The iPhone Feature That Could Literally Help Save Your Life

To do so, head to your iPhone’s Settings app and scroll down to Emergency SOS. You’ll then see two relevant options on the screen: Call with Hold and Release and Call With 5 Button Presses. You can enable one or both options.

With Call with Hold and Release enabled, you still need to press and hold the Side button and one of the volume buttons. While the slider will appear, there’s no need to drag it. Instead, keep holding the buttons. A 10-second countdown will begin, and emergency services will be contacted automatically unless you release the buttons. If you enable Call with 5 Button Presses, you can quickly press the Side button five times to contact emergency services without needing to keep holding any buttons. In case you triggered Emergency SOS and no longer need it, tap the Stop button, and then tap Stop Calling.

In both cases, a loud siren will sound, and your iPhone’s flashlight will begin to flash once 5 seconds remain on the timer. While the siren may come in handy in situations where you need to grab attention and alert those nearby, it may work against you in situations where silence is crucial. Thankfully, Apple thought this through. Once you enable Call with Hold and Release or Call with 5 Button Presses, a new option, Call Quietly, will appear. While you’ll still need to press your device’s Side button five times or press and hold the Side and Volume buttons (depending on the option you’ve enabled), warning sirens and flashes will be silenced.

In some situations, contacting your region’s emergency services may not be enough. Thankfully, Emergency SOS can also notify your loved ones about your whereabouts, provided you’ve saved them as your emergency contacts beforehand. If you’re still on the Emergency SOS page in the Settings app, tap the Set Up Emergency Contacts in Health button at the bottom. If you haven’t created a Medical ID yet, tap Create Medical ID and follow the on-screen instructions. Then, tap the Add button next to Emergency Contacts, and then tap Add Emergency Contacts. Now, simply select your loved ones from your contact list and specify their relationship to you (mother, father, parent, etc). Tap the Add Emergency Contact button again to add more contacts, and when you’re finished, hit Done.

Alternatively, you can set this up in the Health app by tapping the profile icon in the top-right corner, selecting Medical ID, and following the same steps. Another option is to go to the contact’s profile in the Phone or Contacts app, tap Add to Emergency Contacts, and choose their relationship to you. Now, in addition to contacting your local emergency services, your iPhone will also share your current location with your emergency contacts and inform them that you’ve contacted emergency services. It’ll also notify them if your location changes.