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      How to turn on Emergency Bypass for Share911 text messages on iPhone

      How to turn on Emergency Bypass for Share911 text messages on iPhone

      Many people have their mobile device silenced during their workday. Share911 delivers critical emergency alerts via text message so if your mobile device is silenced or on vibrate, you may not hear or notice the alert. 

      Luckily, Apple recently introduced a feature called "Emergency Bypass" which solves this problem. Your iPhone software is iOS 10 or higher in order to use Emergency Bypass.

      You should already have a contact named Share911 on your phone from when you enrolled.  Please double check that the number is correct since we have recently switched to using our Short Code, 48502, for all SMS notifications.  If you do not have a contact already, or the number is different, please create/adjust it now.

      You should also assign a unique (and loud) Text Tone (not ringtone) to that contact in order to ensure that you know when an emergency is happening where you work!

      Once that is done and you have a contact called Share911 on your phone, follow these steps to enable Emergency Bypass:

      1. Launch Contacts from your Home screen.
      2. Tap on the Share911 contact you want on Emergency Bypass.
      3. Tap Edit.

      4. Tap Text Tone

      5. Tap the Emergency Bypass switch. The switch should be green when it's enabled.
      6. Tap Done
      7. Tap Done again

      Important Safety Note: During an actual emergency, you may decide that it is best for your phone to no longer make a sound after you receive the initial alert. To disable Emergency Bypass, follow the same steps but turn the Emergency Bypass switch off.

        How to Get Emergency Bypass to Work with Apple Watch

        Having an Apple Watch connected to your iPhone can interfere with your notifications when you have Emergency Bypass activated. Here are the steps to get emergency bypass to work with your Apple Watch:

        On iPhone go to “Watch”

        Then “Messages”

        Then “Custom”

        Then “Send To Notification Center”

        This should allow you to receive your Emergency Bypass Notifications on your iPhone from the desired contacts while still having your Apple Watch on and connected. The only downside is although you’ll still get phone call notifications you won’t receive text notifications on your Apple Watch.

         

        Troubleshooting

        If you are not receiving audible notifications, please see this article for help:
        Troubleshooting Audible Notifications