Your iPhone can make ‘silent’ emergency calls to 999 if you’re in danger

YOUR iPhone has a special option for “quietly calling” emergency services – and it’s important to know how it works.

You’ll need to activate a setting before you can do it, so familiarise yourself with it now.

It’s linked to Apple’s Emergency SOS feature, a standard iOS feature on your iPhone.

With Emergency SOS, you can press and hold the side button plus either volume button to make an emergency call.

It’s a fast way to contact the emergency services, especially if you’re in a difficult situation.

However, Emergency SOS triggers a countdown and then sounds an alarm as part of its process.

That might be very useful in some situations, but you might want to make a more subtle call instead.

In that case, you’ll want to use Apple’s Call Quietly option.

“Warning alarms, flashes, and VoiceOver audio will be silenced when using ‘Hold and release’ or ‘5 Button Presses’ to place an emergency call,” Apple explains.

The feature was added in the iOS 16.3 update, which was released in January 2023.

We’re currently up to iOS 18, so it’s very likely that you already have it.

To check, just go to Settings > General > Software Update.

Then go to Settings > Emergency SOS and toggle the Call Quietly option on.

Note that this only works if you’re using either the “Call with Hold and Release” or “Call with 5 Button Presses” options.

So you’ll need one or both of those toggled on in Settings > Emergency SOS too.

OTHER EMERGENCY IPHONE FEATURES

There are some other useful emergency features on your iPhone.

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Emergency Reset

A great example is the Emergency Reset button in Safety Check.

If you haven’t heard of Safety Check, it’s a way to see who has access to your iPhone’s info.

For instance, you might have forgotten that you’re sharing things (like your photos or location) with certain people.

It’s also possible that someone has set up that sharing without your knowledge.

WHAT SAFETY CHECK CAN’T CHANGE

Here’s Apple’s official list of shared info that Safety Check can’t review or change…

• Non-Apple accounts and passwords.
• Social media sharing.
• Devices you’re signed into with a different iCloud account.
• An iPad or Mac with information sharing settings turned on for other apps.

Picture Credit: Apple

You can review all of your sharing arrangements just by going to Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check.

But there’s a powerful feature built inside of Safety Check called Emergency Reset.

This is built to let you quickly stop sharing info with all people and apps.

You’ll be able to review your emergency contacts, see (and remove) devices connected to your Apple Account, review the phone numbers being used to verify your identity, and change your Apple Account password.

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“If your personal safety is at risk, use Emergency Reset to quickly protect your information from people and apps,” Apple explained.

But the company warned: “Keep in mind that people may notice if you stop sharing your information with them.”

If you want to do an Emergency Reset, just look for the button in your Safety Check settings.

Lockdown Mode

A second emergency setting that you’re (hopefully) unlikely to need is called Lockdown Mode.

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It’s designed to be offer Apple calls “extreme protection” against serious cyberattacks.

“Lockdown Mode is optional and should be used only if you believe you might be targeted by a highly sophisticated cyberattack,” Apple explained.

“Such as by a private company developing state-sponsored mercenary spyware.

“Most people are never targeted by attacks of this nature.”

LOCKDOWN MODE WORKS ON MAC TOO!

Here’s how to do it…

Just go to the Apple menu then choose System Settings.

Now select Privacy & Security, scroll down and choose Lockdown Mode.

Now tap Turn On > Turn On Lockdown Mode.

Enter your password if you’re prompted to, then choose Turn On & Restart.

Picture Credit: Apple

It’ll block or change certain features on your iPhone if you activate it.

That includes things like blocking most message attachments, rejecting FaceTime calls from people you’ve never contacted, and removing location info from photos that you share.

To turn it on, just go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode, and then follow the prompts.

Just bear in mind that you’ll probably never need this feature, as it’s only for people who think they’re being targeted by very serious attacks.

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So only switch it on as a last resort – it’s not meant for regular people to leave on, as it’ll make your iPhone experience pretty miserable.