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What is an ICE number?

A simple idea that started with a paramedic, and the reason it so often fails when it is needed most.

ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. An ICE number is the phone number of the person you want contacted if you are injured, unconscious, confused or otherwise unable to speak for yourself.

The convention began in the mid-2000s with a British paramedic who noticed that patients' phones were full of numbers, and that none of them told him which one to ring. Saving a contact as “ICE” made it obvious. The idea spread quickly because it costs nothing and solves a real problem.

Why it usually fails now

The original trick relied on being able to open the phone's contacts. Twenty years ago most phones had no lock. Today, nearly every phone is locked behind a passcode, face or fingerprint – so an “ICE” contact sitting in the address book is completely invisible to the person who needs it.

That is the whole problem. An ICE number is only useful if it can be read without unlocking the phone.

Where to put an ICE number so it actually gets used

1. On the lock screen wallpaper

The most visible option by a wide margin. Because the text is baked into the wallpaper image, it is on screen the instant anyone wakes the phone. No passcode, no menus, no internet.

2. In the phone's emergency card

Both platforms have one, and ambulance crews are trained to look for them.

• iPhone: Health → Medical ID → Edit. Turn on Show When Locked, or nobody can see it.
• Android: Settings → Safety & emergency → Medical info and Emergency contacts.

3. On something physical

A card in your wallet, a medical alert bracelet, or an engraved tag on a bag. Phones run out of battery; a card in a wallet does not. For anyone with a serious medical condition this is not optional – it is the primary method, and the phone is the backup.

Choosing the right ICE contact

The obvious choice is not always the right one. A good ICE contact:

• Answers unknown numbers. A hospital or a stranger will not show up as a saved contact. Someone who screens every call is no use.
• Knows your medical history – conditions, allergies, medications, and who your doctor is.
• Can be reached in the daytime. A partner who works underground or in an operating theatre may be unreachable for hours.
• Knows they are your ICE contact. Tell them. A call out of the blue from an emergency department is a rough way to find out.
• Is not travelling with you. If you are in a car together, one incident can take out both of you. Name someone at home as well.

Two contacts is better than one. Many people list a partner plus a sibling or adult child.

Common mistakes

• Using your own mobile number. Surprisingly common on lock screens. That is the phone in the responder's hand.
• Leaving off the country code. Write it as +61 400 000 000, not 0400 000 000. If you are found overseas, a local-format number cannot be dialled.
• Relying on a contact saved as “ICE” in the address book. Locked phone, invisible contact.
• Never updating it. People move, change numbers and split up. Check it once a year.
• Putting your home address on a lock screen. It tells a thief where the empty house is, and it does nothing to help a paramedic.

ICE for older people and carers

This is where an ICE number earns its keep. For someone living with dementia, epilepsy, diabetes or a heart condition, the lock screen is often the fastest route to a next of kin – and frequently the only one available to a stranger who has stopped to help in the street.

If you are setting a phone up for a parent or a client, the practical combination is: a clear ICE line on the lock screen wallpaper, the phone's built-in medical card filled in properly, and a card in the wallet saying the same thing.

Frequently asked questions