How to Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch

This wikiHow will show you how to call emergency services without anyone knowing, from your iPhone and Apple Watch.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

iPhone 7 and Earlier

  1. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 1
    1
    Make sure the siren is turned off. Go to "Settings" > "Emergency SOS" and make sure "Play countdown sound" is toggled off.
  2. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 2
    2
    Press the power button rapidly five times.
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  3. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 3
    3
    Slide the SOS slider or wait for the counter to reach zero.
  4. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 4
    4
    Turn the phone volume down. You do not want anyone suspicious to know that emergency services have arrived. Your location will continuously be sent to emergency services until you hang up or until the call is disconnected.
  5. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 5
    5
    Make the call suspicious. Make sure that speakerphone is enabled. You will not hear anything, but emergency services will hear the situation and send the police.
  6. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 6
    6
    Use the number pad. If you have to remain silent, you can use the number pad to alert emergency services whether you need the police, fire department, or ambulance. Check with your local city or county the extension codes for police, fire and ambulance.
  7. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 7
    7
    Hang up. Emergency contacts will be notified of the emergency, and your location will continue to be sent to contacts until you cancel.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

iPhone 8 and Later

  1. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 8
    1
    Make sure the siren is turned off. Go to "Settings" > "Emergency SOS" and make sure "Play countdown sound" is toggled off.
  2. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 9
    2
    Hold the power button and one of the volume buttons at the same time.
  3. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 10
    3
    Slide the SOS slider or wait for the counter to reach zero.
  4. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 11
    4
    Turn the phone volume down. You do not want anyone suspicious to know that emergency services have arrived. Your location will continuously be sent to emergency services until you hang up or until the call is disconnected.
  5. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 12
    5
    Make the call suspicious. Make sure that speakerphone is enabled. You will not hear anything, but emergency services will hear the situation and send the police.
  6. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 13
    6
    Use the number pad. If you have to remain silent, you can use the number pad to alert emergency services whether you need the police, fire department, or ambulance. Check with your local city or county the extension codes for police, fire and ambulance.
  7. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 14
    7
    Hang up. Emergency contacts will be notified of the emergency, and your location will continue to be sent to contacts until you cancel.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Apple Watch

  1. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 15
    1
    Hold the power button of the Apple Watch.
  2. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 16
    2
    Slide the SOS slider. Silent calling does not work on Apple Watch.
  3. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 17
    3
    Turn the volume down. You do not want anyone suspicious to know that emergency services have arrived. Your location will continuously be sent to emergency services until you hang up or until the call is disconnected.
  4. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 18
    4
    Make the call suspicious. You will not hear anything, but emergency services will hear the situation and send the police.
  5. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 19
    5
    Use the number pad. If you have to remain silent, you can use the number pad to alert emergency services whether you need the police, fire department, or ambulance. Check with your local city or county the extension codes for police, fire and ambulance.
  6. Image titled Silently Call Emergency Services on iPhone or Apple Watch Step 20
    6
    Hang up. Emergency contacts will be notified of the emergency, and your location will continue to be sent to contacts until you cancel.
    7. Advertisement

Warnings

  • Prank calling emergency services is a crime. Additionally, make sure you know what to do if you accidentally call emergency services.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
  • If you accidentally call emergency services on your iPhone or Apple Watch and you notice it, do not hang up without saying anything. Speak to the operator and explain that it was an accident. Answer any further questions they have.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
  • Panic apps, such as Noonlight and ADT Go, are more likely to send reliable information about location than location-enhanced emergency calling, which is not available globally.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
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About This Article

Tested by:
wikiHow Technology Team
wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 21,796 times.
6 votes - 83%
Co-authors: 5
Updated: September 16, 2021
Views: 21,796
Categories: First Aid and Emergency Health Care
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