don't pick a carrier or port your number during the setup, you will see SOS on your phone (provided you are in range of a cellular tower obviously). I have one of these sitting on my kitchen table.
Your iPhone or cellular-equippediPadcan also display SOS in the status bar. However, the meaning is less about the phone being in trouble and more about what it cannot do. What does SOS mean on an iPhone? If you see either the term SOS or the phrase "SOS only" in the status bar, ...