Quick fix
- Press and quickly release the volume up button.
- Press and quickly release the volume down button.
- Press and hold the side button.
- When the Apple logo appears, release the side button.
Emergency SOS on your iPhone® could save your life. But, if your phone uses this feature to accidentally call emergency services or worse, gets stuck in SOS mode, well, that’s stressful. In this article, I’ll explain why your iPhone got stuck in Emergency SOS mode and how to fix the problem for good.
What’s Emergency SOS Mode?
Emergency SOS is a feature that allows you to quickly call emergency services.
While Emergency SOS can be a very useful feature, it can cause a problem if you activate it unintentionally.
Emergency SOS can be activated in four different ways:
- Emergency SOS Slider: Swipe the slider labeled Emergency SOS underneath the slide to power off slider.
- Call with Hold and Release: Press and hold the side button and either volume button simultaneously until the Emergency SOS countdown begins (iPhone 8 or newer only).
- Call With 5 Button Presses: Rapidly press the side or power button five times.
- Call After Severe Crash: If you’re in a car crash, iPhone can automatically call emergency services. iPhone will start a countdown and sound an alarm before the call.
The Emergency SOS countdown includes a loud siren, just to make sure you don’t miss it.
Call with Hold and Release, Call With 5 Button Presses and Call After Severe Crash can be turned off in Settings > Emergency SOS. However, you cannot turn off the Emergency SOS slider that appears under the slide to power off slider.
Why would your iPhone get stuck in Emergency SOS mode?
Your iPhone may get stuck on Emergency SOS mode while trying to complete a hard reset. While pressing and holding the side button and the volume down button will hard reset an iPhone 7, it’ll activate Emergency SOS on an iPhone 8 or newer if Call with Hold is on.
To hard reset an iPhone 8 or newer, quickly press and release the volume up button, then quickly press and release the volume down button, then press and hold the side button until the screen goes black and the Apple logo appears.
How to fix an iPhone stuck on Emergency SOS mode
An iPhone that is stuck on Emergency SOS mode can make people panic. I’ve had my iPhone stuck on Emergency SOS before, and it made me panic. If your iPhone is stuck on Emergency SOS mode, here’s what to do:
Force restart your iPhone
, try forcing your iPhone to restart. Here’s how:
- Press and quickly release the volume up button.
- Press and quickly release the volume down button.
- Press and hold the side button.
- When the Apple logo appears, release the side button.
If your iPhone doesn’t exit Emergency SOS mode, charge your iPhone for 30 minutes and then try to force restart it again.
Remove and Reinsert Your SIM Card
If your iPhone is still stuck on Emergency SOS mode after you try a hard reset, try injecting and reinserting your SIM card.
Use a SIM card ejector tool or a paper clip and press down in the small circle on the SIM card tray. You’ll have to apply a fair bit of pressure to get the tray to actually eject. Don’t be surprised when your iPhone says No SIM when you open up the SIM card tray.
Make sure the SIM card is properly positioned in the tray and reinsert it. If that didn’t get your iPhone out of emergency SOS mode, move onto our final troubleshooting step.
Update your iPhone
an iPhone that gets stuck in Emergency SOS mode has a major software problem. To fix the problem, put your iPhone in recovery mode and update your device. Follow these steps:
- Connect your iPhone to a computer.
- Select your iPhone on your computer.
- While your iPhone is connected, follow these steps:
- Press and quickly release the volume up button.
- Press and quickly release the volume down button.
- Press and hold the side button.
- Keep holding the Side button until you see the recovery mode screen.
- When you get the option to restore or update, choose Update.
- Your computer will download the software for your iPhone. If it takes more than 15 minutes, your iPhone will exit recovery mode. Repeat steps 2-3.
iPhone: No Longer Stuck On The Emergency SOS Mode
Your iPhone is out of Emergency SOS mode! Make sure to share this article on social media to teach your friends and family what to do if their iPhone gets stuck on Emergency SOS mode. I’m interested to hear how the emergency SOS mode got stuck on your iPhone in the first place and how you fixed it in the comments section below.
