Apple Watch Fall Detection feature save lives of 2 people in US; know how it works

Apple Watch has helped save lives of two people with its Fall Detection Feature. If you too are an Apple Watch user, here is how you can turn it on.

Turn on Apple Watch Fall Detection Feature this way. (Apple Support Page)

Apple's iPhones, watches and other products come with several amazing features. One of the most useful and helpful features is the Apple Watch Fall Detection feature. Wondering why? The feature has helped save the lives of many people and just recently these two people. While one was in Minnesota, the other was in Ohio. In Minnesota, an Apple Watch user named Michael Brodkorb was hit by a vehicle that then raced away from the scene. Brodkorb was wearing his Apple Watch at the time of the accident which detected the impact using Fall Detection and dialed 911 after he was unable to respond.

Along with calling 911, the Fall Detection feature alerted his wife and children inside the house, hence providing immediate help to the person at the time of an emergency. "It absolutely is a life-saving tool," Brodkorb said, as quoted by MacRumors. During his recovery, Brodkorb also sent an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook informing of the same, who in return wished him a speedy recovery.

While coming to the second incident, a 83-year-old William Fryer in Cincinnati, was walking on the Ohio River Trail when his knees gave out and he fell badly. He was all alone and at that moment, his Apple Watch came to the rescue. His watch detected the fall, called emergency services, and also informed his daughter. As per the report, Cincinnati police were able to locate him and paramedics transported him to the hospital.

These two incidents have shown how useful the Fall Detection feature is. If you too are an Apple Watch user and are not aware of the feature, here is all you need to know:

How Apple Watch Fall Detection Feature works

If Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch Series 4 or later detects a hard fall while you are wearing your watch, it will tap you on the wrist, sound an alarm and display an alert. You can choose to contact the emergency services or dismiss the alert by pressing the Digital Crown, tapping Close in the top left-hand corner or tapping 'I'm OK'.

If your Apple Watch detects that you are moving, it will wait for you to respond to the alert and won't call the emergency services automatically. If your watch detects that you have been immobile for about a minute, it will make the call automatically. After the call has ended, your watch will send a message to your emergency contacts with your location letting them know that your watch has detected a hard fall and dialed the emergency services. Notably, your watch gets your emergency contacts from your Medical ID, Apple's Support Page informed.

If you have iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro, Fall Detection notifications to the emergency services may be communicated by the Emergency SOS via satellite system when you are outside mobile and Wi-Fi coverage, where Emergency SOS via satellite is available.

How to turn on Fall Detection Feature

Step 1:

Open the Watch app on your iPhone, then tap the My Watch tab.

Step 2:

Now you will have to click on the Emergency SOS.

Step 3:

Now, simply turn Fall Detection on or off. If Fall Detection is turned on, you can select Always on or Only during workouts.

Step 4:

Notably, if you entered your age when you set up your Apple Watch or in the Health app, and you are aged 55 and over, this feature turns on automatically. Make sure your correct age is displayed in your Medical ID and your Health Profile. Fall Detection is only available for those aged 18 or over.