Apple's Emergency Satellite Feature Available in Mexico Starting Today

[MacRumors]

Apple has announced that Emergency SOS via satellite is available in Mexico starting today, on iPhone 14 models and newer and the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

Until now, only Find My via satellite and Messages via satellite were available in Mexico.

Emergency SOS via satellite lets you send text messages to emergency operators when you are in an area without Wi-Fi or cellular coverage, so long as you have a clear view of the sky. The feature is powered by Globalstar's satellites.

In Mexico, the feature requires an iPhone 14 or newer running iOS 18.4 or later, or an Apple Watch Ultra 3 running watchOS 26.0.1 or later.

To use the feature on an iPhone in Mexico, begin to send a text message to 911 in the Messages app, and tap on Emergency Services. Alternatively, open Control Center and scroll down to the page with a cellular symbol. Then, tap on "Satellite" to open Apple's Connection Assistant, and choose Emergency SOS via satellite.

Apple has yet to charge a fee for any of its satellite features. In September, the company announced it is providing existing iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users with an additional year of free access to the entire suite of satellite features on those devices.

Emergency SOS via satellite is also available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The minimum iOS version required for each feature varies by country.

International travelers who visit a country where the features are available can use the feature while visiting, except if they bought their iPhone in Armenia, Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, or Russia, according to Apple.

Article Link: Apple's Emergency Satellite Feature Available in Mexico Starting Today

 

[masterhiggins]

Extremely handy. Now the authorities will know where to retrieve your body from the cartels.

 

[jetison]

This is great news! Although the worldwide rollout on this has been painfully slow. I get that there are regulatory steps, but it’s hard not to feel left out when we’re talking about a feature that can literally save your life. After four generations it shouldn’t still be “Your current region isn’t supported,” especially when the whole idea is to work where nothing else does. At some point the safety value should outweigh the paperwork. Hopefully it actually expands to South America and the rest of the globe soon.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

After four generations it shouldn’t still be “Your current region isn’t supported,” especially when the whole idea is to work where nothing else does. At some point the safety value should outweigh the paperwork. Hopefully it actually expands to South America and the rest of the globe soon.

It probably also has a lot to do with infrastructure on the receiving end. Who do the messages get sent to and by what means? Does the receiving end need special software to make sense of the incoming message?

 

[pbau]

When in Poland?

 

[jetison]

It probably also has a lot to do with infrastructure on the receiving end. Who do the messages get sent to and by what means? Does the receiving end need special software to make sense of the incoming message?

Fair point on infrastructure, but Globalstar actually has South America covered, and they even put in a ground station in Argentina to extend service across the region (link). So the sat + ground path exists for this part of the world already. They even advertise the SPOT product line for personal safety, messaging and emergency response, so the infrastructure to receive and route SOS traffic must be there somehow. Anyway, I do get that there’s more to it than that, this is mostly a FOMO thing .

 

[sffun]

It probably also has a lot to do with infrastructure on the receiving end. Who do the messages get sent to and by what means? Does the receiving end need special software to make sense of the incoming message?

Yes. I worked on the 911 integration at Uber. Mexico has a more sophisticated 911 infrastructure than the USA, because it's newer. The issue of course might be regulatory, or it might be a desire to have a consistent experience nationwide. Even in the USA, emergency infrastructure isn't consistent.

Anyways, I welcome this! I just moved from California to Mexico City.

 

[AlanMarron]

Extremely handy. Now the authorities will know where to retrieve your body from the cartels.

Snarkiness aside, this is a big deal in Mexico. Even with one of the two biggies, Telcel and AT&T Mexico, it’s easy to find oneself driving without a signal for 30+ minutes at a time.

(Always download the Google map for the areas in which you’ll be traveling. Use Waze when possible because it shows the distance to the next toll booths and Google doesn’t.)

 

[manurojasv]

That's a convenient feature given that mobile coverage in Mexico is atrocious.

 

[quietstormSD]

Extremely handy. Now the authorities will know where to retrieve your body from the cartels.

This is what I came here for.

 

[acorntoy]

Wait -

This wasn’t available?

Just two months ago I was using the Apple satellite feature to send random texts to people from Mexico when I had no service (Verizon; it was apples satellite)

They had that up and running but not emergency Satellite?!

 

[emulator]

Will it work at the bottom of a well?

 

[svish]

Good to know about this. Still waiting for the satellite services to arrive in my country. Hopefully it will happen soon.

 

[Joe Bogger]

Well done. With this expansion rate it will take Apple until 2160 to cover the planet.

 

[Joe Bogger]

Wait -

This wasn’t available?

Just two months ago I was using the Apple satellite feature to send random texts to people from Mexico when I had no service (Verizon; it was apples satellite)

They had that up and running but not emergency Satellite?!

Were you in Mexico? This is not about where the person is that receives the message, but where you are when using it.

 

[Ursadorable]

At this point, I'm waiting for a Starlink based phone. I don't care if it has iOS or Android, but once its available, I'll be jumping ship. Clearly Apple didn't want to work with Elon, which is wholly their right, however I believe it will come back and bite them in the butt at some point.

The final straw was the user hostile liquid glass garbage UI. Instead of allowing users to revert the update, or giving people the ability to disable it, they only offer tweaks to turn down transparency without addressing the horrid bubble-like UI buttons and interface.

If I'm going to forced into adapting to a new UI, I may as well do it with a device that has benefits to me instead.

 

[acorntoy]

Were you in Mexico? This is not about where the person is that receives the message, but where you are when using it.

Yes I was in Ensenada. Thats why I said in that post I was sending random texts "from Mexico". Worked well.

Quite close to the US which is maybe why it worked.

I guess/imagine the emergency feature has to be connected/agreed upon with whatever local government which has hurdles.

It's crazy that satellite texting was available before emergency services... but it seems like that was the case.

I had a lot of fun texting people with it when I was out of range of service in Mexico. Was my first time using the Apple satellite option.
I honestly thought the SOS was set up, this surprised me.