Our kids gave Bob an Apple Watch for his 70th birthday. They were very clear about why. "Dad, it has fall detection. If something happens, it'll call for help." Bob loved counting his steps. I loved the peace of mind.
Then one evening, our friend Carol mentioned that her husband's watch had never alerted anyone when he slipped on the ice, because he'd taken it off to charge. That got me wondering. Was Bob's even turned on? What would actually happen if he fell? Who would it call?
So Bob and I sat at the kitchen table and checked. It turned out his fall detection was set to work only during workouts. He'd never noticed. That's why I want every family with one of these watches to take ten minutes and look.
How does Apple Watch fall detection work?
On supported Apple Watch models, fall detection can sense a hard fall. According to Apple's fall detection guide, the watch taps your wrist, sounds an alarm, and shows an alert. You can choose to call emergency services or dismiss it if you're okay.
If the watch senses you haven't moved for about a minute after a hard fall, it can call emergency services on its own and send a message to your emergency contacts with your location. Apple says fall detection turns on automatically if you're 55 or older and entered your age when setting up the watch, but it's still worth checking.
How do I check my fall detection settings?
Here are the steps in plain words. Open the Watch app on your iPhone. Tap Emergency SOS. Turn on Fall Detection and choose Always On, not just during workouts. Then make sure Wrist Detection is turned on and your emergency contacts are up to date. Your contacts come from your Medical ID in the Health app, which I explained how to set up in my Medical ID guide.
And please, don't fall on purpose to test it. Reading the settings is enough.
What can go wrong with fall detection?
In plain words, fall detection helps when the watch is on your wrist, charged, able to connect, and senses a hard fall. It might not help when the watch is sitting on the charger, the battery has died, there's no cellular signal or iPhone nearby, or you slide down slowly instead of falling hard. It can also occasionally mistake a sudden movement for a fall.
To call for help, the watch needs a connection. A cellular model can call on its own. Other models need your iPhone nearby, or Wi-Fi calling set up. Check which kind you have.
What else should I have besides the watch?
Keep a second way to get help. That might be your phone in your pocket, a simple check-in call with a family member each day, or a medical alert button. Charge the watch at a time you're sitting still, like during breakfast, instead of overnight if you get up at night.
And remember, the best fall is the one that never happens. Our guides on making your home safer from falls and adding strength and balance exercises are worth ten minutes too.
What we changed at our house
Bob's watch is now set to Always On. We added our daughter and our neighbor as emergency contacts, and we called both of them so they'd know. Bob charges his watch during his morning coffee and the evening news, so it's on his wrist when he gets up at night. And we both still keep our phones in our pockets when we're out in the garden.
Take good care of yourself, and take even better care of each other.
Does someone in your family wear a watch with fall detection? Tell me in the comments whether you've checked the settings.
