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EDIT: Apparently the service didn't actually launch until today, despite Apple advertising it for several months. Keeping comment as originally posted for poste

EDIT: Apparently the service didn't actually launch until today, despite Apple advertising it for several months. Keeping comment as originally posted for posterity. However, if this is as half-assed as Apple Crash Detection, expect it to work about 1/10th the time. A few weeks ago had experience with this up in the Mt Baldy area of Los Angeles. During inclement weather, a hiker in another group slipped on the Devil's Backbone and tried to use Apple's Emergency SOS because their phone did not have cell signal. It didn't work. We ended up letting the Mt Baldy staff know about the hiker when we got to the Baldy Lodge. We asked them whether emergency services had received the SOS, and they said it hadn't. And they would know, since emergency services would have contacted them to conduct the rescue. Long story short: Don't trust SOS. It doesn't work when you actually need it to work. And when it does work, you could have just called 911 directly.

bonyt 4y ago
But wait, I thought the new satellite SOS feature launched today? Was this during some kind of beta test?
- dboreham 4y ago
  "Launch" means press whooha.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
connordoner 4y ago
It's only just launched today, which I imagine would go some way towards explaining that. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/11/emergency-sos-via-satellite-available-today-on-iphone-14-lineup/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/11/emergency-sos-via-sat...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
wstrange 4y ago
From the article: "Apple says that the main limitation here is that the antenna to satellite connection simply isn’t as strong as dedicated satellite devices, for example a Garmin inReach or SPOT tracker" So don't give up your inreach just yet.
- bparsons 4y ago
  Also, an external GPS communicator has the benefit of having an extraordinarily long life. You can leave breadcrumbs for days, send a few text messages, and always have juice for an SOS if you are deep into the backcountry. The Apple SOS is likely going to be used by day hikers and dog walkers who aren't anticipating any real challenges.
- reaperducer 4y ago
  So don't give up your inreach just yet It seems to me that if you're the sort of person with the foresight and self-awareness to own something like an inreach, the Apple product isn't for you. You already know the hazards of life beyond the asphalt. I think this will be very useful for the hundreds of tourists who find themselves stranded or dead in places like the Mojave Desert because they think Google Maps or gospel, or they are wannabe social media personalities desperate for attention, or people who are just generally clueless.
ghaff 4y ago
Starting with iOS 16(?), an iPhone going back to at least the iPhone 13 will display SOS if there's no signal from your wireless carrier but the phone "thinks" it can make an emergency call on an alternate carrier. But, presumably, that signal may be weak and may not work. Perhaps that's what happened here.

bonyt 4y ago

But wait, I thought the new satellite SOS feature launched today? Was this during some kind of beta test?

dboreham 4y ago
"Launch" means press whooha.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

connordoner 4y ago

It's only just launched today, which I imagine would go some way towards explaining that. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/11/emergency-sos-via-satellite-available-today-on-iphone-14-lineup/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/11/emergency-sos-via-sat...

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

wstrange 4y ago

From the article: "Apple says that the main limitation here is that the antenna to satellite connection simply isn’t as strong as dedicated satellite devices, for example a Garmin inReach or SPOT tracker" So don't give up your inreach just yet.

bparsons 4y ago
Also, an external GPS communicator has the benefit of having an extraordinarily long life. You can leave breadcrumbs for days, send a few text messages, and always have juice for an SOS if you are deep into the backcountry. The Apple SOS is likely going to be used by day hikers and dog walkers who aren't anticipating any real challenges.
reaperducer 4y ago
So don't give up your inreach just yet It seems to me that if you're the sort of person with the foresight and self-awareness to own something like an inreach, the Apple product isn't for you. You already know the hazards of life beyond the asphalt. I think this will be very useful for the hundreds of tourists who find themselves stranded or dead in places like the Mojave Desert because they think Google Maps or gospel, or they are wannabe social media personalities desperate for attention, or people who are just generally clueless.

ghaff 4y ago

Starting with iOS 16(?), an iPhone going back to at least the iPhone 13 will display SOS if there's no signal from your wireless carrier but the phone "thinks" it can make an emergency call on an alternate carrier. But, presumably, that signal may be weak and may not work. Perhaps that's what happened here.