Your iPhone SE 3 includes a lifesaving feature called Emergency SOS that can alert your emergency contacts and call for help if you’re ever in trouble. To use it effectively, you’ll need to set up your Medical ID and assign emergency contacts. Here’s a quick walkthrough on how to do it.
What Is Emergency SOS?
Emergency SOS allows your iPhone to:
- Automatically call emergency services (like 911).
- Send a text with your current location to your selected emergency contacts.
- Continue sharing your location updates as they change.
This feature is triggered by pressing and holding the Side button + Volume button until the SOS slider appears, or by setting up Auto Call.
Steps to Add Emergency Contacts on iPhone SE 3
- Open the Health app on your iPhone.
- Tap your profile icon in the top-right corner.
- Tap Medical ID.
- Tap Edit in the top-right corner.
- Scroll to Emergency Contacts, then tap Add Emergency Contact.
- Select a contact from your list, then choose their relationship to you.
- Tap Done to save the changes.
Your chosen contact will now receive an alert and your location if you use Emergency SOS.
How to Remove an Emergency Contact
- Go back to the Health app > Profile > Medical ID.
- Tap Edit.
- Scroll to the contact you want to delete and tap the red minus (-) icon next to their name.
- Tap Delete, then Done to confirm.
Set Up Emergency Contacts for Apple Watch Too
If you use an Apple Watch, your emergency contacts carry over automatically from your iPhone’s Health app. When you trigger SOS on your watch, it will:
- Call local emergency services.
- Send your GPS location to the emergency contacts you’ve already set up.
No extra setup needed if you’re using the same Apple ID on both devices.
Tips for Using Emergency SOS Safely
- Avoid accidental triggers—don’t hold the buttons unless it’s an emergency.
- Prank or false emergency calls can lead to fines or penalties from emergency services.