Newer phones can reach emergency services by satellite when there is no mobile network. That is a real step forward, and it does a different job from LastBar. Here is where it works, where it does not, and how the two fit together.
On the iPhone: Emergency SOS via satellite
Apple's Emergency SOS via satellite works on the iPhone 14 and later, when there is neither mobile signal nor Wi-Fi. The iPhone tries it only after a call or text to emergency services has failed, and you need to be outside with a clear view of the sky and the horizon. By Apple's own page, it is free for two years after the iPhone is activated, and it is available in 21 countries and regions, among them the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, much of Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
On Android: Satellite SOS
Google's Satellite SOS works on Pixel phones from the Pixel 9 on, but not the Pixel 9a, in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, Australia and much of Europe, as Google's help page listed them. It needs a clear view of the sky and Google Messages as the default messaging app. Samsung offers satellite messaging and emergency features on some Galaxy phones through certain carriers, in parts of North America, Europe and Japan, and the list grows as carriers sign up.
Where it does not work
Neither Apple's nor Google's list included South Africa, Namibia, Botswana or most of Africa, South America and Asia when we checked. There, and on older or other phones, satellite SOS is not there to fall back on. Even where it works, it needs open sky: in a deep valley, a forest or a gorge it may not connect.
Where LastBar fits
| Satellite SOS on a phone | LastBar | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Texts emergency services by satellite | Guides you to the nearest mobile signal |
| Where | Supported phones, in supported countries, under open sky | Any Android 8.0 or later and iPhone with iOS 16 or later, wherever its map has data |
| For what | Emergencies | An emergency call on any carrier, a call or SMS on your own, or data |
| Cost | Free for a time on the iPhone; depends on phone and carrier on Android | Free |
The two work well together. If your phone has satellite SOS and you are in danger with no signal, use it. For everything else, and in the many countries where satellite SOS is not offered, LastBar shows you where your phone will work again.
What Apple's and Google's services do, and where, is as their own support pages said on 26 October 2026, and Samsung's as its announcement of February 2026. The lists change often; check them before you travel.
