Apple released iOS 16.4 with a lot of features earlier today. And now, the company has announced that iOS 16.4 brings the Emergency SOS via satellite feature to six more countries in Europe.

Apple introduced the Emergency SOS via satellite feature last year with the introduction of the iPhone 14 series. This feature allows the users to connect to a nearby satellite and send texts in case of emergency and no connectivity. It has already proven to be quite useful in a number of situations. And now, after launching it in key European countries last year, Apple has launched the service in six additional regions.

According to the press release, the feature is now available in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal. To access the Emergency SOS via satellite feature, users will need an iPhone 14, and the device must also be running iOS 16.4. The service is free to use for two years after activating an iPhone 14, and this two-year period will begin today for users in the newly supported countries announced today.

With iOS 16.4, Apple says a user dialing a local emergency number in the newly supported countries will automatically be redirected to 112, the European emergency number, in the event that the call fails due to no cellular or Wi-Fi connection. However, it is worth noting that some obstructions can result in messages taking longer to send or failing to send. The emergency satellite connectivity might also not work in places above 62° latitude.

Source: Apple