No one ever wants to think about potentially being in a situation in which they have to make a silent emergency phone call on their iPhone — a home invasion, for example. And while it’s likely you may never need to utilize iPhone’s safety and emergency features, it’s also nice to know they are there, just in case.
One feature called Emergency SOS allows you to do just that if you’re ever in an unsafe situation and need to call for an ambulance, police, or both, but also can’t risk having your voice heard. A few simple actions on your phone will make that urgent call for you, as well as provide your location details so that everything is taken care of and help will soon be on the way.
But there’s a caveat: you need to enable Emergency SOS for it to work if and when you need it. Here’s what you need to know about the feature.
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How to Enable Call Quietly
Call Quietly is the Emergency SOS feature that can save your life if you’re ever in trouble. To enable it, go to Settings > Emergency SOS > toggle on Call Quietly.
Now, because it can be all too easy to accidentally use this setting when you aren’t even realizing you’re using it, it’s a good idea to take a look at your Emergency SOS method, located above the toggle.
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Your choices include “Call with Hold and Release,” which calls emergency services when you continuously hold the side button and either volume button. This starts a countdown in which an alarm sounds. If you release the buttons after the alarm stops, emergency services are called.
You can also opt for the “Call with 5 Button Presses” option. This works by rapidly pressing the side button five times, after which a countdown begins and an alarm sounds. After the countdown, iPhone will call emergency services. Choose the method that you feel you’ll remember and can set forth most easily. Enabling Call Quietly will also silence any warning alarms, flashes, and VoiceOver audio.
Even if you aren’t likely to need these services, we hope, it’s never a bad thing to be safe and have these features at the ready.