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Tom’s Guide
Tom’s Guide
Technology
Peter Wolinski

This iPhone feature calls emergency services silently when you're in danger — here's where to find it

IPhone 13 emergency sos screen.

If you're looking for a phone that can potentially save your life, then iPhones are some of the best phones around. Your iPhone is packed full of life-saving features, like Crash Detection, which can alert authorities if your phone's accelerometer detects you've fallen, and satellite location sharing to help people find you even if you have no cell signal. 

There's also a feature called Emergency SOS, which will call emergency services when you either hold down the power and volume button for 5 seconds, or press the power button 5 times. The thing is, this feature comes with a conundrum — it needs to be easy to activate, but not so easy that iPhone users are repeatedly dialling 911 by accident. As such, enabling emergency SOS begins a countdown, with a loud warning sound and flashes.

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