Have you or somebody who got ahold of your iPhone ever accidentally triggered the Emergency SOS feature? This isn’t a problem if you can immediately cancel it and prevent your iPhone from calling your emergency services number. However, the trouble could be worse if your iPhone gets stuck in Emergency SOS after you unintentionally trigger the feature. Not to worry, though, as I’m going to show you what to do when your iPhone accidentally goes the Emergency SOS mode and gets stuck that way. You will also learn why your iPhone keeps saying Emergency SOS.
What is Emergency SOS and How Does It Work?
The Emergency SOS feature on the iPhone allows you to quickly and easily call for help during emergencies. Aside from calling emergency services dispatch centers to get help should you need rescuing, the feature will automatically send a text alert to your emergency contacts. Of course, all of that only happens unless you cancel the alert.
Of course, if you’re in an actual emergency situation, you won’t want to stop your iPhone from sending the text alert. That’s because after you are rescued and moved by responders to a nearby hospital, your iPhone will also update your emergency contacts. That way, they will know where to find you.
Why Does Your iPhone Get Stuck in Emergency SOS Mode?
Undoubtedly, Emergency SOS on your iPhone could be a life-saving feature in case of real emergencies. However, there may be instances when it gets triggered accidentally or unintentionally. Below are the possible reasons why this could happen to your iPhone.
- You press the Sleep/Wake button of your iPhone successively five times.
- You press the power and volume button of your iPhone simultaneously.
A third reason can only happen if you jailbreak your iPhone. Reports have shown the Emergency SOS feature can be triggered during the jailbreak process. This is due to a bug in the system or error in the jailbreaking process.
Now, the worst thing that could happen should the Emergency SOS feature get triggered is your iPhone getting stuck in that mode. There have been reports from users about their iPhones staying stuck on the Emergency SOS screen. They found they couldn’t get their device out of that mode. We’ve seen reports of this from iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 users.
In truth, it seems this can occur no matter what iPhone model you are using. If it supports Emergency SOS, there’s a chance, remote as it may be, of your device getting stuck in that mode. Imagine the trouble you might have to go through explaining to emergency responders that it was a false emergency. Then as soon as you’ve settled things with them, you find your iPhone stuck in Emergency SOS mode.
The good news is, there are steps that you can do to get your iPhone out of Emergency SOS mode if it gets stuck.
Getting Your iPhone Out of Emergency SOS Screen
Force Restart To Fix iPhone Stuck in Emergency Mode
The first thing that you can do to try getting your iPhone out of Emergency SOS mode is a hard reset or force restart of your handset. The procedure for doing this differs depending on the version of iOS that your iPhone is running on.
To force restart an iPhone running iOS 16.
- Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
- Press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
- Press and hold the side button.
- When the Apple logo appears, release the side button.
If your iPhone is still running iOS 15, follow the steps below depending on what model you own.
To force restart iPhone with Face ID (iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, or any iPhone 11, iPhone 12, or iPhone 13 model). This procedure also covers iPhone 8 and iPhone SE (2nd generation, and later).
- Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
- Press and quickly release the Volume Down button, then press and hold the side button.
- When the Apple logo appears, release the button.
To force restart iPhone 7, Press and hold both the Volume Down button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.
To force restart iPhone 6S or 1st Generation iPhone SE, press and hold both the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.
Restore Your iPhone Through iTunes
If you’re iPhone gets stuck in Emergency SOS you can also try restoring it using iTunes on your Windows PC. Just make sure that you back up your iPhone before restoring it since doing so will erase all the data on your iPhone. You can also attempt this on a Mac using the Finder app; just click on your iPhone in the Finder app. You’ll see options to back up and restore your device.
Turn Off and Charge Your iPhone
Another possible method to get an iPhone out of Emergency SOS is to turn it off and charge it for one hour. After an hour, turn your iPhone back on and see if it comes out of Emergency SOS mode. If not, you can try doing the next troubleshooting tip.
Put Your iPhone Into Recovery Mode
Again, to do this step, you need a computer. This can be a Windows PC with iTunes installed, or your Mac using Finder. To put your iPhone in Recovery mode, you need to connect it to your computer. Then, run iTunes or Finder and hard reset your iPhone (follow the procedures outlined above)
Call Apple Support
If all of the above procedures fail and still your iPhone remains stuck in the Emergency SOS screen, then it’s time to call Apple Support. In extremely rare cases, you may need to send your device to the nearest Apple Service Center or bring it yourself.