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How to set up an Emergency contact on iPhone

Here is the easiest way to set up an Emergency contact on your iPhone.

The iPhone series has many safety features installed to try and keep its users safe and to make it easy to warn emergency services, friends and family if you happen to be in an accident.

While we hope that you don’t need to use your emergency contacts often, if at all, it’s important to make sure that you have set up these features, just in case. If you’re interested in learning how to set up your Emergency SOS feature, make sure to check out our how-to on the topic.

But if you’re looking to add emergency contacts to your device, make sure you keep reading. This is important as they will be notified when you use the Emergency SOS feature, and they will also be notified of your location.

What you’ll need: 

The Short Version 

  • Open up the Health app
  • Click on your Profile picture
  • Click on Medical ID
  • Press Add Emergency Contact
  • Click on the contact you want to add
  • Pick which relationship you have with this person
  • Press Done
  1. Step
    1

    Open up the Health app

    Unlock your iPhone and click on the Health app. If you have uninstalled it, you can download it for free from the App Store. The Health app on the iPhone

  2. Step
    2

    Click on your Profile picture

    Click on your Profile picture, it sits in the top right hand corner of the screen.Profile picture in the Health app

  3. Step
    3

    Click on Medical ID

    Click on the button called Medicial ID, it is the second option down in the menu. The Medical ID button in the Health app

  4. Step
    4

    Press Add Emergency Contact

    Scroll down and find the button that says Add Emergency Contact. Add Emergency contacts button

  5. Step
    5

    Click on the contact you want to add

    You will be presented with your contact list, pick the person who you want to add. Keep in mind that you can add more than one person to this list. Contacts listed in Health app

  6. Step
    6

    Pick which relationship you have with this person

    From the list presented, pick the option that closest represents the relationship you have with this person. Relationship list in Health app

  7. Step
    7

    Press Done

    Once you have finished adding your conatact, click the Done button to save your choices. The Done button in the Health app

Troubleshooting

How many emergency contacts can I add?

While Apple has not given a set number of how many emergency contacts you can add, we found that you can add at least three people. We recommend you pick people that you trust, are close to and that live near you, in case you need anyone to come to your aid.

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