Six Emergency Features You Should Enable on Your IPhone.
We all carry our phones with us everywhere, meaning your device can be a lifeline in an emergency. Apple has built many features into iOS to make it easier to get help, and you should take the time to enable these important settings on your iPhone (and learn how to use them) before an emergency occurs.
Customize your Medical ID settings.
If you ever get into an accident or face an emergency situation where you can’t communicate, you’ll likely need first responders to quickly access important medical information, such as allergies, medications, and your health status. You can enter all this information into your Medical ID in the Health app and add a shortcut to your lock screen so first responders can see it even if they can’t unlock your device.
In the Health app, tap your profile photo and go to the Medical ID section . Add any relevant health information, including your blood type and detailed notes. Turn on “Show when locked “—this will allow emergency services to access information from your iPhone’s passcode entry screen via “Emergency Services” > “Medical ID.” You can also turn on “Share during emergency call” to share your Medical ID when you call or text emergency services.
Add emergency contact information
When completing your medical record, please include at least one emergency contact. Tap “Edit” > “Add Emergency Contact” and select one from your existing contact list. Tap a contact to indicate a relationship, such as a spouse or parent. There are also options for non-relatives, such as a supervisor, teacher, social worker, or daycare provider. Your emergency contacts will be visible to emergency responders along with your medical record. Your iPhone can also send messages to your contacts as part of the crash detection and SOS features, which we’ll discuss below.
Enable emergency bypass mode.
If you use Focus modes that silence notifications, you might still want to receive alerts from people close to you in the event of an emergency—for example, from your child’s school (or from your child themselves). The Emergency Bypass feature allows sounds and vibrations to pass through even when your device is in silent mode. Contacts listed in your medical profile receive this feature by default, but you can enable it for other contacts individually in their contact cards. Tap Edit > Ringtone / Message and turn on Emergency Bypass .
Changing settings for emergency SOS calls
Emergency SOS is a long-standing iPhone feature that allows you to quickly call or message emergency services (and, if you’re in the US, share your Medical ID). It’s not required to enable it, but you can change how the call is initiated in Settings > Emergency SOS by toggling the switch next to “Call with Hold and Release ” and/or “Call with 5 Button Clicks.” You can also initiate an emergency call from your iPhone’s passcode entry screen and send an emergency message from the Messages app.
You can also use the satellite SOS Emergency Call feature if you don’t have cellular service. This new feature connects you with nearby emergency services no matter where you are and is only available when there is no cellular service or Wi-Fi. If your call doesn’t go through, tap “Emergency SMS via Satellite” > “Report Emergency” and follow the instructions. Your device will send information to emergency services, such as your location, remaining iPhone battery life, and Medical ID. Make sure Location Sharing for Emergency Calls and SOS is enabled in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services . Satellite SOS Emergency Calling is currently free, although it is not available worldwide. Satellite service is also available forroadside assistance in the US, UK, and Australia.
Turn on collision detection
Crash Detection on your iPhone and Apple Watch allows you to call emergency services and alert your contacts in the event of a serious accident, such as a collision or rollover. You’ll hear an alert and receive a notification on your device’s screen with an emergency call slider. You can choose to end the call or dismiss the alert if you don’t need emergency services. If you don’t do either within 10 seconds, your device will automatically place the call after 30 seconds. It will also send your location to your contacts and display a Medical ID slider for emergency services, so it’s important to set up both of these features. Crash Detection is enabled by default, but you can disable it in Settings > Emergency SOS .
Make sure your emergency alerts are enabled.
Your iPhone can also notify you of security issues, extreme weather, or other critical events in your area. You don’t need to enable these notifications, as government alerts—public safety, emergency, and AMBER— are enabled by default , but make sure they’re enabled in Settings > Notifications (scroll to the bottom of the page). For additional settings for earthquake and “immediate threat” alerts, which can include additional alerts for floods and other natural disasters, go to the “Expand Safety Alerts” menu.