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Emergency phone is useless on iPhones

I have an iPhone and it was not easy calling 911 when I needed it. It would be nearly impossible for someone who doesn’t know the iPhone to call 911 on it. It’s easy to use a light or camera from the lock screen. Why isn’t there a big phone symbol on the lock screen for emergencies? A big phone symbol should be on the first screen that pops up! It should be obvious, not something that requires swiping and then searching for the word emergency. In an emergency, when every second counts and people are panicked, this causes delay if not outright inability to make a call.

iPhone X, 12

Posted on May 5, 2019 7:38 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 5, 2019 7:40 AM

Call emergency services

  • Rapidly press the side (or top) button five times. The Emergency SOS slider will appear. (In India, you only need to press the button three times, then your iPhone automatically calls emergency services.)
  • Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services.


Use Emergency SOS on your iPhone - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT208076

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 5, 2019 7:40 AM in response to adrienne642

Call emergency services

  • Rapidly press the side (or top) button five times. The Emergency SOS slider will appear. (In India, you only need to press the button three times, then your iPhone automatically calls emergency services.)
  • Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services.


Use Emergency SOS on your iPhone - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT208076

May 7, 2019 5:01 PM in response to SravanKrA

I remember reading about that a while back and I even set up the data that should be sent out. But, I would have to regularly review that info to remember how to access it. For emergencies, there is no time to discuss, ponder, or look up the various options. Every second counts. Even iPhone users, in general aren’t familiar with the 5 push method. An emergency is a rare occurrence and shouldn’t require having to know some odd process.


Even on a home page, when there are lots of icons, it can be difficult to find the phone icon in an emergency.


Certainly, if I pick up someone else’s phone, I don’t want to face a roadblock. When the lock screen comes up, which is always the first screen, there needs to be a very clear option on that page. That should take me directly to the phone. That method requires no swipes or having to recognize words or having to stay familiar with a rarely used method, and most of all the process is very clear and quick to anyone who can get to the lock screen.

Emergency phone is useless on iPhones

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