Advice on setting up your ICE information on a Mobile Phone

Bob Tinley writes –

“Access to mobile phones is usually restricted to the person who knows the pass code, but they have a facility that allows anyone to make an emergency call for assistance, known as ‘ICE’, or ‘In Case of Emergency’. Also accessible is any medical data you are willing to share and the phone number of someone you would like to be contacted. This could be particularly useful if you have diabetes that medical staff should know about. For more information about the “ICE” system and how to set it up on Android and Apple phones see below.”

Using ICE on Android and Apple phones

1. What’s it all about?
   1. You probably protect your phone from unauthorized access by using a pass code.
   2. There may be occasions, “In Case of Emergency”, when you would like someone else to use your phone to make an emergency call, to call your next of kin, or to see what medication you take, or to see your medical condition e.g. diabetes.
   3. When you have set up your ICE information on your phone it can be seen by others without them needing your passcode. It is important to state that you should only input information that you want to share with other people in an emergency situation.
   4. We, CTC Coventry, are keen that people riding with us set up ICE on their phones because it will not only simplify getting help for you if necessary, but it will ease the assistance process for other members of your riding group.
2. How do I use it on an Apple Phone?
   1. Tap the screen to wake up the phone.
   2. Sweep your finger on the screen upwards from the bottom which will cause the security keypad to be displayed.
   3. Tap “Emergency” at the bottom left of the screen to cause another keypad to be displayed. You can use that to ring 999, or any other appropriate number.
   4. There may also be displayed “* Medical ID” in the bottom left of the screen – tapping this will give you access to any medical information and next of kin data.
3. How do I use it on an Android Phone?
   1. Tap the screen to wake up the phone.
   2. Sweep your finger on the screen upwards from the bottom which will cause the security keypad to be displayed.
   3. Tap “Emergency” at the bottom of the screen to cause another keypad to be displayed. You can use that to ring 999, or any other appropriate number.
   4. Tap “View emergency info” to access any medical information and next of kin data.
4. How do I set up ICE information on an Apple Phone?
   1. Select Settings / Emergency SOS. This will give you a few options for you to make your own emergency call, plus “Edit Emergency Contacts in Health”. Tapping that will take you into the Health App (a white icon with a red heart).
   2. Or you can go straight to the Health App and start filling in the information you want to share. There are also opportunities to fill in and monitor general health and well-being statistics, but that is the province of another conversation.
   3. It is important under “Emergency Access” that you enable “Show when locked” if you want “* Medical ID” to be displayed as described in 2.4.
5. How do I set up ICE information on an Android Phone?
   1. Open Settings and select Safety and emergency.
   2. Select “Medical info” to add any medical information about yourself, which you think might be important to know by people who give you a treatment. Enable “Show on Lock screen”.
   3. Select “Emergency contacts” to add people who can help you in an emergency. Tap on Add emergency contact, this will display all your Contacts, select the one you need. You can add more people if you wish. Enable “Show on Lock screen”.