This Hidden iPhone Feature May Just Save Your Life In An Emergency

This is not the first time Apple’s Emergency Text feature has reportedly been involved in a rescue. Since it became available to iPhone users in November 2022, people have been using it to text emergency services when phone calls are not possible. 

In 2022, a man in Alaska activated it to get help when he was stranded on a snow machine without cellular service. This April, a group of stranded Utah hikers in a canyon used it to text emergency services when they could not call for help. 

“The canyon was about 500 feet deep of sheer rock walls, but about every 20 minutes a satellite would line up where we were in the canyon and by holding the phone up we could get a signal where we could text 911 to Emery County, and that definitely saved our butts,” one of the hikers described to Salt Lake City’s KUTV news station about the rescue.

How Apple’s Emergency Text via satellite feature works. 

If your emergency call to 911 fails because there is no cellular or Wi-Fi connection, iPhones 14 and up that have iOS 16.1 will prompt you to tap the Emergency Text feature.

From there, the iPhone will ask you to answer a few questions to describe your emergency to rescuers. You will be asked to select among options, such as car issue, fire, crime, or lost or trapped, and to describe any injuries.

Then the iPhone will show you where in the sky to point your iPhone to connect to a satellite and send that initial message to emergency dispatchers who accept text messages or “to relay centers staffed by Apple‑trained specialists who can call for help on the user’s behalf,” according to Apple’s website.

The dispatcher will receive your responses and location, including altitude, phone battery level and medical information if you have Medical ID enabled on your settings. 

The transcript can also be shared with the iPhone user’s emergency contacts to keep them informed about what’s happening.