# Seven Emergency Features You Should Enable on Your Google Pixel
Your smartphone holds critical information about your health, location, and contacts. When disaster strikes, those details become lifelines. Google Pixel phones pack emergency features that most owners never activate. Enabling them now takes minutes but could save lives during a crisis.
Pixel phones offer native emergency tools beyond the standard 911 call. Here are the ones that matter most.
**Emergency SOS**
Hold down the power button and volume down button together to trigger Emergency SOS. This initiates an automatic countdown, then calls emergency services and alerts your designated emergency contacts. The feature works even with a locked phone and sends your location to responders and contacts automatically.
**Medical ID**
Add your blood type, allergies, medications, and emergency contacts to your Medical ID profile. Emergency responders can access this information from your lock screen without unlocking your phone. Open Settings, tap Safety and Emergency, then Medical ID. Fill in every field relevant to your health. This single step provides critical information when you cannot speak for yourself.
**Emergency Contacts**
Designate at least three trusted people as emergency contacts in Settings under Safety and Emergency. These people receive location alerts when you trigger Emergency SOS. Include a family member, close friend, and another trusted individual. Ensure they know their role and have working phone numbers listed.
**Location Sharing**
Enable location sharing with your emergency contacts. Go to Settings, Safety and Emergency, and toggle on Emergency location sharing. Your exact location transmits to emergency contacts and responders during a crisis. Update this setting every few months to ensure accuracy.
**Crash Detection**
Newer Pixel models include automatic crash detection. This feature identifies severe car accidents and can call emergency services automatically or after a brief confirmation period. Enable it in Settings under Safety and Emergency. The phone uses motion sensors and audio cues to detect sudden impacts.
**Fall Detection**
If you're older or live alone, fall detection activates automatically on eligible Pixel phones. The feature alerts emergency services if it detects a hard fall. Enable it in Settings under Safety and Emergency. Test it with your doctor to ensure sensitivity settings work for your situation.
**Disaster Alerts**
Turn on emergency alerts for your area. Settings, Apps and Notifications, then Advanced, then Emergency Alerts. Choose Wireless Emergency Alerts and Disaster Alerts. You'll receive weather warnings, AMBER alerts, and other public safety notifications specific to your location.
**What to do next**
Spend fifteen minutes right now configuring these features. Start with Medical ID, which requires the most detailed input. Move to Emergency SOS and emergency contacts next. Then enable location sharing, crash detection, and fall detection based on your circumstances. Finally, activate disaster alerts for your region.
Test your setup by asking an emergency contact to confirm they received location sharing permissions. Verify that Medical ID appears on your lock screen. Run through the Emergency SOS countdown once to understand the process.
Share these settings with family members who own Pixels. Prepare a simple instruction card for elderly relatives explaining how to use Emergency SOS. Print it and keep it near their phone.
Your Pixel phone becomes exponentially more useful during emergencies when you've prepared in advance. These features exist for a reason. Activate them today.