Tap With CareiPhone tips in plain English

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Set up Medical ID and emergency contacts

Medical ID puts your allergies, medicines, and emergency contacts on your iPhone, where first responders can see them even when it's locked. It takes about five minutes.

Set up your Medical ID

  1. Open the Health app. It's the white icon with a red heart.
  2. Tap your picture (or initials) at the top right, then tap Medical ID.
  3. Tap Get Started or Edit.
  4. Fill in what you're comfortable sharing, like medical conditions, allergies, medicines, and blood type.
  5. Under Emergency Contacts, tap Add Emergency Contact, then pick someone from your contacts.
  6. Scroll to the bottom and turn on Show When Locked and Emergency Call.
  7. Tap Done.

Your emergency contact needs to be saved in your contacts first. See Save a contact.

Call for help with Emergency SOS

Emergency SOS calls emergency services (911 in the U.S.) quickly, without unlocking your iPhone.

  1. Press and hold the side button and either volume button at the same time.
  2. Keep holding. Sliders appear and a countdown starts.
  3. When the countdown ends, let go. Your iPhone calls emergency services.

After the call ends, your iPhone texts your emergency contacts with your location, unless you choose to cancel.

Check your Emergency SOS settings

  1. Open Settings, then tap Emergency SOS.
  2. Look at Call with Hold and Release and Call with 5 Presses. Turn on the ones you want. "5 Presses" means you can quickly press the side button five times to start a call.

Called by mistake?

Apple says not to hang up. Wait until someone answers, then explain that you don't need help.

Good to know

  • To call 911 from a locked iPhone, tap Emergency on the passcode screen, then dial.
  • Anyone holding your iPhone can see your Medical ID from the Lock Screen. Only add what you're OK with others seeing.

Related guides

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Where these steps come from

Checked in November 2026 against the official pages below, using the newest iPhone software. Your screen may look a little different, especially on an older iPhone. The official page always has the latest steps.