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Emergency SOS via satellite

apple.com

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Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#271

Post by carabiner »

COGlory wrote: post #123

I was just on the ground coordinating with 4 friends that got buried in 5+ foot of unexpected snow in the mountains (forecast said 1"-2" when they went up) for the rifle opener in Montana. I wound up getting sick so I stayed home (hilariously I was the only one who got an elk) but I sent them up with my InReach. All I can say is THANK GOD that I did, because it turned into over a week long effort to get them out. Two…

There is no bill for rescues in Montana per https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/missoula-gallatin-co-searc.... It's much faster, safer to have professionals with helicopters to pick them up rather than getting snow cats up there.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#272

Post by Kairinz »

Literally just got back from a road trip in southern Greece where I had reception almost half of the time spent driving. Didn't see a single car for over 2 hours of driving. Car had a clutch issue, but things worked out. Can actually see how this becomes useful.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#273

Post by jjtheblunt »

COGlory wrote: post #123

I was just on the ground coordinating with 4 friends that got buried in 5+ foot of unexpected snow in the mountains (forecast said 1"-2" when they went up) for the rifle opener in Montana. I wound up getting sick so I stayed home (hilariously I was the only one who got an elk) but I sent them up with my InReach. All I can say is THANK GOD that I did, because it turned into over a week long effort to get them out. Two…

No one is asking this but the rest i know about, so i find myself thinking "what on earth do you do with a rifle-shot-dead elk?", since I have no suburban-kid idea.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#274

Post by m463 »

taylorbuley wrote: post #229

I was digging up and replacing a piece of my well-line, in the dark because that's always when my well line breaks, and my phone accidentally called the police through what must have been some serious jostling. The dispatch seemed understanding, and used the opportunity to verify that my phone connectivity was coming from where it said I was. Later that night, two sheriffs show up around midnight to make sure that ev…

Apple's phone app has one HUGE design failure: touching anything in the app will dial a number immediately.

I have accidentally called back phone spammers. It made elderly parents scared to use their phone. I've had many many friends butt-dial me.

There should absolutely be an option that is on, or can be enabled: confirm before calling.

In the case of emergency calling, they should figure out how to confirm before calling. I'm sure apple has some scenario in mind where it has to be the way it is now, but I think there should be a way.

At a minimum, opting into the current behavior should train the user how calls are initiated and what options are available.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#275

Post by dave78 »

ingalls wrote: post #201
COGlory wrote: post #123

I was just on the ground coordinating with 4 friends that got buried in 5+ foot of unexpected snow in the mountains (forecast said 1"-2" when they went up) for the rifle opener in Montana. I wound up getting sick so I stayed home (hilariously I was the only one who got an elk) but I sent them up with my InReach. All I can say is THANK GOD that I did, because it turned into over a week long effort to get them out. Two…

First off, super glad to hear your friends are out of the field safe. Want to address one point however: "The SOS button is very expensive. Extremely expensive" In my experience on multiple SAR teams (Search and Rescue), this is almost never the case in North America. Search and Rescue is one of the few services that is almost uniformly free [1]. Thousands and thousands of volunteer hours every year keep it that way.…

> Search and Rescue is one of the few services that is almost uniformly free [1].

I wonder if this will remain true once everyone with an iPhone has access to it. The increase in volume could easily overwhelm the volunteers, no?

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#276

Post by pests »

MarkMarine wrote: post #226
JadeNB wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was confused, because the parent comment says: > For Emergency services there is no “activate and pay later” because you don’t need to activate, and you don’t need to pay. If you have an iPhone 14 it’s supposed to just work if you’re calling 911. The Emergency SOS seems explicitly to require activation, and to have a cost (eventually): > The service will be included for free for two years starting at the time of ac…

It doesn’t require “activation, ” you try to call 911 and when you don’t have signal, the phone sends an emergency text message to the satellite network. Just read up on the feature, if you’re curious.

What about after the two year free period?

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#277

Post by pests »

MarkMarine wrote: post #137
brookst wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure it will eat into those markets. Those are device for people who know they are going off-grid and may need both emergency comms and who (typically) also want to be able to let people at home know where they are and how things are going. My take is the Apple SOS is for people who are unprepared and surprised, and who wouldn’t have bought a satellite comm device and paid for the subscription because they we…

One of my buddies does S&R in Marin county, they get called for people getting lost 300 yards off trail that were going for a walk CONSTANTLY. Just people out for a walk, no cell coverage. They never have gear with them. My friend said this a game changer.

I notice we have a lot of SAR people in this thread so question for everyone:

Is it wrong to call for help when you are lost only 300 yards off trail like you said? I would be embarrassed - but is anyone going to be upset?

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#279

Post by LeoPanthera »

dave78 wrote: post #275
ingalls wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First off, super glad to hear your friends are out of the field safe. Want to address one point however: "The SOS button is very expensive. Extremely expensive" In my experience on multiple SAR teams (Search and Rescue), this is almost never the case in North America. Search and Rescue is one of the few services that is almost uniformly free [1]. Thousands and thousands of volunteer hours every year keep it that way.…

> Search and Rescue is one of the few services that is almost uniformly free [1]. I wonder if this will remain true once everyone with an iPhone has access to it. The increase in volume could easily overwhelm the volunteers, no?

The iPhone service sends a pre-written SMS to the 911 service. They decide whether to deploy rescue services or not.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#280

Post by jrnichols »

I'm a Paramedic in Northern California and am VERY happy about this feature. Even in some of our SF Bay Area counties, we have a lot of windy mountain roads with no cell service at all. Our portable radios don't even work up in the hills. To have an iPhone be able to send GPS location to the public safety access point is fabulous. Our dispatchers can at least drop a pin on a map and we can route to that location ourselves. This already happens in a lot of cases but the caller has cell service. We've been on multiple incidents up in the hills where people have reported that they had to drive several miles down the mountain before they were able to get any reception to make a 911 call.

This will save us a lot of time, and it will save lives. This is a game changing feature.

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