Apple has confirmed to 9to5Mac that Emergency SOS via Satellite — the iPhone and Apple Watch feature that lets users contact emergency services when there’s no cellular or Wi-Fi — will expand to Mexico later this year. The company said the rollout builds on existing satellite services already available in the country, such as Find My and Messages via satellite.
How Emergency SOS via Satellite works
When you’re out of range of a cell tower or Wi-Fi, the iPhone or Apple Watch Ultra prompts a short questionnaire about the emergency and guides you on where to point the device to connect to a satellite. Once connected, your answers are relayed to an Apple-trained relay center, which then contacts local emergency services on your behalf. It’s a guided, low-bandwidth workflow designed for fast, reliable help when conventional networks fail.
Apple has already rolled out satellite services in a number of countries — including the U.S., U.K., Canada, much of Europe, Japan, Australia and others — and adding Emergency SOS via Satellite to Mexico fills an important coverage gap for travelers, outdoor enthusiasts, and residents in remote areas. The Emergency SOS via Satellite feature works on iPhone 14 and later and on Apple Watch Ultra 3. The company notes the feature has been credited with helping save lives since its launch with the iPhone 14 in 2022.
Apple’s satellite-based safety features have already saved lives worldwide, with numerous reports of stranded hikers and car crash victims successfully contacting rescuers using iPhones. The Mexico rollout underscores Apple’s ongoing focus on safety — an increasingly central theme in its product strategy, spanning Crash Detection, Fall Detection, and Medical ID integration in iOS.
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