What’s the Best Way to Turn Off SOS on My iPhone XR?
What’s the Best Way to Turn Off SOS on My iPhone XR?
3 Answers

Alright, so you\’re looking to turn off those SOS calls on your iPhone XR, huh? I get it, nobody wants to accidentally call emergency services while fumbling with their phone. While you can’t completely shut off Emergency SOS, you can tweak the settings a little to reduce those accidental dials. Here’s how you can do it:
- Pull up the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll until you find Emergency SOS and give it a tap.
- You’ll find options like “Call with 5 Presses” and “Call with Hold.” Go ahead and switch these off. Most folks find that turning off “Call with 5 Presses” helps avoid those unwanted emergency calls.
- With these changes, an emergency call will only happen if you intentionally swipe the Emergency Call slider when you’re powering down your phone. This means fewer accidental triggerings.
This tweak makes sure that even if you clutch your phone like it’s a winning lottery ticket, you won’t be accidentally chatting with the emergency dispatcher. Just remember, you can always flip these settings back if you think you might need them in a pinch.
These steps come from a bunch of sources—folks chatting on Apple Support forums, wikiHow\’s helpful articles, and some guidance from the troubleshooting team at Asurion. So, you can trust you’re not the only one trying to make this work smoothly. Good luck!

So, if you’re looking to turn off the SOS feature on your iPhone XR, here’s the lowdown:
- Auto Call? No thanks:
- Pull up the Settings app.
- Scroll until you find Emergency SOS and tap it.
- See that Auto Call toggle? Flick it off. This stops your phone from calling emergency services out of the blue.
- Avoid those SOS Alerts:
- While you’re at it, check the notifications under Emergency SOS and make sure they’re not bugging you unless it’s urgent.
- Oops, it’s on? Here’s what to do:
- If it’s already dialed, press the Side button and a Volume button together, then just slide that Emergency SOS slider to call it off.
There you go! These steps should help you keep the SOS feature in check on your iPhone XR. It’s a lifesaver in real emergencies, but a bit annoying when it kicks in accidentally.

Turning off the emergency SOS feature on your iPhone XR can be a bit of a lifesaver if you\’ve ever accidentally set it off. Here’s a simple way to do just that:
Turning Off the SOS on iPhone XR
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Open Up Settings: Go to your phone’s Settings by tapping on that little gray gear icon. This is where all the magic happens when it comes to tweaking your phone’s settings.
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Find the Emergency SOS Option: Once you’re in Settings, scroll down a bit. Depending on your iOS version, you’ll find the Emergency SOS option nestled either right under Health or sometimes Privacy & Security. On most iPhone XRs running the latest software, you’ll spot it directly as Emergency SOS.
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Switch Off Those Tricky Activation Methods:
- \”Hold to Call\” Setting: Turn this off if you don\’t want your phone calling 911 whenever you’re pressing and holding the buttons without meaning to.
- \”Press Side Button 5 Times\”: This one disables the five-button-press SOS activation. If you’re like me, this could’ve rung 911 a couple of times by mishap.
- Don\’t worry about crash detection. Since the feature debuted with the iPhone 14, it doesn’t apply here.
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Turn Off Auto Call: Switching off Auto Call will mean you need to confirm before your phone literally calls for help. This helps prevent accidental emergency calls.
Why Even Bother Disabling SOS?
- Accidental Emergencies Won’t Bother You Anymore: You know, keeping your phone in your pocket or a cramped space like a bag can result in some unwanted button presses. Sometimes, it’s these surprise SOS alerts that make us switch things off. If you’re dealing with that, try adjusting settings under Accessibility to stop accidental calls.
- Avoiding False Alerts: No one wants their phone alerting the emergency services without reason. Turning off Auto Call helps stop the noise for real.
What Happens After Disabling?
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Still Got Manual SOS: Even after changing your settings, you can still manually access the emergency slider by holding the Side Button and Volume Up for around three seconds. It’s good to have a backup.
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Find My Phone is Unaffected: If you’re worried about location sharing, don’t be. Disabling SOS doesn’t mess with your Find My settings. You’ll control this under Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
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Keep Checking Settings Post-Updates: We all know software updates love changing things up. Make sure to check your SOS settings after a big iOS update to ensure nothing’s switched back on without you knowing.
Hope that helps! No more accidental emergencies, and you keep your sanity intact.