Many people all over the world are using iOS devices, particularly the Apple iPhone. It is not only a popular smart phone choice among business owners, but also used by a lot of people who love the features and applications that the phone offers. There is the new Emergency SOS feature in iOS 1, but people are not quite sure how to use it. This makes sense as it is different depending on the phone model.
THE EMERGENCY SOS IS A SMART FEATURE
Application development companies do not lack in initiative and creativity in creating extremely useful and helpful applications. One of the best apps for iOS devices is the Emergency SOS app. It’s truly a smart feature thus it is important to know how to use it.
When Apple released iOS 10.2, the Emergency SOS feature was introduced. When the tool is activated, a user could discretely and quickly put a call to emergency services. In the US, this means a call to 911. In other countries, the Emergency SOS feature on the phone works with the country’s local emergency response teams. On a side note, some countries are calling on Cupertino to make more strides to boost the owner’s ability of effectively communicating with emergency services. Unless the Auto Call from Settings > Emergency SOS is enabled, it requires swiping the right slider to able to feature to actually do anything other than disable the Touch ID. The Touch ID would be disabled until the passcode is entered successfully. This will prevent would-be thieves stealing and using the device. When the feature is activated, it’s either via the proper key combination when Auto Call is enabled or via an additional swipe, which the device would dial emergency services as well as alert any emergency contacts listed in the Health application. The Emergency SOS sends a message to those contacts with one’s present location to be able for them to find the phone owner.
ACTIVATING THE EMERGENCY FEATURE OF OLDER IPHONES
For iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, or older versions, activating the feature is almost a no-brainer. One only has to quickly tap the Side button on the right five times. The feature would activate, providing sliders to power off the device, access the Medical ID or use Emergency SOS. The cancel button at the bottom of the screen cancels the operation, yet the Touch ID remains disabled temporarily. When activating the feature under iOS 1, an owner could discretely and rapidly contact 911 or the other emergency response teams.
EMERGENCY SOS ON IPHONE 8, IPHONE 8 PLUS OR IPHONE X
For some bizarre reason, Apple has dramatically changed the activation keys for the latest generations of iPhone models. Rather than tapping quickly on the Side button five times, an owner needs to press and hold the Side button. At the same time, hold one of the two Volume button. In a few seconds, the feature activates. Once this happens, everything is pretty much the same as in older phones. Face ID or Touch ID would be disabled temporarily and one would have an option to power off the device, trigger Emergency SOS, access Medical ID or altogether cancel the action. When putting a call with SOS, the device calls the local emergency number automatically. In some regions and countries, an owner may select the service he or she needs, such as for instance in China, one could chose fire, police or ambulance. Emergency contacts could also be added. When an emergency call ends, the phone alerts the emergency contacts with text, unless it is cancelled.
BIG MISCONCEPTION ON THE EMERGENCY SOS ON IPHONES
The biggest misconception of the Emergency SOS on iPhones is the thought that it could be turned off. This is actually not true. While the user could turn off the ability of calling emergency services automatically, the phone will always show the emergency SOS slider when one rapidly taps the phone’s power button five times consecutively.
SAFETY USE OF THE EMEGENCY SOS FEATURE
For parents of young kids, it’s important to be very careful with the Auto Call feature for Emergency SOS on the phone. Children love to press buttons, thus they accidentally may call emergency services or be scared when the alarm goes off. It’s a fact that the time of the police department, fire department and hospital is very valuable. That is why it’s important to be extra careful with the new feature of the iPhone. The last thing you need is to call 911 accidentally when someone in a real emergency needs help. Unless an owner frequently finds himself or herself in emergency scenarios, a user may want to leave Auto Call off. It only takes an extra second or two to swipe away the feature slider and helps prevent accidental emergency calls.
The Emergency SOS feature of the iPhone is great. However, owners should be very careful to not accidentally call emergency services.
Ritesh Mehta works as a senior Technical Account Manager in a software development company named TatvaSoft Australia based in Melbourne. He specializes in Agile Scrum methodology, iPhone App Development, Marketing Ops (MRM) application development, SAAS & SOA application development, Offshore & Vendor team management. Also, he is knowledgeable and well-experienced in conducting business analysis, product development, team management and client relationship management.