iPhone saves life of man horrifically stuck on a freezing Swiss mountain

An iPhone with just 3 percent battery and 3G connectivity saved the life of a man who was stuck on a Swiss mountain! Know how an iPhone saved a life.

iPhone’s emergency dial feature provided life-saving service in a grave situation for a man who got stuck on a Swiss mountain. (Unsplash)

We all have heard tales about Apple products saving the lives of humans many times. From the Apple Watch to even the humble Airpods, these products have played a critical role in saving their owners' lives during emergencies. Apple iPhones too have played a stellar life-saving role often. And the latest instance vividly shows how important role an iPhone can play, no mater where you are.

An iPhone has emerged as the life-saving hero for a man who was stuck on a Swiss mountain. 41-year-old Tim Blakey went snowboarding on a Swiss mountain alone and it landed him in an emergency situation with nothing but his iPhone with him and it had only 3 percent battery life left. According to Tim, everything was going well while he was snowboarding, but he came across a large gap which he could not avoid. He fell 15 feet deep into the crevice. It would have been worse but for a fragile snow bridge that helped him to avoid falling further into the narrow gap.

How his iPhone saved his life

Tim shared his experience on his Instagram account. Tim says his iPhone managed to latch onto a 3G connection. The SOS emergency service shortcut on his iPhone managed to get a through connection, alerting the authorities to his plight. The harrowing part was the very little battery power and the constant dripping of water from the snow and ice on the screen. In short, it was the 5-click iPhone Emergency dial function that saved his life on the cold Swiss mountain.

"If some of you still aren't aware I am trying to spread the word about the 5-click iPhone Emergency dial function. The more I've talked about it the MORE I've realised even less people know about it than I first thought," Blakey said in the Instagram post. He also thanked Apple for the side button 5 click function to raise emergency services which worked even with 3 percent battery, 3G connection, and constant dripping of water. In another post, he said that he is surprised how many people are unaware of the iPhone's emergency function.

So, how does the emergency services feature work on the iPhone?

Blakey revealed the information about a really important feature of an iPhone. For those who are unaware, the emergency services get activated when you press the side button five times on an iPhone 7 or earlier. Well, for an iPhone 8 and later models, you just need to press and hold the side button until the Emergency SOS slider appears. If you continue to hold down the side button and volume button, a countdown and an alert sound begins. After that, the iPhone automatically calls the local emergency number such as police, fire, or ambulance. You can even add the emergency contacts who will get the alert text message in an emergency situation.

Here is how the Call emergency services work

Make the call on iPhone 8 or later:

Step 1: An iPhone showing the power off slider, the Medical ID slider, and the Emergency SOS slider. The Emergency SOS slider is counting down.

Step 2: Press and hold the side button and one of the volume buttons until the Emergency SOS slider appears.

Step 3: Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services. If you continue to hold down the side button and volume button, instead of dragging the slider, a countdown begins and an alert sounds. If you hold down the buttons until the countdown ends, your iPhone automatically calls emergency services.

Make the call on iPhone 7 or earlier:

Step 1:

Rapidly press the side (or top) button five times. The Emergency SOS slider will appear. (In India, you only need to press the button three times, then your iPhone automatically calls emergency services.)

Step 2:

Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services.

Step 3:

After the call ends, your iPhone sends your emergency contacts a text message with your current location, unless you choose to cancel. If Location Services is off, it will temporarily turn on. If your location changes, your contacts will get an update, and you'll get a notification about 10 minutes later.

Step 4:

If you use the Emergency SOS shortcut, you need to enter your passcode to re-enable Touch ID, even if you don't complete a call to emergency services.