In the event of an accident, your smartphone can allow you to contact emergency services and locate you during the call. An option not to be overlooked to save precious time.
It’s well known that accidents don’t just happen to other people. No one is safe from falling down stairs, on a mountain or forest path, on two wheels or in a car in the open countryside, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night. And when you’re alone, pain and/or panic can quickly take over. It is difficult in these conditions to remain calm in order to call emergency services and give them the essential information to obtain help.
To deal with these extreme situations, all Android smartphones (since version 4.4 of the system which dates from 2013) and iPhones (since iOS 11 which was released in 2017) allow not only to make emergency calls, but also to automatically transmit the device’s location data. On Android, SLU (for Emergency Location Service), created by Google, allows emergency services to locate the smartphone – and therefore the person contacting them – with great precision by relying on the GPS signal emitted, surrounding mobile and Wi-Fi networks and other sensors integrated into the device. In some countries, other information such as the language used by the device system is also indicated to facilitate communication. Crucial data which, once transmitted, allows emergency services to act more quickly.
Normally, Emergency Location Service is enabled by default on all Android smartphones. However, incorrect manipulation or a misunderstanding of the principle could have led you to deactivate it. To be sure, simply go to the system settings and tap the menu Security and Emergency (it has the same name, whatever the brand and software overlay of the Android mobile you are using). Then press Emergency Locator Service to make sure the switch is in the active position.
From now on, when you need to contact emergency services urgently, all you need to do is press the mobile’s power button 5 consecutive times, even if it is locked. You can then validate the automatic emergency call (to 112 in Europe).
On an iPhone, the location feature during emergency calls is also present by default and cannot be disabled. To make an emergency call with an iPhone 8 or later, press the right power button and either volume button simultaneously for a few seconds. All that remains is to validate the call on the screen by sliding the SOS button to the right. With iPhone 7 and earlier running iOS 11, press the power button 5 consecutive times and slide the SOS button that appears on the screen to the right.