Satellite function in iPhone saves man in Alaska through emergency call

In America you have been able to make an emergency call with your iPhone via a satellite for two weeks. Now it turns out that this function really worked for a man in Alaska and it saved his life!

From iPhone and satellite to help

Apple recently rolled out a satellite feature in the US and Canada, two countries with large areas. With this function you can make an emergency call via your iPhone and a satellite. This works even if you don’t have coverage on your iPhone. Your location will then be visible in the ‘Find My’ app.

A man is now one of the first iPhone 14 users to owe his life to this feature. This happened when he was stranded in an extremely isolated area in Alaska, the northernmost state of the United States. The emergency call via satellite and your iPhone is automatically activated when you call 911 (the US 112) is trying to make a call and no cellular service is available.

Alaskan man saved by emergency call

On December 1, 2022, very early in the morning, the Alaska State Troopers received a notification from the Apple Emergency Response Center that a distress call from an iPhone 14 had been sent via satellite. The owner of this iPhone traveled with a snowmobile from Noorvik to Kotzebue, but unfortunately stranded in no man’s land.

With the coordinates that the iPhone sent via the emergency call, the rescue team was able to find the man. Fortunately, he had no injuries. We don’t know exactly what happened, but there’s a good chance his snowmobile broke down.

The rescuers were impressed by the emergency call via the iPhone. In particular, they were pleasantly surprised at the “accuracy and completeness of the information in the first alert.”

What is the emergency call with satellite function in your iPhone?

Apple launched this feature in the US and Canada a few weeks ago, after first announcing it during the September release of the iPhone 14. We don’t know when this feature will come to the Netherlands. In our little country, placing an emergency call via a satellite on your iPhone may also seem a bit superfluous. We have coverage almost everywhere in our country.

The service will be launched later this month in France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Other countries will probably follow next year. It remains to be seen whether the Netherlands is also among them.

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Compare iPhone 14 prices

The satellite function is only available on the iPhone 14 models. Does the position seem useful to you and do you regularly go on holiday abroad? Then an iPhone 14 might be something for you! In that case, check the best prices in our price comparison of the iPhone 14 above! Want to get even more out of your iPhone? Perhaps the iPhone 14 Pro is something for you.

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