What Emergency SOS is and why you might want to turn it off

Emergency SOS is a built-in iPhone feature that lets you quickly call emergency services by pressing and holding the side button and volume button together. When activated, your iPhone displays a slider to call 911 (or your country's emergency number), and it can also automatically contact emergency services if you keep holding after the slider appears. Some iPhones also send your location to emergency contacts.

You might want to turn off Emergency SOS if you find yourself triggering it by accident — for example, if you have the buttons set to activate it too easily, or if you keep hitting the combination when putting your phone in your pocket. You can disable the feature entirely, adjust how it works, or change which buttons trigger it.

Key Takeaways

  • You can turn off Emergency SOS completely in Settings under Emergency SOS, or adjust which buttons trigger it.
  • Disabling "Call with Side Button" stops the accidental activation that happens most often.
  • You can keep Emergency SOS active but turn off automatic calling, so you have to manually slide to call 911.
  • If you have an Apple Watch paired to your iPhone, turning off Emergency SOS on the phone does not automatically turn it off on the watch.

How to disable Emergency SOS completely

Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap Emergency SOS. You will see a toggle for Call with Side Button — this is what makes Emergency SOS activate when you press and hold the side button and volume button. Turn this toggle off.

With this toggle off, you cannot accidentally trigger Emergency SOS by holding those buttons. The feature is still installed on your phone, but it will not respond to the button combination. If you ever need to use Emergency SOS again, you can turn this toggle back on in the same menu.

How to keep Emergency SOS but stop automatic calling

If you want to keep the ability to call 911 quickly but do not want your phone to automatically dial after a few seconds, you can disable automatic calling instead. In Settings, go to Emergency SOS and look for Auto Call. Turn this toggle off.

With Auto Call disabled, pressing and holding the side button and volume button will still bring up the Emergency SOS screen with the call slider. You will have to manually drag the slider to actually call 911 — your phone will not dial on its own. This prevents accidental calls while keeping the emergency feature available if you need it.

Changing which buttons trigger Emergency SOS

Some iPhone models let you change which button combination activates Emergency SOS. In the Emergency SOS settings menu, look for an option to adjust the button combination — this is available on newer models. You can sometimes switch from the side button and volume button to a different combination that you are less likely to press by accident.

Not all iPhone models offer this option. If you do not see a button combination setting in your Emergency SOS menu, your model does not support changing it, and your only options are to disable the feature or turn off Auto Call.

What happens on your Apple Watch if you turn off Emergency SOS on iPhone

Turning off Emergency SOS on your iPhone does not automatically turn it off on a paired Apple Watch. The watch has its own Emergency SOS settings that work independently. If you want to disable Emergency SOS on your watch as well, you need to adjust the watch settings separately.

On your Apple Watch, open the Settings app, tap Emergency SOS, and turn off Call with Side Button or Auto Call the same way you would on iPhone. The two devices do not sync their Emergency SOS settings, so you have to change each one individually.

Turning Emergency SOS back on

If you disabled Emergency SOS and later decide you want it back, return to Settings, tap Emergency SOS, and turn Call with Side Button back on. You can also re-enable Auto Call if you had turned that off. The changes take effect immediately.

There is no waiting period or confirmation step — once you toggle the setting back on, Emergency SOS will work the next time you press and hold the button combination.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still call 911 if I turn off Emergency SOS?

Yes. Turning off Emergency SOS only disables the quick button combination. You can still open the Phone app and dial 911 manually at any time, even if Emergency SOS is completely disabled.

Why does my iPhone keep triggering Emergency SOS when I do not want it to?

The most common cause is pressing the side button and volume button together by accident, usually when putting the phone in your pocket or taking it out. Turning off "Call with Side Button" will stop this. If you want to keep the feature but prevent accidental calls, disable "Auto Call" instead so you have to manually slide to dial.

Does disabling Emergency SOS affect other safety features on my iPhone?

No. Emergency SOS is separate from other safety features like Medical ID, Emergency Contacts, and crash detection. Turning off Emergency SOS does not change any of those settings.

If I turn off Auto Call, will 911 still know my location?

When you manually slide to call 911 after disabling Auto Call, your location information is still sent to emergency services the same way it would be if Auto Call were on. Disabling Auto Call only removes the automatic dialing — it does not change location sharing.