As Apple extends its free iPhone emergency service, one driver has described how the service saved his and a passenger's lives when their Jeep overturned in the snow. Apple provides free satellite emergency service for two years to all iPhone users, and has now extended it for another year specifically for iPhone 14 users. One driver told People magazine that people are aware of the feature because he believes it saved his life and that of his passengers.

In January this year, Ryo Lu from San Francisco was driving in Banff with a friend when a sudden heavy snowfall occurred.

"We drove a rented jeep to Abraham Lake to take pictures," Lu said. "The car started drifting and then completely lost control - it rolled over into a snow bank on the side of the road and we were stuck there."

After they got out of the car, another passing driver invited Lu and his friend to sit in his car. But none of them had cell phone signals, so Lu said he remembered the satellite emergency distress software.

"It's kind of cool because you start pointing your phone up to the sky. Then it starts gathering critical information for emergency responders. The way it's designed is super simple, with very clear steps," he said.

"You turn on the phone and it shows where the satellite is, and when the satellite is in a good position it turns green. Then you can click some buttons to answer questions and get in touch with emergency services," Lu said.

Lu and his friend described the feature as "the quickest way to get help without a connection," but they still had to wait in a passerby's car for two hours before help arrived.

He said the first call using the service took less than ten minutes from picking up the iPhone to being told a tow truck had been dispatched.

Furthermore, even though the rental Jeep overturned in the snow, Lu said he still felt lucky. He said: "If we had driven a little further, I think we might have died on the cliff. This is a happy ending."

Lu added that having emergency calls via satellite was "really cool." "You don't think about it until it happens, and when it does, you get help. It feels amazing that something like this exists. I'm really grateful to be alive."

Apple’s satellite emergency distress feature will be launched on iPhone 14 in 2022, and iPhone 15 also has this feature.