Apple’s Emergency SOS feature allows users to call for help in an emergency situation quickly. With Apple, turning off emergency alerts is easy.
Keep reading to learn how to turn off emergency alerts on iPhone, Apple Watch, and more. You can turn off apple emergency alerts today.
How To Trigger Emergency SOS on Your iPhone?
Emergency SOS is a tool for iPhone users that sends your location to select contacts and notifies local authorities. Triggering Emergency SOS on your iPhone differs depending on which model you own.
For Emergency SOS on an iPhone 7 or earlier:
- Quickly press the top or side button five times, and Emergency SOS appears.
- Drag the slider across your screen to contact local emergency services
After your call with local authorities ends, your iPhone texts everyone in your phone’s emergency contacts at your location. Even if your Location Services is off, your phone bypasses this temporarily. Your contacts receive updated texts as your location changes.
For Emergency SOS on an iPhone 8 or later:
- Press and hold the one volume button and the side button until the Emergency SOS prompt appears on the screen
- Drag the slider to call local authorities or continue holding your side and your volume button to activate a timer and alert sound feature
How to End an Emergency SOS Call?
Triggering an Emergency SOS call is so simple that you may accidentally activate it when you do not need the services. Thankfully, ending an Emergency SOS call is also easy.
Ending an Emergency SOS call works differently depending on which iPhone you have. With Apple, turning off emergency calls can be different with each model.
For an iPhone 7 or earlier, press the stop or cancel button. If your phone is already calling the authorities, press the End Call button.
For an iPhone 8 or later, let go of the volume and side button to end an Emergency SOS call.
How To Add Emergency Contacts to Your iPhone or Apple Watch?
You can add emergency contacts to your iPhone and Apple Watch.
To add emergency contacts to your iPhone, follow these steps:
- Open the Health app on your iPhone
- Click on your profile picture
- Press the Medical ID option
- Press Edit, and scroll to Emergency Contacts
- Press the Add button (it looks like a green plus sign) to add an emergency contact
- Choose a contact, then add important information like their primary language and relation
- Press the Done button to save your contact
Removing emergency contacts on your iPhone is just as easy:
- Open the Health App
- Click on your profile picture
- Press Medical ID
- Press Edit, and scroll to Emergency Contacts
- Press the Delete button (red negative sign) next to each contact you want to remove
- Press the Done button to save your changes
Your iPhone automatically adds your emergency contacts to your other Apple products, like the Apple Watch. So you do not need to create separate emergency contacts for each Apple product.
How To Turn Off Auto Call?
To turn off auto call capabilities on your iPhone, follow these steps:
- Open Settings, then tap on General
- Under General, select Accessibility
- Once you are in Accessibility, select the Call Audio Routing option
- Under Call Audio Routing, select Auto-Answer Calls
Turn Auto-Answer Calls off to stop automatic calls. If you do not want to end auto calls, you can delay Auto-Answer Calls up to 60 seconds. When you receive a phone call, your iPhone will not pick up the call until after the time you selected.
How To Disable the Countdown Sound for Emergency SOS?
Disabling the countdown noise for Emergency SOS is easy! Follow the steps below to toggle this warning sound feature.
To disable the countdown sound for Emergency SOS:
- Unlock your iPhone and go to Settings
- Scroll through Settings, and click on Emergency SOS
- Under Emergency SOS, scroll to the bottom to reach the Countdown Sound option
- Flip the Countdown Sound option off to silence your iPhone during Emergency SOS calls
How To Use Emergency SOS on Your Apple Watch?
Specific Apple Watch models also allow Emergency SOS calls. All Apple Watches Series 5 or later have Emergency SOS capabilities. The Apple Watch SE can also call emergency services.
To use Emergency SOS on your Apple Watch, do one of the following:
- Press and hold your side button on your Apple Watch until the Emergency SOS sliders appear. Drag the Emergency SOS slider across the screen to activate these services.
- Press and hold your side button on your Apple Watch until it starts a timer and makes alert sounds. Your device will make noise even if you have it on silent mode. When the timer ends, your Apple Watch calls emergency services.
How To Turn off Amber Alerts?
Even with your iPhone on Do Not Disturb, you still receive notifications about major events, such as Amber alerts, dangerous weather, and government warnings. Many people leave these alerts on for safety, but you can toggle these warnings.
Wondering how to turn off amber alerts on iPhone 13? To turn off Amber alerts on your iPhone, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app
- Select the Notifications option
- Under Notifications, scroll to the Government Alerts section
- Under Government Alerts, turn off Amber Alerts, Emergency Alerts, and Public Safety Alerts
You can turn off these alerts for short periods, but Apple does not recommend toggling these features for extended timespans. Severe weather like tornadoes and flash floods happen fast. Emergency alerts help you stay updated on potential disasters, giving you time to find shelter.
Final Thoughts
Apple’s Emergency SOS feature responds fast in urgent situations, working on iPhones and Apple watches. You can even add emergency contacts that this system alerts alongside local authorities. Getting help during an emergency will be easier now that you understand Emergency SOS and other related alert systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wondering how to turn off emergency alerts? Or how to turn on emergency alerts on iPhone? Turn off emergency alerts the same way you mute amber alerts on your iPhone.
1. Open the Settings app
2. Select Notifications
3. Select Government Alerts
4. Select Emergency Alerts
5. Turn off Emergency Alerts
If you are having trouble turning off Emergency Alerts, update your iPhone to the latest version. Sometimes older software disables certain features and settings options.
Many assume they cannot turn off emergency alerts or texts on their iPhones. However, with Apple, turning off emergency text allows you access to toggle this feature in Settings.
Once you are in your Settings app, scroll to the Notifications section, then find the Government Alerts option. Under Government Alerts, you can turn off emergency texts and broadcasts like Amber Alerts and other safety notifications.
If you accidentally call Emergency SOS on your iPhone, do not worry! You can end the Emergency SOS call in a couple of different ways, depending on which iPhone you have.
For older iPhones (7 or earlier), press the red stop button displayed on the screen. For newer iPhones (8 or later), release the side and volume buttons to end the accidental Emergency SOS call.
The iPhone Do Not Disturb feature silences most notifications, which is helpful, creating less noise while sleeping or working. However, Do Not Disturb does not silence emergency notifications like Amber alerts or severe weather notices.
The only way to silence all emergency alerts is to turn them off manually in your Settings app. You can mute all government, safety, and Amber alerts in Settings.
There are several types of emergency alerts your iPhone could display, including
1. Amber alerts
2. Public safety alerts
3. Alerts about your specific country or region
The reason you receive an emergency alert depends on the kind of notification. For example, Amber alerts are about a missing person, while a public safety alert could mean severe weather.
