Over the last few years, Apple has been steadily expanding its emergency SOS features to more devices and additional countries. Now, the company’s Roadside Assistance via Satellite has launched in the U.K. for the first time.
Roadside Assistance via Satellite allows you to contact breakdown services when you’re having car trouble but lack any kind of reliable mobile service. As the name suggests, it instead lets you connect to a satellite in order to broadcast calls and messages.
With Roadside Assistance via Satellite, you can call rescue companies or text them to let them know what the problem is. To access it, you need to open the Mobile Data section of Control Centre or the Satellite section of the Settings app.
Alternatively, you can open the Messages app , start a new message, then input the recipient as “Roadside Assistance” and follow the instructions to get connected.
Once you’ve launched Roadside Assistance via Satellite, you’ll be prompted to connect to a satellite. Next, you’ll be asked to answer a few questions identifying the problem with your vehicle. Those details, as well as your location, are then passed on to the roadside assistance company.
What iPhone do you need?
(Image credit: Apple)
Aside from being in a country where Roadside Assistance via Satellite is covered, you also need to have an iPhone 14 or later that’s running iOS 17 or later. As well as that, the feature will only kick in once you are in an area that lacks mobile or Wi-Fi connectivity.
Apple includes two years of Roadside Assistance via Satellite for free when you activate a new iPhone. In the UK, the roadside assistance provider is Green Flag – while Apple’s feature itself is free to open, you’ll need to pay Green Flag any relevant charges for its help.
The feature initially launched exclusively in the US in 2023, with the UK now becoming the only other place where it’s available. Apple hasn’t said whether other nations will get coverage, but considering some of Apple’s other emergency features – such as Emergency SOS via Satellite – are now available in 17 different countries, we hope it will expand Roadside Assistance via Satellite elsewhere in the future.
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