How to Add ICE to Your Cell Phone

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: September 16, 2021 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to add an "in case of emergency" (ICE) contact to your iPhone or Android phone. You can do this by using the built-in Health app for your iPhone or by using an app called "QuickICE" on your Android. On Samsung Galaxy phones, you can use the built-in Samsung Contacts app to assign emergency contacts that will display on your lock screen.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

On iPhone

1. 1
   Open your iPhone's

   Settings. Tap the grey app with gears on it. You'll usually find Settings on the Home Screen.
2. 2
   Scroll down and tap SOS. It's in the third group of options on the Settings page.
3. 3
   Tap Set up Emergency Contacts in Health. This is near the bottom of the screen.
4. 4
   Tap Create Medical ID. It's in the middle of the page.
5. 5
   Make sure that the "Show When Locked" switch is green

   . This option is at the top of the screen. If the switch isn't green, tap it to turn it on before proceeding.
6. 6
   Scroll down and tap add emergency contact. You'll find it at the bottom of the screen.
7. 7
   Select a contact. Scroll to the contact whom you want to add as your emergency contact, then tap their name.

   • The contact whom you choose must have a phone number in your phone rather than a Facebook profile (or something similar).
8. 8
   Select a relationship when prompted. Tap a type of relationship (e.g., mother, partner, etc.). You may need to scroll down to find the one that you want to use.
9. 9
   Tap Done. It's in the top-right corner of the screen. Doing so saves your emergency contact.

   • By default in iOS 11, you can access the SOS menu by clicking quickly the "Lock" button five times in a row. You can then slide the Medical ID switch right to open the Medical ID page, which includes your ICE contact.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

On Android

1. 1
   Download QuickICE. Not all Androids have the option to add an emergency contact, but you can use an app called QuickICE to set up ICE contacts and access them from the lock screen. To download:

   • Open a browser on your Android.
   • Go to the QuickICE page.
   • Tap OPEN IN PLAY STORE
   • Tap INSTALL
   • Tap AGREE
2. 2
   Open QuickICE. Tap OPEN in the Google Play Store, or tap the snowflake-shaped QuickICE icon in your Android's App Drawer.
3. 3
   Tap →. It's in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
4. 4
   Tap Allow when prompted. This will allow QuickICE to access your contacts and phone app.
5. 5
   Tap the "Contacts" icon. It's the silhouette of a person in the bottom-right corner of the screen. A pop-up menu will appear.
6. 6
   Tap Import from Contacts. This option is at the top of the pop-up group of options.
7. 7
   Select a contact. Scroll to the contact whom you want to add as your emergency contact, then tap their name.
8. 8
   Add QuickICE to your Android's lock screen. To do so:

   • Swipe down from the top of the screen twice.
   • Tap
   • Scroll down to the ICE tile.
   • Tap and drag ICE into the darker section of the menu at the top of the screen.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

On Samsung Galaxy

1. 1
   Open the Contacts app. Open the Samsung Contacts app that came pre-installed on your Samsung Galaxy phone.

   • This is only possible with Samsung's Contacts app. It can be downloaded from the Galaxy Apps store.
2. 2
   Tap ⋮. It's on the top-right of the screen. This opens a drop-down menu.
3. 3
   Tap Groups. It's the first option in the drop-down menu.
4. 4
   Tap ICE - emergency contacts. It's the first group at the top.
5. 5
   Tap EDIT. It's at the top of the screen.
6. 6
   Tap ＋ Add member.
7. 7
   Tap all the contacts you want to add. When a contact is selected, a checkmark will appear over the profile image of the contact and that contact's name will appear at the top.

   • Tap the - next to the contact's name at the top to remove them from the ICE group.
8. 8
   Tap DONE. It's at the top-right of the screen.
9. 9
   Tap SAVE. It's at the top-right of the screen.
10. 10
    Tap

    twice to return to the main contacts page. In the event of an emergency, you can now quickly access your Emergency Contacts from the lock-screen on your phone by pressing the Emergency Call button.

Tips

• Attaching your contact's social media information will help first responders or medical professionals get into contact with them if they can't reach your ICE contact's phone number.

Warnings

• You should make sure that your ICE contacts are still correct and available on the lock screen after your phone updates.

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