A man stuck in Alaska was rescued after using Apple’s new Emergency SOS satellite capability to call emergency personnel. An adult male traveling by snowmachine from the isolated settlement of Noorvik to Kotzebue reportedly activated an Emergency SOS via satellite on his iPhone on December 1 at 2 a.m. (AST), according to Alaska State Troopers. Neither Wi-Fi nor cellular service was available in the region.
Four volunteer searchers found the stranded man and took him to Kotzebue after the Apple Emergency Response Center sent troopers and the Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue Coordinator the stranded man’s GPS coordinates. There were no reported injuries.
The stranded man was transported to Kotzebue
The stranded man was transported to Kotzebue at about 6 a.m., according to a spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Public Safety who spoke with Insider(Opens in a new window). Insider claims that the individual had no other means of satellite contact, was dressed appropriately, and had “fire-starting supplies.”
In a public statement, Troopers who saved the man said they “were thoroughly impressed with the accuracy and completeness of information included in the initial alert.”
The information was released just a few weeks after Apple(Opens in a new window) announced the rollout of the Emergency SOS satellite capability for iPhone 14 owners in the US and Canada, excluding Guam and American Samoa. Users of the safety service can send messages to emergency services when neither cellular nor Wi-Fi access is available.
The Find My app may be used by iPhone 14 owners to communicate their position with friends and family through satellite thanks to the capability. Every model in the iPhone14 lineup is compatible with the feature. Sometime this month, it’s scheduled to launch in a number of European markets, including the UK, Germany, France, and Ireland.
Satellite connection can still be maintained even if your iPhone screen is locked
Even if your iPhone screen is locked, the satellite connection can still be maintained, but it may degrade when near hills, mountains, canyons, towering structures, or even dense vegetation. It takes over a minute to send a message using the satellite capability behind trees with light or medium foliage, according to Apple notes(Opens in a new window), even under perfect circumstances with a direct view of the sky.
The link may also be impacted by latitude. According to Apple, locations over 62 degrees latitude may make it more difficult for the capability to function. However, because Noorvik and Kotzebue are so close to 69 degrees latitude, this should be treated with caution.
After activating an iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro, Apple has claimed that Emergency SOS is free for two years, but it has not specified how much it will cost after that. Through the settings menu on your iPhone 14, you can test the Satellite feature without alerting rescue services.