iPhone: Activate emergency call with power button - how it works

The iPhone can make an emergency call in dangerous situations. You activate this with the power button on all iPhones with iOS 11 or higher. Here we show you exactly how to do this.

Activate the emergency call on the iPhone with the power button

The emergency function via the power button is automatically activated on most iPhones. To call 112 in an emergency:

• Up to iPhone 7: Press the power button (standby button) five times in quick succession. A red countdown appears, counting down from five. You have time to cancel the emergency call until the countdown has ended.
• From iPhone 8: Hold down the power button and any volume button until the sliders appear. There you select the emergency call.
• Depending on the setting, you sometimes have to confirm that you really want to call the emergency services on all models. If you are abroad, you must first select the responsible organization in some countries (fire service, emergency services, police). Alternatively, it is also possible, for example, for certain relatives or friends to be notified.
• By the way, pressing the power button five times also deactivates the Touch ID. So you have to enter the unlock code again.

Set emergency call on iPhone

The iPhone can also accidentally trigger an emergency call in your pocket, which should be particularly frightening for users who did not know about this function. Therefore it makes sense to deactivate the automatic call:

• You can set whether the emergency services should be called directly or if this has to be confirmed first in the "Settings" under "SOS emergency call". There you select this using the "Automatic call" slider.
• Please note: Even if you have deactivated the automatic call function, you can still make an emergency call using the power button. However, you always have to confirm this again.

On the next page we show you the coolest features of iOS 11.