iOS 16.2 wants iPhone users to report accidental activations of Emergency SOS

iPhone 14 emergency SOS via satellite
iPhone 14 emergency SOS via satellite (Image credit: Apple)

If you have an iPhone and accidentally activated the Emergency SOS feature, Apple wants to hear about it.

Earlier today, Apple rolled out the first developer beta of iOS 16.2. The latest version of the iPhone's software has added an option to report when you have accidentally activated the safety feature.

iDeviceHelp took to Twitter to show off the new reporting option. As per the screenshot below, Apple gathers some information from you when you report that the safety feature was accidentally activated:

See more

It's clear that the company is looking to improve Emergency SOS on the iPhone so that it can prevent as many of these accidental activations as possible. For iDeviceHelp, it appears that they accidentally turned on the safety feature when they placed their iPhone in a cup holder:

See more

This isn't the first time we've heard of someone accidentally activating one of the iPhone's safety features. There was a hilarious story where someone activated the new Crash Detection on their new iPhone 14 when they rode a rollercoaster.

Emergency SOS isn't the only feature being activated in error

Apple launched Emergency SOS via satellite and Crash Detection with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro. Both features look to provide extra peace of mind if you ever happen to be in a car accident or in an emergency situation outside of a cellular signal.

Crash Detection on iPhone can now detect a severe car crash and automatically dial emergency services when a user is unconscious or unable to reach their iPhone...The iPhone 14 lineup also introduces Emergency SOS via satellite, which combines custom components deeply integrated with software to allow antennas to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage.

Hopefully, with iOS 16.2, Apple gets enough feedback to make improvements to the Emergency SOS feature in order to prevent future accidental activations.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.