When to Expect the Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature to Launch on iPhone
All four iPhone 14 models support a new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature that will allow the devices to connect directly to a satellite, enabling users to send text messages to emergency services when outside the range of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. Apple says the feature will launch in November, and while the company has yet to provide a more specific release date, we have outlined the most likely timing below.
In a support document, Apple says Emergency SOS via Satellite "will be available with an iOS 16 software update coming in November 2022." Given that iOS 16.1 was released in late October, and that iOS 16.2 is expected to be released in December, Emergency SOS via Satellite will likely be enabled with iOS 16.1.1, which is already in testing and should also address issues related to Wi-Fi connectivity and the SKAdNetwork framework.
There's a lesser chance that Emergency SOS via Satellite will be enabled with iOS 16.1.2, but there is no evidence of such an update yet and Apple would likely want to get Emergency SOS via Satellite launched before the week of U.S. Thanksgiving.
When it launches in the United States and Canada, Apple says Emergency SOS via Satellite will be free for the first two years, which suggests that Apple might be planning to charge for the service at some point in the future. Apple reportedly confirmed that the feature will be
expanded to additional countries by the end of next year.
In "ideal conditions with a direct view of the sky and the horizon," Apple says a text message might take 15 seconds to send via satellite, but notes it can take over a minute for a message to send "under trees with light or medium foliage." Read our in-depth guide to Emergency SOS via Satellite for additional information about the feature.
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Tuesday November 15, 2022 5:04 am PST by
Sami FathiApple has announced that the iPhone 14's Emergency SOS via Satellite service will officially start rolling out today, the company said in a press release. Apple announced the feature during the iPhone 14's event in September, saying it would officially launch to customers in November. To use the feature, users must be running iOS 16.1 or later. At launch, Emergency SOS via Satellite will be ...
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Apple today officially launched the new Emergency SOS via satellite feature that's available for the iPhone 14 models, so we thought we'd test it out to see just how it works.
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With the iPhone 14 models, Apple is introducing a new Emergency SOS via satellite feature that is designed to allow emergency messages to be sent even when cellular and WiFi connections are unavailable.
We thought we'd highlight some of the features of the new satellite functionality for those of you who are curious about how it works.
When It Works
Satellite connectivity is available to...
With the launch of iOS 16.1, Apple rolled out a Emergency SOS via Satellite, which is designed to allow iPhone 14 owners to contact emergency services using satellite connectivity when no cellular or WiFi connection is available. The feature was put to the test in Alaska today, when a man became stranded in a rural area. In the early hours of the morning on December 1, Alaska State Troopers ...
Tuesday November 15, 2022 5:44 am PST by
Sami FathiApple today announced that the iPhone 14's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature will begin rolling out to customers in the United States and Canada starting today, with other countries coming later next month. Alongside the announcement, Apple also gave select YouTubers and media outlets early access to the feature, offering a closer look at how it works. The service will be free for the...
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Top Rated Comments
The potential for negative press is just too great. I can see it 3 years from now. Someone with a used iPhone 14 is on a pre paid cellular plan that doesn't pay for the satellite service and finds themselves out in the middle of the desert in a car wreck with 2 toddlers and a puppy. Then the ONLY way they can save themselves is a satellite 911 text and it doesn't go through because they couldn't afford to pay for the service. Headline reads:
"APPLE SATELLITE SERVICE HATES PUPPIES AND LITTLE KIDS".
But I think texting a friend or no emergency service will come with a fee, either monthly or per useage.
That any phone even with no funds in account, dead beat account, roaming, no sim, even blocked imei can make an emergency call?