{"id":215386,"date":"2026-02-19T15:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/iphone-satellite-features-helped-lake-tahoe-avalanche-survivors-get-rescued\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T15:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:15:09","slug":"iphone-satellite-features-helped-lake-tahoe-avalanche-survivors-get-rescued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/iphone-satellite-features-helped-lake-tahoe-avalanche-survivors-get-rescued\/","title":{"rendered":"iPhone satellite features helped Lake Tahoe avalanche survivors\u00a0get rescued"},"content":{"rendered":"

iPhone satellite features helped Lake Tahoe avalanche survivors\u00a0get rescued<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/02\/19\/iphone-emergency-sos-satellite-lake-tahoe-avalanche-rescue\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-02-19 15:05:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: 9to5mac.com<\/a><\/p>\n

According to a report from The New York Times, survivors of the catastrophic avalanche near Lake Tahoe this week used Emergency SOS via satellite on iPhone to stay in contact with first responders.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the latest example of the life-saving impact of Apple\u2019s Emergency SOS and satellite features on iPhone and Apple Watch.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Emergency SOS via Satellite on iPhone and Apple Watch<\/h2>\n

Don O\u2019Keefe, Chief of Law Enforcement for the California Office of Emergency Services, says that the six survivors of the avalanche used Emergency SOS via satellite to stay in touch with the Nevada County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my personnel was communicating with one of the guides over a four-hour period, giving information back to the Nevada sheriff\u2019s office and coordinating what rescues could be permitted,\u201d O\u2019Keefe told the press on Wednesday. The skiers were part of a 15-person group on a multi-day trip through the Sierra Nevada mountains. While six survived, eight were killed. One person is still missing and presumed dead, according to CNN.<\/p>\n

Emergency SOS via satellite is supported on iPhone 14 or later, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 3. The feature kicks in when a user does not have cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity and attempts to contact emergency services.<\/p>\n

The user is then presented with a questionnaire that gathers information about their emergency. Their iPhone will guide them through process of where to point their iPhone or Apple Watch to connect to a satellite. The feature is free for two years after activation of an iPhone 14 or later or Apple Watch Ultra 3.<\/p>\n

Satellite connectivity on iPhone and Apple Watch can also be used to send iMessages and SMS messages, as well as to share location via Find My.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen countless examples of the Emergency SOS via satellite feature saving lives over the last several years:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apple has a detailed support document on how to use satellite connectivity features on iPhone and…<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

iPhone satellite features helped Lake Tahoe avalanche survivors\u00a0get rescued https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/02\/19\/iphone-emergency-sos-satellite-lake-tahoe-avalanche-rescue\/ Publish Date: 2026-02-19 15:05:00 Source…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":215387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/9to5mac.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/iPhone-satellite.jpg?resize=1200%2C628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[132],"class_list":["post-215386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iphone","tag-iphone-14"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215388,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215386\/revisions\/215388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}