iPhone 14 owners in France, Germany, Ireland and the UK can now use emergency satellite communication if cellular or Wi-Fi goes down.

Emergency SOS is a new security feature introduced in iPhone 14 that lets you contact emergency services when users don’t have a regular cellular or Wi-Fi signal. The feature was launched in the US and Canada last month, and is currently available in France, Germany, Ireland and the UK.

In an emergency, iPhone owners can contact emergency services via text (not phone calls). After the usual way to ask for help doesn’t work, iPhone 14 will offer “Report an emergency” and provide you with a questionnaire to collect information.

Answers to the questionnaire will be sent along with your location, altitude, iPhone battery level and your medical ID (if available). You can also notify the contacts you’ve selected for emergency notifications.

“Emergency services will be able to do their work better thanks to the information received. At the end of the day, it will help save lives,” says John Anthony, president of the British Association of Public Safety Officers.

Reporters from The Verge, who tested the feature recently in a park in Brooklyn, say that Emergency SOS worked well. It is noted that sending messages may take a minute or more depending on the signal between the phone and the satellite. You can also share your location with friends and family via satellite with Find My, even in non-emergency situations.

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Apple says the Emergency SOS feature will roll out to more countries next year. With the purchase of a compatible iPhone (including models 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max), the function will be available for free for two years – there is no information about what price will be set after the end of the period.

Residents of Europe, the United States, and Canada can use the demo mode to familiarize themselves with the feature. To access it, select Settings – SOS Emergency Call – Satellite SOS Emergency Call – Try Demo.

You’ll be shown a brief overview of how the feature works, and then you can temporarily turn off your cellular connection to try to connect to the satellite. After that, you can take part in a trial conversation, supposedly with emergency services.

Alternatively, consider Garmin’s InReach Messenger satellite communicator, which lets you send and receive text messages outside of cellular coverage. The InReach Messenger battery promises up to 28 days of battery life at default settings. The device has an IPX7 rating, which means it can survive immersion in water at a depth of up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.

However, all features in Reach Messenger are paid. A monthly subscription costs $15, but the price can go as high as $65 if you want unlimited text messages and very short tracking intervals (2+ minutes). The communicator itself costs $300.

Garmin InReach Messenger — a new $300 satellite communicator with IPX7 waterproofing and a 28-day battery life