Activating emergency SOS on your iPhone
Emergencies can happen at any time and if you have an iPhone 14 or 14 Pro and the latest operating system, you now have more options available to get help.
“You could be in a remote area that doesn’t have any cellular connectivity and this new system will certainly help,” said Ritesh Kotak, cybersecurity and tech analyst.
“This is when the satellite emergency-based system kicks in. You will get a prompt saying, ‘do you want to connect with 911 and satellite-based SOS?’”
Kotak said you essentially send text messages to the 911 relay centre, which will alert crews on the ground.
“No longer having connectivity is no longer an issue. And those services at this point are only available in North America.”
There is a way for users to demo this service, Kotak said, without calling 911.
“It will interesting to see in a few months the data on how many were able to use this service. At the end of the day, you do need direct access to the satellites. However, I tried this indoors and was able to connect.”
Kotak added this emergency SOS system using satellites is not available on older model iPhones or Android devices.
However, he added if you have an iPhone 14 or 14 Pro, the service is compatible with Apple Watch.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Latest updates on the major wildfires burning in Canada
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her — but it wasn't murder, lawyers argue
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during at his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
He had dreams of running for Canada in the Olympics, then he learned his family would be deported
A burgeoning track star says his dream of going to the Olympics is being derailed by a deportation order after Immigration officials rejected his family’s claim for asylum
Father charged with second-degree murder in daughter's stabbing death southwest of Montreal
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
Teen died from eating a spicy chip as part of social media challenge, autopsy report concludes
A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance 'with a high capsaicin concentration.'
Kidnapped by her father and kept in a crawl space: Court documents reveal Montreal horror story
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
Ontario calls on Toronto to drop 'disastrous' drug decriminalization request
The province’s health minister and solicitor general are urging Toronto to rescind its request to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use, calling the proposal 'misguided' and 'disastrous.'
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.