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how do you turn off sos on iphone

To turn off SOS on an iPhone, you usually need to do two things:

  1. stop Emergency SOS from triggering so easily, and
  2. fix any “SOS” or “SOS Only” signal showing in the status bar if that’s what you’re seeing.

First: Turn off Emergency SOS triggers

This stops your phone from auto‑calling emergency services when buttons are pressed a certain way, but still lets you call 911 manually if needed.

Steps (iOS 16/17 and newer):

  1. Open Settings.
  1. Tap Emergency SOS.
  1. Turn off these toggles:
    • Call with Hold and Release (or “Call with Hold and Side Button” on some models).
 * **Call with 5 Button Presses**.

 * On iPhone 14 and newer, also turn off **Call After Severe Crash** (crash detection auto‑call).
  1. Leave the settings screen; your changes save automatically.

You can still use Emergency SOS by holding the side + volume buttons and swiping the SOS slider on the screen; the above steps just prevent accidental automatic calls.

If your status bar says “SOS” or “SOS Only”

If you’re seeing “SOS” or “SOS Only” where your signal bars normally are, that is different: it means your iPhone can reach emergency services but not normal cellular data or calls.

Try these fixes:

  • Toggle Airplane Mode
    • Open Control Center and turn Airplane Mode on, wait ~10 seconds, then turn it off.
  • Check Cellular settings
    • Go to Settings → Cellular and make sure Cellular Data is on.
* If you’re traveling, open **Cellular Data Options** and enable **Data Roaming** if your plan supports it.
  • Restart your iPhone
    • Do a normal restart, or on newer models: quick press Volume Up , quick press Volume Down , then hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.
  • Check your SIM / eSIM & carrier
    • If you use a physical SIM, remove and reinsert it carefully.
* If nothing works, contact your carrier in case there’s an outage or account issue.

Quick FAQ style notes

  • Can you completely remove SOS from an iPhone?
    Not fully: there will always be a way to contact emergency services (for legal/safety reasons), but you can turn off the automatic button‑based triggers so you stop accidental calls.
  • What if I already called 911 by mistake?
    Don’t just hang up; stay on the line and explain it was an accidental call so dispatch doesn’t treat it as a possible real emergency.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.