Make an emergency call or text on iPhone or Apple Watch (2024)

1. Go to Settings > Emergency SOS.

2. Do any of the following:

   • Turn Call with Hold on or off: Press and hold the side and volume buttons to start a countdown to call emergency services.

   • Turn Call with 5 presses on or off: Rapidly press the side button five times to start a countdown to call emergency services.

   • Manage your emergency contacts: In Health, tap Set Up Emergency Contacts or Edit Emergency Contacts. See Set up and view your Medical ID in the iPhone User Guide.

Emergency contacts can be set up so that if you call an emergency number, iPhone sends those contacts a notice that you’ve called for help, shares your location with those contacts, and notifies them if your location changes. If you previously added someone as an emergency contact and want to remove them, you can delete them.

To add or delete emergency contacts:

1. Open the Healthapp , then tap your profile picture.

   See Also

   Your Guide to Calling 911: Helpful Tips When Reporting an EmergencyFCC/FEMA Emergency Communications Tips

2. Tap Medical ID.

3. Tap Edit, then scroll to EmergencyContacts.

4. Add or delete a contact.

   • Add a contact: Tap the Add button toadd an emergency contact (You can’t set emergency services as an SOScontact).

   • Delete a contact: Tap the Delete button next to the contact you want to delete, then tap Delete.

5. Tap Done to save your changes.

1. On the Passcode screen, tap Emergency.

2. Dial the emergency number (for example, 911 in the U.S.), then tap the Call button .

In case of emergency, use your iPhone to quickly and easily call for help and alert your emergency contacts (provided that cellular service is available). After an emergency call ends, your iPhone alerts your emergency contacts with a text message, unless you choose to cancel. Your iPhone sends your current location (if available) and—for a period of time after you enter SOS mode—your emergency contacts receive updates when your location changes.

Note: If you have iPhone 14 or later (any model), you may be able to contact emergency services through satellite if cell service isn’t available. See Use Emergency SOS via satellite on your iPhone.

• Simultaneously press and hold the side button and either volume button until the sliders appear and the countdown on Emergency SOS ends, then release the buttons.

  Or, you can enable iPhone to start Emergency SOS when you quickly press the side button five times. Go to Settings > Emergency SOS, then turn on Call with 5 Presses.

• Quickly press the side button three times until the sliders appear and the countdown on Emergency SOS ends.

• If you’ve turned on Accessibility Shortcut, simultaneously press and hold the side button and either volume button until the sliders appear and the countdown on Emergency SOS ends, then release the buttons.

By default, iPhone plays a warning sound, starts a countdown, and then calls the emergency services.

After an emergency call ends, your iPhone alerts your emergency contacts with a text message, unless you choose to cancel. Your iPhone sends your current location (if available) and—for a period of time after you enter SOS mode—your emergency contacts receive updates when your location changes.

• Do one of the following:

  • Press and hold the side button until the sliders appear, then drag the Emergency Call slider to the right.

    Your Apple Watch calls the emergency services in your region—for example, 911. (In some regions, you may be required to press a keypad number to complete the call.)

  • Press and keep holding the side button until your Apple Watch issues a warning sound and starts a countdown. When the countdown ends, your Apple Watch calls emergency services. The Apple Watch makes the warning sound even if it’s in silent mode, so if you’re in an emergency situation where you don’t want to make noise, use the Emergency Call slider to call emergency services without a countdown.

    If you don’t want your Apple Watch to automatically start the emergency countdown when you press and hold the side button, turn off Automatic Dialing. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch, tap SOS, tap Hold Side Button, then turn off Hold Side Button. (Or open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, tap Emergency SOS, then turn off Hold Side Button to Dial.) You can still make an emergency call with the Emergency Call slider.

  • Say “Hey Siri, call 911.”

1. Open the Messages app , then type 911 or your local emergency services number in the To field.

2. In the Text Message field, type your emergency.

3. Tap the Send button .

   Important: After you text 911, your iPhone enters emergency mode for 30 minutes. To get out of emergency mode, restart your iPhone.

1. Open the Messages app , then tap New Message.

2. Tap Add Contact.

3. Tap the Number Pad button , type 911, then tap OK.

4. Tap Create Message, then tap SMS.

5. Write a message with your finger, tap the Microphone button to dictate a message, or type a message with the keyboard.

6. Tap Done, then tap Send.

   Important: After you text 911, your Apple Watch enters emergency mode for 30 minutes. To get out of emergency mode, restart your Apple Watch.

On iPhone 14 and later (any model) with iOS 16.1 or later, you can use Emergency SOS via satellite to text emergency services when you’re outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. To learn more, see the Apple Support article Use Emergency SOS via satellite on your iPhone 14.

You can also use the Find My app to share your location with people via satellite. See Send your location via satellite in Find My on iPhone in the iPhone User Guide.

• Some cellular networks may not accept an emergency call from iPhone if iPhone isn’t activated, if iPhone isn’t compatible with or configured to operate on a particular cellular network, or (when applicable) if iPhone doesn’t have a SIM card or the SIM card is PIN locked.

• In certain countries or regions, your location information (if determinable) may be accessed by emergency service providers when you make an emergency call.

• Review your carrier’s emergency calling information to understand the limits of emergency calling over Wi-Fi.

• With CDMA, when an emergency call ends, iPhone enters emergency call mode for a few minutes to allow a callback from emergency services. During this time, data transmission and text messages are blocked.

• After making an emergency call, certain call features that block or silence incoming calls may be disabled for a short period of time to allow a callback from emergency services. These include Do Not Disturb, Silence Unknown Callers, and Screen Time.

• On an iPhone with Dual SIM (iPhone SE 2nd generation or later and iPhone X models or later), if you don’t turn on Wi-Fi Calling for a line, any incoming phone calls on that line (including calls from emergency services) go directly to voicemail (if available from your carrier) when the other line is in use; you don’t receive missed call notifications.

  If you set up conditional call forwarding (if available from your carrier) from one line to another when a line is busy or not in service, the calls don’t go to voicemail; contact your carrier for setup information.