iPhone SOS credited with saving woman during assault attempt – Here’s how to set it up

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One woman credits iPhone SOS with saving her life after a terrifying night at the beach, according to Wavy.

What happened

Kelli Worst was leaving the beach after a night with friends when a man asked for her help in finding his iPhone. It was 2:00 a.m. and she was about to head home in her Lyft. Thinking it would be a quick favor, she asked her Lyft driver to wait.

“He said he was in the military and not from here, and I just immediately thought of my brother, who’s in the military,” Worst told Wavy. “I figured he probably has to report somewhere in the morning. He’s going to be in trouble if he doesn’t get there. I just felt bad for him and wanted to help him, and honestly when he told me he was in the military I felt a sense of safety.”

Worst repeatedly called his iPhone to see if they could hear a ring. Things became suspicious when she tried using Find My because it found the number invalid. Thinking she may have typed the number in wrong, she handed him her iPhone. This was when he began to make sexual gestures toward her.

“I turned around and walked away and probably got about five steps away from him and that’s when he came up to me and covered my mouth and nose and tackled me to the ground and had me pinned face down in the sand,” she said when speaking to Wavy.

While trying to escape, Worst reached to her iPhone for help. She activated the SOS feature by pressing and holding the side button and volume button and then swiping across. From then, 911 was able to hear everything happening.

Fortunately, officers arrived on the scene very quickly where the man proceeded to run away.

“My phone in my hand and knowing how to activate the SOS feature is what saved my life,” she added.

How to set up iPhone SOS

The most common way to activate the iPhone SOS feature is by pressing and holding the side button and either of the volume buttons. From there, you’ll have the option to swipe “Emergency SOS” to make your call. Named Auto Call, you can set this feature up by going to Settings, Emergency SOS, and toggling “Call with Hold” on.

You can also make a call to emergency services by rapidly pressing the side button five times. Doing this starts a countdown and sounds an alert if you have “Countdown Sound” turned on in Emergency SOS settings.

When the countdown completes, your iPhone will call emergency services for you. Like Auto Call, Call with 5 Presses can be turned on by going to Settings, Emergency SOS, and toggling “Call with 5 Presses” on.

We also have a guide on How to set up Medical ID and customize SOS on iPhone and Apple Watch.