The iPhone 14's advanced Emergency SOS via satellite saved three students last week who went hiking in a canyon in Utah and became trapped in an area without cell phone coverage.
With the release of iOS 16.1, Apple included a useful safety feature called Emergency SOS via Satellite . This feature allows iPhone 14 owners to use satellite connectivity to contact emergency services when there is no signal to call (cellular) or WiFi available .
See also: Apple's Emergency SOS leads to another rescue
The students who were saved thanks to the iPhone's feature spoke to KUTV and described their dangerous experience. One of the students, Bridger Woods, said the three friends decided to check out a "really nice canyon" they had heard about, as they had been hiking for about a year.
However, deep inside the canyon, they encountered an area with unexpectedly deep water. Woods and another student, Jeremy Mumford, were stuck in the water for over an hour, but eventually managed to get out and continue deeper. Further down, things got worse, and the two hikers became trapped in the water.
See also: Apple SOS: The function expands to more countries
Two of the students were showing symptoms of hypothermia , and due to the location of the canyon, there was no cell phone signal. Fortunately, the third student, Stephen Watts, had an iPhone 14 with Emergency SOS via satellite. According to Mumford, every 20 minutes, a satellite would appear, and by holding the phone up, they could receive enough satellite signal to send a message to 911.
While waiting for emergency services, the three students managed to get out of the water using ropes and other equipment they had with them. However, since Woods had suffered hypothermia, they were unable to get far from where they were. They found some driftwood and tried to start a fire to keep warm while emergency crews arrived to rescue them.
A helicopter crew from Salt Lake City and medics from Arizona were called to the scene to rescue the three students, who fortunately escaped the ordeal unharmed. The group told KUTV that they highly recommend a satellite-enabled phone in case of an emergency
See also: SOS Messages: How to send an SOS message from a Samsung Galaxy smartphone?
The iPhone 14's satellite-based Emergency SOS feature has saved other people, including an Alaskan man stranded in a rural area and another incident in the Angeles National Forest in California.
The feature is available to all users in select countries and can be activated in the event of an emergency and no WiFi or cellular connection is available. The feature is currently free. Whether you’re going on a day hike or a trip to the countryside or spending time at a seaside location, it’s essential to consider satellite communication. Don’t consider it an option. Think of it as a necessity. The above incidents show us that this could save our lives.
Source: www.macrumors.com
