This article explains how to set up the Emergency Contacts feature on your iPhone, and how to access those numbers when you need them.

What to Know

  • In Health app: Set up Medical ID > profile > Medical ID > Edit > add emergency contact > choose contact.Add on iPhone: Contacts > choose contact > Add to Emergency Contacts > set relationship to you > Done.Access emergency contacts: Hold Side + Volume Up buttons > Medical ID > choose phone number.

How Do I Set Up Emergency Contacts on iPhone?

Among the many useful things that the pre-installed Health app offers is Emergency Contacts. By adding Emergency Contacts to your iPhone, you can quickly contact the most important people in your life. To add Emergency Contacts in Health, follow these steps:

  • To add Emergency Contacts this way, you’ll need to set up a Medical ID first (something we strongly recommend; it’s very useful!).
  • Open the Health app.
  • Tap your profile photo in the top right.
  • Tap Medical ID.
  • Tap Edit.
  • Tap add emergency contact.
  • Browse or search your address book for the contact you want to add and tap them.
  • Tap their relationship to you.
  • Tap Done to save the new emergency contact.

How Do I Add an Emergency Contact on My iPhone?

The Health app isn’t the only place you can add emergency contacts. You can do it right from the Phone app where you manage contacts, too. Here’s how:

To add Emergency Contacts this way, you’ll need to set up a Medical ID first (something we strongly recommend; it’s very useful!).

Open the Health app.

Tap your profile photo in the top right.

Tap Medical ID.

Tap Edit.

Tap add emergency contact.

Browse or search your address book for the contact you want to add and tap them.

Tap their relationship to you.

Tap Done to save the new emergency contact.

Want to make sure that a call from your emergency contacts can get through to you even if you’ve got Do Not Disturb enabled? Go to the person in your Phone or Contacts app > Edit > Ringtone > move Emergency Bypass slider to on/green.

  • Tap the Phone app.
  • Tap Contacts or Recents.
  • If you’re in Contacts, tap the person’s name.If you’re in Recents, tap the i next to their name.
  • Tap Add to Emergency Contacts.
  • If the person has more than one phone number stored, choose which phone number to use for the emergency contact.
  • Tap the contact’s relationship to you.
  • This opens your Medical ID in the Health app. Review the addition and tap Done to save the change.

How Do I Get Emergency Contacts on My Locked iPhone? 

Hopefully you won’t need to use these instructions, but if there’s an emergency and you need to access your—or someone else’s—emergency contacts to make an emergency call on an iPhone, follow these steps:

Tap the Phone app.

Tap Contacts or Recents.

  • If you’re in Contacts, tap the person’s name.If you’re in Recents, tap the i next to their name.

Tap Add to Emergency Contacts.

If the person has more than one phone number stored, choose which phone number to use for the emergency contact.

Tap the contact’s relationship to you.

This opens your Medical ID in the Health app. Review the addition and tap Done to save the change.

To remove an Emergency Contact, go to Health > profile photo > Medical ID > Edit > tap the red icon next to the contact you want to remove > Delete.

  • Press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons.
  • Release the buttons when the slide to power off / Medical ID / Emergency SOS options appear.
  • Slide Medical ID left to right.
  • The user’s Medical ID appears. Tap one of the phone numbers in the Emergency Contacts section to call that contact.

Press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons.

Release the buttons when the slide to power off / Medical ID / Emergency SOS options appear.

Slide Medical ID left to right.

The user’s Medical ID appears. Tap one of the phone numbers in the Emergency Contacts section to call that contact.

  • How do I turn off emergency alerts on iPhone?
  • To turn off emergency alerts, open Settings > Notifications > scroll to the bottom of the screen. There you’ll see options under Government Alerts heading that you can turn off. To deliver these notifications silently, select Emergency Alerts and turn off the switch next to Always Play Sound.
  • How do I make an emergency call on iPhone?
  • Hold the Side button and a Volume button, or press the Side button five times. Swipe right on SOS, then the emergency call will go through after a short countdown.

To turn off emergency alerts, open Settings > Notifications > scroll to the bottom of the screen. There you’ll see options under Government Alerts heading that you can turn off. To deliver these notifications silently, select Emergency Alerts and turn off the switch next to Always Play Sound.

Hold the Side button and a Volume button, or press the Side button five times. Swipe right on SOS, then the emergency call will go through after a short countdown.

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