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    Health & Wellness Tech
    Beginner
    2 min read 4 stepsApril 4, 2026Verified April 2026

    How to Set Up Emergency SOS on Your Phone

    Your phone can call 911 and alert your emergency contacts automatically. Here is how to set it up.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Health & Wellness Tech
    Difficulty
    Beginner
    Read Time
    2 min read
    Steps
    4
    Topics covered
    emergency
    sos
    safety
    iphone
    android
    beginner

    In this guide (4 steps):

    1. 1.Set up on iPhone
    2. 2.Set up on Android
    3. 3.Add your emergency contacts
    4. 4.Test it (carefully)
    1

    Set up on iPhone

    ~17s
    Go to Settings, then Emergency SOS. Turn on "Call with Hold and Release" (press and hold the side button and volume button to call 911). Also set up your Medical ID: open the Health app, tap your profile photo, then Medical ID. Enter your emergency contacts, blood type, allergies, and medications.
    2

    Set up on Android

    ~15s
    Go to Settings, then Safety & Emergency. Tap "Emergency SOS" and turn it on. Set it to call 911 when you press the power button 5 times quickly. Then tap "Emergency Contacts" and add at least one trusted person.
    3

    Add your emergency contacts

    ~15s
    Your emergency contacts will receive a text message with your location when you trigger Emergency SOS. Add at least 2 people: a family member and a close friend or neighbor. Make sure they know they are listed as your emergency contact.
    4

    Test it (carefully)

    ~20s
    You can test Emergency SOS without actually calling 911. On iPhone, start the hold but release before the countdown finishes. On Android, your phone will show a countdown before calling. Cancel before it completes. This confirms the feature is working.

    Warning

    Do NOT let the countdown complete during testing. It will actually call 911. Only complete the action in a real emergency.

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    emergency
    sos
    safety
    iphone
    android
    beginner

    Official Resources

    Medicare.govMedlinePlus — Health InfoAARP Health & Technology

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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