This hidden iPhone feature ‘literally saved lives’ in deadly Maui fires
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It’s an iOS function that will save your life.
In a pure catastrophe, there’s a excessive likelihood of shedding cellphone and web service, making it inconceivable to contact family members or emergency providers.
Nevertheless, a little-known function called Apple Emergency SOS on the iPhone may very well be a literal lifesaver.
Michael Miraflor recently shared a story on X, previously generally known as Twitter, of the devastating Maui wildfires that supplied a real-life instance of how invaluable the function may be.
“My brother’s girlfriend’s cousin and his household had been caught of their car in Maui whereas the wildfires abruptly erupted round them,” Miraflor defined within the tweet, which has topped 8.7 million views since being posted Aug. 9.
“No cell service, so Apple Emergency SOS was the one manner they might get involved with first responders,” he continued. “Actually saved their lives.”
The feature sends messages to emergency responders using a satellite, even if you don’t have any cellular service.
Miraflor shared a screenshot of the Emergency SOS texts between the fireplace division and dispatchers, which pinpointed his household’s location and despatched this data to the dispatcher.
That enabled the endangered residents to speak the circumstances surrounding them.
In a remark, Milafor stated the household was safely evacuated inside half-hour due to the Emergency SOS satellite tv for pc function.
The household was discovered on the Retailers of Maui, a shopping center in Lahaina close to the fires, in response to the Economic Times.
The Apple function was first launched in November 2022. In keeping with Apple’s web site, when a person makes a name with SOS, the iPhone robotically calls the native emergency quantity and shares your location with emergency providers.
You can too add emergency contacts, who can be alerted with a textual content message after the decision ends. An extra Cellphone 14 function permits texts between Emergency SOS and emergency services by way of satellite tv for pc when there is no such thing as a mobile or Wi-Fi protection.
In Might, the emergency function helped save 10 hikers who discovered themselves misplaced in California’s Santa Paula Canyon and not using a cellphone sign, AppleInsider reported.
They used the Emergency SOS function to contact the Ventura County sheriff’s division and had been discovered and introduced again safely by a search and rescue staff.
The best way to make an emergency name:
Make the decision on iPhone 8 or later:
- Press and maintain the facet button and one of many quantity buttons till the Emergency SOS slider seems.
- Drag the Emergency Name slider to name emergency providers. In the event you proceed to carry down the facet button and quantity button, as an alternative of dragging the slider, a countdown begins and an alert sounds. In the event you launch the buttons after the countdown, your iPhone robotically calls emergency providers.
Make the decision on iPhone 7 or earlier:
- Quickly press the facet (or prime) button 5 occasions. The Emergency Name slider will seem.
- Drag the Emergency SOS slider to name emergency providers
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