Emergency SOS via satellite is in operation.
Apple’s iPhone 14 series comes with a cool safety update or two. One of them, Emergency SOS via satellite, recently went live in the US and started working today at 10am GMT, 9am CET in the UK, Ireland, France and Germany. To do.
This means you can send a message to emergency services if you have a problem outdoors without cell phone coverage. To do this, point your iPhone at a passing satellite. And since these satellites are invisible to the naked eye, Apple has built-in software that knows exactly where they are and can indicate where they should be pointed on the screen. This is an amazing achievement in itself, making everything smooth and intuitive as you’d expect from Apple.
This is a sophisticated and highly effective system that may already be saving lives.
Emergency SOS by UK satellite
Satellite bandwidth means you don’t have the ability to send long messages, but Apple has a solution for that. When users call emergency services from outside in areas with no coverage, they are presented with a special interface that allows satellite connections. A short survey will answer a series of key questions, and your location and status will be sent to a relay center, where Apple-trained specialists are ready to seek help on your behalf.
The most notable part of the whole process is that Apple allowed the iPhone to transmit these without a large antenna. And since satellites move fast and have low bandwidth, it’s all the more impressive because the software is designed to point your iPhone at the right place.
This is the latest part of the iPhone’s many safety features. Not only can you swipe the screen to call emergency services, but you can also quickly press the power button five times. Emergency SOS via satellite activates when there is no Wi-Fi or cellular coverage.
Emergency SOS via Satellite: Find the small satellite icon in the top corner.
“Being able to call 999 or 112 using a satellite connection in the absence of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage is a breakthrough that Apple has brought to the general public with the iPhone 14,” said John Anthony, Public Security Officer, UK. Association,” said the president. “This feature means that emergency services can be alerted and do their job more effectively when it was previously not possible. Part of it is being able to share it with those in charge.Emergencies.Ultimately, this can help save lives.”
Another aspect of this new feature is that the Find My app can also be used so people can share their location via satellite. This is a big plus when friends and family suddenly leave and need reassurance of where they are. Because there is no Wi-Fi or cellular coverage.
SOS satellite icon displayed when out of range.
As you may have noticed, if you are outdoors without cell coverage, your coverage icon may switch to SOS and add a small satellite icon.
Emergency SOS by UK satellite
This service requires iOS 16.1 or later to function. However, if the user has iOS 16.2 on his iPhone (which is always expected), it gets even better. In the UK the emergency services number is usually 999, but in Europe it’s 112 (112 works in the UK too, but many people don’t know it.
However, in iOS 16.2, users dialing a local emergency services number will be automatically routed to 112 if the call fails due to no cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity available. This means you can use Emergency SOS via satellite without dialing 112.