Order the King of Android! Get your Galaxy S25 Ultra today! Follow us on Google news!

SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn a commission.

News For You
Notifications

Latest Galaxy S23 update makes important change to emergency SOS feature

Phone
By 

Last updated: June 23rd, 2023 at 00:10 UTC+02:00

Samsung made up for the delayed release of the June 2023 update for the Galaxy S23 flagship by packing the update with a sizable number of improvements and a couple of new features. The update debuted a few days back in some Asian countries and expanded to Europe this week, and we've discovered that the update makes an important change to how the emergency SOS feature works on the Galaxy S23 series phones.

On older versions of One UI, Samsung Galaxy phones dialed an emergency number when the power button was pressed three times in quick succession, and the emergency SOS feature was always enabled. Samsung later added the option to disable the feature, and on newer phones, such as the Galaxy S23, Samsung also changed the required power key presses from three to five to bring things in line with how they work on Google's stock version of Android.

Emergency SOS call shortcut cannot be disabled anymore

But with the June update that is rolling out to the Galaxy S23 series right now, Samsung has removed the ability to turn off the emergency SOS feature. It's unclear if this was a deliberate change or an accidental one, but once you install the June update, pressing the power key five times will initiate a call to whatever emergency response number is used in your country (for example, it's set to call 911 in the US and 112 in India).

Here's how the emergency SOS menu, accessed from the Safety and emergency section of the device's settings, looked before (left) vs how it looks now (right):

Galaxy S23 emergency sos change

Now, it's not exactly easy to accidentally press the power key five times and initiate an unwanted emergency call. It's also not a good idea to disable a feature that could help you in a crisis. In fact, most people probably aren't even aware that you could disable the emergency SOS shortcut in the first place, so this change isn't likely to affect most users.

But those who did know and had it disabled should keep in mind that after updating to the June firmware, the emergency SOS shortcut will be permanently enabled. Whether or not this is something Samsung will address with future updates remains to be seen, but we will be sure to let you know if anything changes, so stay tuned!

Thanks for the tip, Dave!

Phone Galaxy S23Galaxy S23 PlusGalaxy S23 UltraJune 2023 security patch
Galaxy AI summarized

Scroll for more related content
News For You

You might also like

We’re the closest we’ve ever been to official One UI 7 release

We’re the closest we’ve ever been to official One UI 7 release

With the Galaxy S25 going on sale on February 7, One UI 7 should soon start rolling out to older Galaxy devices.

  • By Abhijeet Mishra
  • 2 weeks ago
Samsung monthly updates: February 2025 security patch detailed

Samsung monthly updates: February 2025 security patch detailed

A lot of Galaxy devices still haven't received their first security update of 2025, but Samsung is already plowing ahead with preparations for the second one. The company has released details of the security fixes that are coming to Galaxy devices with the February 2025 security patch. As always, the latest patch brings fixes from […]

  • By Abhijeet Mishra
  • 2 weeks ago
What is the newest Samsung phone? – January 2025

What is the newest Samsung phone? – January 2025

It has often been difficult to keep track of the newest Samsung phone given that the company releases so many throughout the year. Samsung has dozens of models across different series which cater to all price ranges. This page will be updated on a monthly basis to ensure that you can always know what is […]

  • By Adnan Farooqui
  • 4 weeks ago
One UI 7 lets you blur any wallpaper for that extra artistic look

One UI 7 lets you blur any wallpaper for that extra artistic look

Everyone likes a nice wallpaper, and some of us change the wallpaper on our phones more often than others. But choosing the right wallpaper can sometimes be a chore, particularly for those who put a lot of app shortcuts and widgets on the home screen. A busy wallpaper can interfere with the app icons and […]

  • By Abhijeet Mishra
  • 1 month ago
Prepare your Galaxy device for the One UI 7.0 (Android 15) update

Prepare your Galaxy device for the One UI 7.0 (Android 15) update

One UI 7.0, based on Android 15, is the first big operating system upgrade of 2025 for Galaxy smartphones and tablets. For those who have been living under a rock, yes, the latest version of Android and One UI is arriving later than usual. One UI 7 is the biggest One UI update since version […]

  • By Abhijeet Mishra
  • 1 month ago
Galaxy S23 lineup gets January 2025 software update for better security

Galaxy S23 lineup gets January 2025 software update for better security

Samsung has released a new software update for the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra in Europe and select markets, such as India, in other regions. This update brings the January 2025 security patch to 2023's flagship Galaxy S lineup, and you can identify it by the build number S91*BXXS7CXL2. Samsung has not […]

  • By Abhijeet Mishra
  • 1 month ago