
Credit: Apple

Send text messages to emergency services via satellite

Once all the details of the emergency, including my medical information and location, are sent, a new conversation is established with the relay center to respond to my request. The status bar at the top of the screen showed that the iPhone was still connected, and reminded me to keep pointing the phone in the same direction to stay connected. About 30 seconds later, I received a text message from the relay center asking me to describe my location and if I had any medications with me (because the medical ID was filled out, indicating that I had taken medications).

Sending and receiving text via satellite can take 15 to 60 seconds.
Credit: Apple

After answering these questions, I received a text message saying local responders had been notified. This is the time when you wait and hope that help is on the way. You can also stay connected to a relay center, but that’s a personal preference.

Text will notify you when help is imminent.
Credit: Apple

Demo mode

If you want to be extra prepared, you can test the feature yourself in demo mode. Access this feature by going to Settings, Emergency SOS and clicking Try Demo. The demo will temporarily disable your cellular connection and connect to a real satellite to walk you through the feature. This gives you a true idea of ​​where your phone is placed and the delay in sending and receiving messages via satellite. It’s also a great way to understand what could go wrong if the unthinkable happened.

Demo mode lets you test it out so you know what to expect.
Credit: Apple

This is a useful way to understand the delay and emergency questionnaire.
Credit: Apple

focus

Apple cares deeply about user safety when it comes to fall detection, collision detection and emergency calls via satellite. Wouldn’t it feel better to know I have this feature at my fingertips when I’m hiking, or even driving through the dead zones of the backcountry? Absolutely. It increases my likelihood of getting help.

That said, it was a long process and required me to go through a lot of steps to get the help I needed. It follows similar emergency protocol conversations that 911 dispatchers are trained to have, so it’s not too different from that, but something about clicking and texting in a crisis feels more like a hurdle to overcome – especially when I’m physically Untimely incapacity.

It was a long process and required me to go through many steps to get the help I needed.

There are also privacy concerns: Apple says your message is transmitted to the satellite in encrypted form, where it then decrypts it and sends it to emergency dispatchers. It also says emergency services and relay centers may save your message “to improve their services”. This is no different than the privacy risks of typical 911 calls, which are considered public records (access to such records depends on the state). However, before using this feature, you need to consider the fact that your information may be retained.

This is something to keep in mind, but even for privacy advocates, this is an exception you might be willing to make in an emergency.