Apple’s iOS 11 includes a great SOS feature for when you feel unsafe in an emergency, but you may want to disable the feature on your iPhone or Apple Watch to avoid accidentally calling 999.
When Apple released iOS 11, it included a feature called Emergency SOS on iPhone and Apple Watch. It enables users to automatically call for help and alert contacts in the event of an emergency. If you hold down the iPhone’s side button and volume button long enough, emergency services will be contacted.
When Auto Call is enabled on an iPhone and an emergency call is started, your device begins a countdown and sounds a loud alert. After the countdown ends, your iPhone automatically calls 999 in the UK.
The option allows iPhone and Apple Watch users to contact local police, ambulance or fire services at a moment’s notice with a quick button press.
But some people have reported inadvertently activating the easy-access feature, triggering a loud alarm and a call to the emergency services.
One Apple fan in Chicago tweeted that he woke up in the middle of the night to find three policemen in his bedroom after he activated his Apple Watch’s Emergency SOS feature while wearing it to sleep.
CHANGE THE SETTING ON IPHONE:
- Open the Settings app in iOS.
- Tap Emergency SOS
- Turn Auto Call off or on.
CHANGE THE SETTING ON APPLE WATCH:
- Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and tap the My Watch tab.
- Tap General > Emergency SOS.
- Turn off or on Hold to Auto Call.
Even with Auto Call disabled, you can still use the Emergency SOS slider to make a call after holding the side button and volume button on iPhone X and iPhone 8.
To make a call on iPhone 7 or earlier, rapidly press the side button five times, and the Emergency SOS slider will appear.
To make a call on Apple Watch, press and hold the side button on your wearable until the Emergency SOS slider appears.