Apple Expands Emergency SOS via Satellite to Japan in iOS 17.6
Credit: Apple
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Owners of the iPhone 14 and later can use their handset’s Emergency SOS via satellite features to contact emergency services when there is no available cellular or Wi-Fi signal. The feature first launched in the United States and Canada in late 2022 and has since slowly expanded to other regions of the globe. Today, Apple confirmed the feature’s expansion to an additional country with the release of iOS 17.6.
iOS 17.6 was released to the public on Monday, and users located in Japan can now use Emergency SOS via satellite in that country. Apple confirmed the move on its Newsroom website:
Starting today, Apple’s groundbreaking safety service, Emergency SOS via satellite, is available to customers in Japan. Available on all iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models, this innovative technology allows users to share information with emergency services even when they’re out of cellular or Wi-Fi range. Plus, if you’re out and about without cellular or Wi-Fi coverage and want friends and family to know where you are, you can open the Find My app and share your location via satellite. The service is available for free for two years after you activate your new iPhone 14 or iPhone 15 model1 . Since its launch in 2022, Emergency SOS via satellite has already helped save lives in the 16 countries where it’s available.
When a user activates Emergency SOS via satellite, their iPhone asks a series of questions designed to gather crucial information. The data is then transmitted to a relay center, where specialists put the rescue into motion. The entire transcript can also be shared with the user’s emergency contacts. iPhone users can also share their location via satellite connectivity through the Find My app.
Emergency SOS via satellite has saved numerous lives since its release, helping emergency responders find and rescue iPhone users in peril and outside of cellular data coverage. The feature has been credited with several helicopter rescues, and it has been called a “game changer” by search and rescue professionals.
In August 2023, Emergency SOS via Satellite feature helped rescue five people caught in the wildfires sweeping across Maui at the time. The group was trapped in a vehicle surrounded by wildfires, with no cell service at their location, so they used Emergency SOS to contact first responders. Fire crews were able to reach the group less than 30 minutes later, safely evacuating them.
In April 2023, the feature saved a trio of BYU students who went canyoneering in Utah and became stuck in an area without a cellular signal. A helicopter crew from Salt Lake City eventually came to the scene, along with paramedics from Arizona, rescuing the trio unharmed.
Apple announced in November 2023 that iPhone 14 owners will continue to receive Emergency SOS via satellite service for free until November 15, 2025. Apple had originally announced that iPhone 14 users would receive two years of free service from the day of their device activation, which meant early owners of the iPhone 14 would have needed to begin paying for the service in November 2024.
Emergency SOS via satellite is currently available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The feature works with any iPhone 14 or iPhone 15 handset.
