How to set up fall detection on your Apple Watch
The fall detection feature of the Apple Watch has been credited with helping emergency services get to an unconscious driver following a collision -- here's how to set it up.
A tweet from the Surrey Police in the United Kingdom advises there was an incident on local roads one week prior, where a driver had been "involved in a collision" and "had been knocked unconscious." In the tweet, the police reveal there was a response to an alert generated by the Apple Watch's fall detection feature, which sent GPS data to emergency responders guiding them to the injured party.
Surrey Police advised to AppleInsider the man "remains in hospital in a serious, but stable condition." An appeal for witnesses further describes him as aged in his "early 30s," with the incident occurring at just after 2am GMT on November 2 at Gatton Park Road, Redhill.
In a follow-up tweet, the Surrey Police advise Apple Watch owners to consider setting up fall detection on their devices, as well as how to set up their medical ID, which can help emergency services identify the individual and to warn of existing medical conditions.
This is not the first time the Apple Watch's fall detection has been praised for saving a life. In April, an 80-year-old Munich woman was given assistance after the Apple Watch detected her fall in her apartment, while an 87-year-old woman in Maine was rescued by emergency services following a car accident in June.
Fall detection is available for anyone to set up on the Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5, but it is disabled by default for users under the age of 65. For people aged 65 or over, fall detection is automatically offered to be enabled as part of the setup process.
Apple does warn of the presence of false positives, where an action by the user could be misinterpreted as a fall. The more physically active the wearer, the more likely the feature will be triggered, especially for high-impact activities.
A tweet from the Surrey Police in the United Kingdom advises there was an incident on local roads one week prior, where a driver had been "involved in a collision" and "had been knocked unconscious." In the tweet, the police reveal there was a response to an alert generated by the Apple Watch's fall detection feature, which sent GPS data to emergency responders guiding them to the injured party.
Surrey Police advised to AppleInsider the man "remains in hospital in a serious, but stable condition." An appeal for witnesses further describes him as aged in his "early 30s," with the incident occurring at just after 2am GMT on November 2 at Gatton Park Road, Redhill.
Last week we responded to an automated Apple Watch fall detection alert after a driver that was involved in a collision had been knocked unconscious.
The alarm provided emergency responders with GPS data to quickly locate the scene.
> @Apple @tim_cook pic.twitter.com/cmTW6K2na0-- RPU - Surrey Police (@SurreyRoadCops)
In a follow-up tweet, the Surrey Police advise Apple Watch owners to consider setting up fall detection on their devices, as well as how to set up their medical ID, which can help emergency services identify the individual and to warn of existing medical conditions.
This is not the first time the Apple Watch's fall detection has been praised for saving a life. In April, an 80-year-old Munich woman was given assistance after the Apple Watch detected her fall in her apartment, while an 87-year-old woman in Maine was rescued by emergency services following a car accident in June.
Fall detection is available for anyone to set up on the Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5, but it is disabled by default for users under the age of 65. For people aged 65 or over, fall detection is automatically offered to be enabled as part of the setup process.
How to set up fall detection on your Apple Watch
- Open the Watch app on the iPhone linked to the Apple Watch in question
- Select the My Watch tab
- Tap Emergency SOS
- Tap the toggle next to "Fall Detection"
Apple does warn of the presence of false positives, where an action by the user could be misinterpreted as a fall. The more physically active the wearer, the more likely the feature will be triggered, especially for high-impact activities.
Comments
i don’t know if this was a one off error or not, as reviewers tried to set it off with fake falls, and they couldn’t. But I don’t want to take the chance it will fall off a bedside end table, end up under the bad, and before I get to it, call emergency services.
I wish Apple would change that notification to both tap the wrist as well as a noticeable audio signal because the tap on the wrist is just too easy to miss which could trigger a call to 911 for no reason.
I love the fall detection feature and that it will automatically call for me -- but they need to do more to prevent false alarms. The Watch is perfectly capable of a verbal question such as: "Did you fall? Should I call 911?" and would be a valuable (but easily implemented) enhancement.
It's a truly great feature, but they need to work on false alarms. At minimum they need to upgrade the little tap on the wrist it gives you before calling 911 -- that is simply too easy to miss.
You do not have to do it that hard.
When I did fall on some freezing fog/black ice on a ramp it did not go off as my left wrist (with the watch) broke the fall. I suffered an avulsion fracture of a carpal bone on that wrist- I do not know if having the watch on that wrist had anything to do with the injury (hyperextension).
You're obviously falling wrong. Have you tried attaching it differently, or using a bumper?
Pretty sure you don’t know that.
Yes, that’s a problem. I get calls on my phone and watch, and if I’m active, or it’s noisy, I won’t notice. That’s another reason I have it off. But if Apple improves that in some way, though I think it’s difficult, I’d likely try it again.
i’d like to point out that this feature is mainly aimed at people who have problems, not at people who don’t. It’s meant for people who might fall, but won’t be able to call. Yes, I know, it’s. Always possible for anyone to fall so that they can’t call, but that’s really rare.
Seems pretty clear to me.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208944
But the biggest benefit is for the darn thing to be on your wrist so it is available when the unthinkable happens.