How to set up Emergency SOS on Android

Why Android setup looks different on every phone

Android is made by many companies, and each can change the Settings app. Google's own version of the safety tools lives in the Personal Safety app, which Google says appears in your app list simply as Safety, and in a Safety & emergency section of Settings on phones that include it. Samsung Galaxy phones have their own Safety and emergency section with a similar but not identical set of features. Other makers may use their own names or place these options elsewhere.

So treat the steps below as the two most common paths, not the only ones. If your phone does not match either, open Settings and search for "emergency" or "SOS". Whatever the menus are called, you are looking for the same four things: an SOS trigger, emergency contacts, medical information, and location sharing with those contacts.

Google notes that Emergency SOS is available on Android 12 and later, and that some steps require touching the screen. It also warns that Emergency SOS doesn't work in airplane mode or when Battery Saver is on, which is worth remembering if you switch on battery saving to stretch a long hike.

Set up Emergency SOS on Google Pixel and phones with Google's Safety app

These steps follow Google's Android Help page. Labels may differ slightly between versions.

Set up Emergency SOS on a Samsung Galaxy phone

Samsung's US support page gives this path. Samsung says the phone must have an active SIM card to send an SOS alert.

• Samsung says you start SOS by pressing the Side button five times in a row.
• Samsung says your location, a photo and a voice recording are sent the first time, and updated locations follow every 15 minutes for 24 hours until the alert is stopped.
• Samsung also offers Emergency sharing under Safety and emergency, which sends your contacts your location and a low battery warning, with optional pictures and audio.

Add emergency info and contacts to your lock screen

If a stranger finds you, your lock screen should tell them who you are and who to call. Google says anyone who picks up your phone can see your lock screen message and emergency information even when it is locked, which is exactly the point.

On phones with Google's Safety app: open Safety, sign in, tap Your info, then Medical information to add things like blood type, allergies or medications, and Emergency contacts, then Add contact. To show it when locked, tap Emergency info access, then Show when locked. To let it reach responders, Google also offers Share during emergency call under Emergency Info access. Someone can view it from a locked phone by swiping up and tapping Emergency, then View emergency info.

On Samsung: open Settings, Safety and emergency, then Emergency contacts to add people, and Medical info to enter conditions, allergies, medications or blood type. Tap Save. For ideas on what to include, see what to put on a Medical ID; the same advice applies on Android.

Use Safety Check and emergency sharing before a solo outing

Emergency SOS needs you to press the button. Google's Safety Check covers the times you cannot, and it is the Android feature most useful for a solo run, ride or hike.

Open the Safety app, tap Safety Check, choose a reason and a duration (Google says up to 24 hours), tap Next, pick your contacts and tap Start. When time is up you get 60 seconds to respond with I'm OK, Start sharing now, or Call 911. If you do nothing, emergency sharing begins and Google texts your contacts a link to your real-time location and battery in Google Maps. You can add time from the app or the notification, but Google says a Safety Check can't run beyond 24 hours past its original start.

Google adds an important detail: if your phone turns off or loses signal, the Safety Check stays active and starts an emergency share with your last known location at the scheduled time. Emergency sharing itself needs at least one emergency contact and an internet connection with location on, and Google says it ends automatically after 24 hours.

Google says Pixel 4a and later phones also have Car Crash Detection, which is built to detect severe car crashes. Google adds that it may not detect all crashes and that high-impact activities could also trigger it. For how that kind of detection behaves outdoors, see iPhone Crash Detection for runners and cyclists; the same caution applies.

Test your setup, and fix what doesn't work

Ten minutes of testing at home is worth a lot more than finding out on a trail that your contact's number was out of date. If something fails, the fixes below come from Google's and Samsung's help pages.

• Check your emergency contacts know they are listed, and what you want them to do if they get an SOS message from you.
• Open your lock screen's emergency info view yourself to confirm the right details show.
• Start a short Safety Check around the block and end it with I'm OK, so you know how the prompt looks.
• Do not practice the five-press trigger unless you have a confirmation step or countdown on, and even then be ready to cancel. If a call connects, stay on the line and explain.

Where Holler fits on an Android phone

Holler does not have an Android app, and it does not need one. It runs in your phone's browser, so you can start a live share from Chrome on any Android phone. Your Guardians open the link in any browser, whatever phone they carry, with no account.

Where Safety Check is one timer to your emergency contacts, Holler is built around a whole outing: a live route your Guardians can watch, a manual SOS to all of them at once, and a return time. If you miss that return time by five minutes, Holler's server sends an overdue alert by email and push even if your browser tab is closed. Holler does not contact emergency services and cannot send texts, so keep Emergency SOS set up for 911.

For the recipient's side of things, share how to be a good safety contact with the people you choose. If you ever can't speak on a call, can you text 911 explains when texting works, and how to call 911 if you do not know where you are covers giving your location.