iPhone SOS triggering 911 calls randomly

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Level 1

4 points

iPhone SOS triggering 911 calls randomly

My iPhone 17 pro with the IOS 26.3.1 update is being glitchy. It would connect and disconnect from apple car play intermittently. The worst part was it randomly called 911 two times in a row about 10 mins apart while I was driving. There was no traffic and I did not come to any abrupt stops. After the call it notified my emergency contacts on my location when it called. It also sent an updated notification on my location 20 mins after the last call.

I can see how this can be useful but it is trouble some if not a real emergency. Try telling the 911 operator 2 different times “I’m sorry my phone is randomly calling you”. I turned off all the sos settings and no issues yet.

Wondering if anyone else has had this issue and if they have turn the emergency settings back on again??

iPhone 17 Pro

Posted on Mar 8, 2026 6:44 PM

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Answer 1

SravanKrA

Level 10

435,208 points

Mar 8, 2026 10:28 PM in response to N8surf

SOS call accidentally is not possible because...

To make SOS calls, you need to

Press and hold the side button and one of the volume buttons until the Emergency SOS slider appears.
Drag the Emergency Call slider to call the emergency services. I
If you continue to hold down the side button and volume button, instead of dragging the slider, a countdown will start, and an alert will sound.

An SOS call requires deliberate action. Reaching step 1 by accident wouldn't be enough.

Additional Tips:

Consider familiarizing yourself with your iPhone's Emergency SOS settings. You can customize features like enabling a countdown with an alarm before automatically calling emergency services.
If you have an Apple Watch, you can also initiate an Emergency SOS call from your watch.

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