Short answer: every mobile phone treats 112 and 911 as emergency numbers, on any network it can reach, whatever country it is in, and on many phones with no SIM at all. What it cannot do is call with no network in reach at all.
Why 112 and 911 are special
Mobile networks are built to the standards of 3GPP. They say that a phone must always take 112 and 911 as emergency numbers, stored in the phone itself, with a SIM or without. For such a number the phone does not place an ordinary call: it asks for an emergency call, which any network in reach takes, of any carrier, with no credit, and which the network sends on to an emergency service of the place.
So when your own network has no signal but another carrier's does, an emergency call may still go through where an ordinary call would not.
What that does not mean
- It does not work with no network at all. If no tower of any carrier reaches you, the call cannot connect. Then only satellite, from a phone that offers it or a satellite messenger, can reach help.
- Your country's own number may differ. 112 and 911 work from a mobile phone almost everywhere, but the number people know locally may be another: 000 in Australia, 111 in New Zealand, 999 in the UK. Those work too.
- Some local numbers are ordinary calls. In South Africa, 112 is the emergency number from a mobile phone; the police on 10111 and the ambulance on 10177 are, from many mobile phones, ordinary calls that need your own network.
- Where the call lands is up to the network. In a country with separate numbers for the police, the ambulance and the fire service, a 112 call may reach one of them first.
Numbers in some countries
| Country | Emergency number | Also works from a mobile |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 112 from mobiles; 10111 police, 10177 ambulance and fire | 112, 911 |
| United States, Canada | 911 | 112 |
| United Kingdom | 999 or 112 | 911 |
| European Union | 112 | 911 |
| Australia | 000 | 112, 911 |
| New Zealand | 111 | 112, 911 |
| Namibia | 10111 police | 112, 911 |
| Botswana | 999 police, 997 ambulance, 998 fire | 112, 911 |
The LastBar app ships with the emergency numbers of the countries it knows, and shows those of the country you are in, with no connection.
Questions people ask
Does 112 work with no SIM card?
On most phones, yes: the standards of mobile networks say a phone must treat 112 and 911 as emergency numbers with a SIM or without, and any network in reach takes the call. Some countries limit calls from phones with no SIM, so do not rely on it alone.
Does 911 work outside North America?
From a mobile phone, yes in almost every country: phones treat 911 as an emergency number everywhere, as they do 112, and the network passes the call to the local emergency service.
Does 112 work on another carrier's network?
Yes. An emergency call can use any network your phone can reach, not only your own. That is why, with no bars, it is worth trying, and why LastBar's Find Signal looks at every carrier for an emergency call.
Does 112 work with no signal at all?
No. If no network reaches your phone, no call can go through. Then only satellite, from a phone that offers it or a satellite messenger, can reach help.
