Friday, December 2, 2022 9:19 am2 Comments

In mid-November, Apple’s groundbreaking safety service Emergency SOS via satellite became available to customers in the US and Canada and it’s already saved a snowmobiler in Alaska.

Available on all iPhone 14 models, the innovative technology enables users to message with emergency services while outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. Additionally, if users want to reassure friends and family of their whereabouts while traveling off the grid, they can now open the Find My app and share their location via satellite. Emergency SOS is available in the U.S. and Canada and will come to France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK in December.

Alaska Department Of Public Safety, State Troopers:

On December 1, 2022, at around 2:00 am, the Alaska State Troopers were notified that an adult male traveling via snowmachine from Noorvik to Kotzebue had activated an Apple iPhone Emergency SOS via satellite on his iPhone after becoming stranded. Working with local search and rescue teams, the Apple Emergency Response Center, and the Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue Coordinator, the NWAB SAR deployed four volunteer searchers to the Nimiuk Point area directly to the GPS coordinates provided by the Apple Emergency Response Center. The adult male was located and transported to Kotzebue by the volunteer search team. There were no injuries reported to Troopers.

Juli Clover for MacRumors:

Troopers who helped with the rescue were “impressed with the accuracy and completeness of information included in the initial alert,” with the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature designed to ask several questions ahead of when an alert is sent out to expedite rescue missions.

MacDailyNews Take: The first one saved, but certainly not the last!

To try out emergency SOS via satellite, Apple has a demo option:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap Emergency SOS.
3. Tap Try Demo and you can follow the same prompts you would get in an actual emergency. You’ll also be able to turn off your cell service and connect to a satellite so you can get acclimated with the process. You’ll get haptic feedback when you’re not pointing in the right direction of the satellite.

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