Emergency SOS on iPhone: How to set it up and activate Pocket-lint (Pocket-lint) - There are so many software features built into iPhone, some are easy enough to find, others are a little more hidden but they are not only very useful, but good for safety too. When setup, Emergency SOS on iPhone doesn't just give you a quick option to call emergency services if you're in trouble, but it will also automatically alert your emergency contacts to your location. There are a couple of different options for setting up and activating Emergency SOS on iPhone. We've run through them all below to help you make sure your iPhone is ready to help you as much as possible if you ever feel unsafe or need to contact emergency services.