Apple extends free access to this incredible safety feature

Apple announced Emergency SOS via satellite when it launched its iPhone 14 models in September 2022. The service wasn’t made available until a little later in the year – 15 November – and it was a relatively slow roll out too, with pretty much one country at a time getting access to the technology, the US and Canada being first.

At the time of launch, it was revealed that Emergency SOS via satellite would be free for the first year for iPhone 14 users, after which you would need to pay for the service to continue getting access to the satellites it uses and features it offers.

That year is now coming to an end for iPhone 14 users, but there is some good news. Apple has announced it is extending free access to Emergency SOS via satellite for another year, so if you do find yourself in a bit of a pickle with no Wi-Fi or cellular coverage, you won’t be caught short. Well, as long as you’re in one of the 16 countries or regions the service is available in of course, and you have a clear view of the sky.

In order to qualify for the extra free year of Emergency SOS via satellite, you will need to have activated your iPhone 14 in a country that supports Emergency SOS prior to 12am Pacific Time on 15 November 2023. So, in a nutshell, you need to have activated your phone before you read this news story.

As you would hope, those with an iPhone 15 get a year of free access too, so both iPhone 14 users and iPhone 15 users have access to the service without having to pay a penny for another 12 months.

What is Emergency SOS via satellite on iPhone?

We have a feature on Emergency SOS via satellite that gives you the low down on what the service offers. In a nutshell, it is a safety feature that is designed to help you get in touch with emergency services in areas that don’t have cellular reception.

If you’re on top of a mountain, for example, and you hurt yourself, you can contact emergency services through text messages that are sent via satellite in order to get you help. Pocket-lint had a demo of the service when it first appeared in the UK, which you can read all about here, but it’s important to note that this isn’t a replacement for traditional phone calls and messages.

You aren’t going to be able to use Emergency SOS via satellite to send iMessages or WhatsApps, or call your partner, because you are connecting via a satellite, meaning the bandwidth is much narrower than a terrestrial cell tower.

When you use Emergency SOS via satellite, you’ll first answer a few emergency questions to provide essential details, after which you will be able to choose whether to notify emergency contacts though Find My and follow the onscreen instructions to connect to a satellite and send a compressed, encrypted message. If the emergency service doesn’t accept text messages, the information you provide will be relayed via an Apple service provider.

This completely depends on whether you are ever likely to be in a situation where Emergency SOS via satellite would come in useful to you. If you typically don’t stray into areas with no signal or Wi-Fi coverage, you may not even have heard of Emergency SOS via satellite, let alone use it.

If you are someone who likes to go on an adventure, or perhaps you live in a remote area with very limited coverage, it could be a lifesaver if you get in to trouble.

The news also gives Apple users – or at least those with an iPhone 14 model or iPhone 15 model – an advantage over Android users when it comes to satellite communications. Qualcomm had previously announced it had partnered with Iridium for Snapdragon Satellite, but the two companies have now parted ways so that’s not happening for now, giving Apple the edge.