Though it’s actually very convenient of the fact that the Apple’s Emergency SOS feature gets you immediate and necessary help, it also has some downfalls to it. It quickly sends out a phone call or a text message to a local 911 dispatcher, along with your current location, but it’s an issue when it’s accidental.
There have been reports on false emergency calls, whereby apparently a user who wore the Apple Watch to sleep for its sleep tracking ability, accidentally hit the crown button which he was then awakened to the police in his room. And this has been quite a common issue for the police because they have had experience with other users who also unintentionally set off the emergency SOS trigger.
On the Apple iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, all you have to do is to hold the side button and one of the volume buttons simultaneously, and a slide bar will appear for you to activate the emergency SOS feature. Once that is activated, an emergency phone call to the police would be placed, and a text message and your current location would be sent to your emergency contacts too.
In regards to the iPhone 7 or older models, you would need to rapidly hit on the side button for five times (three times in India) for the SOS protocol to appear on your screen. Then, drag the slider for the emergency call to be placed. Those with the Apple Watch equipped with the iOS 11 and WatchOS 4, can hold down the crown to set off an emergency call without having to drag the slider.
So if you’re sleeping with the Apple Watch on, probably you should consider turning off the SOS feature because, who would want to wake up in the middle of the night with the police in your room?
