Key Takeaways
- Emergency SOS and satellite texting are exclusive to the iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16.
- If you’re using an older iPhone, consider setting up a prepaid plan with another carrier as a fallback during potential outages.
This year’s hurricane season has been accompanied by a surge of potentially life-saving advice. Learn your evacuation zone, stock up on water—all conventional stuff, really. But there’s one unusual piece of advice floating around. Friends, family, and journalists want you to update your iPhone. Sadly, this advice is only useful to a subset of iPhone owners.
All versions of iOS from 16.1 onward offer Emergency SOS satellite functionality. When cellular networks are unavailable, you can use Emergency SOS to contact emergency services or update your Find My location via satellite. The new iOS 18 update builds on Emergency SOS by allowing you to text anyone, not just emergency services, via satellite connection.
Hurricane Helene left several regions, including the majority of North Carolina, without cellular service. It proved to be the first true stress test of Apple’s Emergency SOS system. And, by all accounts, Emergency SOS passed with flying colors. Those who are fortunate enough to access satellite texting say that it was a lifeline.
However, most iPhone owners in North Carolina could not access satellite service. Emergency SOS is only available on the iPhone 14, the iPhone 15, and the three-week-old iPhone 16. Older iPhones do not contain a satellite modem and are physically incapable of utilizing satellite service, regardless of whatever iOS version they’re running.
I’m glad that people are rallying behind the iOS 18 update. It’s a call to action that will save lives and provide peace of mind for some families during Hurricane Milton and subsequent disasters. Still, you should treat satellite service as a fallback, not a guarantee. Emergency SOS is fallible, and it only works on a handful of iPhone models.
Anyway, Emergency SOS is just one of many fallbacks in the event of a cellular outage. Consider setting up an extra eSIM on your phone. A Verizon customer may spend $10 on prepaid AT&T or T-Mobile service, for example, and utilize whichever cellular network is available during or after a storm. Each carrier recovers from outages at a different pace, and outages on one network don’t always extend to rival networks.
You should also know that cable internet isn’t tied to your home’s power. Try plugging your modem and router into a power station during a power outage. If your ISP is online, and if critical telephone lines haven’t been knocked down, you may be able to access the internet.
