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Comment by gpas | Hacker News Reader

I just don't get how smartphones still don't have a well designed way to quickly ask for help in cases like this, or even worse if you are not lost but injured. A big configurable button that when tapped tries to fix gps and send your position to the numbers you choose when the cell signal is strong enough. Going alone in the wild is amazing but can be dangerous even for the expert.

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Actually I just realized that from lock screen of my phone, tapping on emergency also shows "What's my location".

Besides GPS, it sadly also needs/uses internet connection and then shows street address.

Oh and last time our car died in some small town with unpronounceable German name - once I called insurance (with roadside assistance module), operator sent me SMS, shortened URL opened up web browser and page asked for permission to get GPS access, and 10 seconds later she had exact Lat/Long on her screen.

Here is a service that lets you request anyone's location like the insurance operator did for you. Super easy and handy when you're trying to find someone who's not able to find their coordinates on their phone themselves.

https://yourlo.ca/tion

Hah, cute URL, but for non-technical users they'll wonder where to put the dot and slash (or even why it needs seemingly random characters there)

When del.icio.us was around, after a while I wondered where the first . needed to be.

Having the site be yourlocation.com or whatsmylocation.com would be a lot better.

Agreed. It's definitely something you should bookmark or add as an icon on your phone.

Another neat app is Backcountry SOS which is nice because it gathers your location and status and doesn't require an internet connection. It generates a text message you can send to 911 or anyone else.

https://www.backcountrysos.com/

Generally, you may be able to get an SMS out in an area with marginal cellphone coverage even when voice doesn't work. Turn on voice roaming for better results.

It exists on iOS: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT208076

Though honestly not the most obvious or accessible thing. Most people would probably just call the emergency number directly instead of using the convoluted button combination.

"You can also add emergency contacts. After an emergency call has ended, your iPhone will alert your emergency contacts with a text message, unless you choose to cancel this option. Your iPhone sends them your current location, and, for a period of time after you enter SOS mode, it sends updates to your emergency contacts when your location changes."

Thanks, for the correction, well done Apple. After further research turns out that I was wrong also about Android https://support.google.com/android/answer/9319337

Also if you call 911, the SOS contacts are also notified.

Found that out when my daughter got ahold of her dozing grandmothers phone while myself and her grandfather were running errands.

Some type of dead-man's switch would be nice - "send my last location if my battery dies."

That would be nice! There are several ways for others to get your last known location even long after your battery has died, but all the ones I know of require you to continuously track your location, which drains battery too fast for use on longer hikes...

For example, you can use "Share My Location" in Google maps. If your phone dies, the person you shared to can still see what your last location was. But since it's continually sharing your location the whole time, it drains the battery a lot. Strava's activity tracker has a similar feature, but I think only available while you're actively recording a GPS tracklog.

>you can use "Share My Location" in Google maps ... it's continually sharing your location the whole time, it drains the battery a lot

I use this with my GF, the impact on battery life is unnoticeable under normal conditions (i.e. compared to other stuff that you normally do on a phone). If you're aiming for multiple days of standby, with radios off and little screen-on time, then you'll obviously notice the drain.

If it sends the location at 5% battery power it's close enough to be in the vicinity and doesn't continuously drain the battery.

I don't use "share my location" in google maps, but I do use "my timeline", which is basically the same data, and timestreamed. I can't say I've noticed any significant battery drain from it, and I can't imagine sharing that costing anything more on the client end.

The 911 system in the US is slowly modernizing and more and more agencies support E911 and NG911 capabilities.

Additionally both Android and iOS support location sharing with dispatch centers and more and more jurisdictions across the country are capable of receiving that info. So, we're getting there.

https://www.blog.google/products/android/expanding-emergency...

https://rapidsos.com/our-latest/google-and-rapidsos-partner/

https://rapidsos.com/our-latest/apples-ios-12-securely-and-a...

I have set up a Macro using MacroDroid (Android App) that will respond with my location if an approved contact sends a certain phrase. Because it uses SMS, I think it should work where signal is spotty.

You can also use the app to listen for certain Intents (like a button sequence on a smart watch) and perform the same location/sms action.

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