Emergency Bypass

Emergency Bypass is a phone feature that allows calls and texts to override silent or do not disturb settings from specified contacts. When Emergency Bypass is enabled, calls and texts will play a sound even if the phone is in silent or do not disturb mode, increasing the chances that two people can connect in an urgent situation. This is often most useful if you need to reach someone in the middle of the night when they might be sleeping or at a time when they are not paying as much attention to their phone.

I like to set up Emergency Bypass on close friends’ and/or family members’ phones when I am with them by finding myself in their phone and enabling emergency bypass for my contact. I often only have it on for finite periods of time, and show them how to disable the feature once it’s no longer needed. Outlined below are some of the situations where setting up emergency bypass can be useful

• You’re approaching your due date and could be going to the hospital at any moment. Turn on Emergency Bypass for your contact in your partner’s phone so if you’re not together when it’s go-time, they’ll get your call.
• You already have one or more children and are approaching your due date with a new baby. Turn this on for your contact in a local friend or family member’s phone who can come to your house to stay with your sleeping children if you have to go to the hospital in the middle of the night.
• You’re going on a trip and leaving your children with a caregiver. Enable Emergency Bypass for the caregiver on your phone to ensure they can reach you if anything comes up with your children.