Embodiments provide methods and systems for transmitting an emergency (SOS) message from a user (UE) to a cellular network in a highly robust and energy efficient manner. Specifically, embodiments enable the SOS message to be sent in a synchronous manner despite the asynchronous nature of the network, which significantly enhances the probability of successful reception of the SOS message by at least one base station (eNodeB) of the network. Embodiments further provide highly robust SOS message transmission and reception schemes configured to enhance the successful detection and decoding of the SOS message by at least one base station of the cellular network. In addition, embodiments enable the synchronous transmission of the SOS message to the network without requiring network attachment by the UE. This makes embodiments highly suited for emergency situations in which network coverage is affected and can enable significant and precious power savings at the UE.