How to enable crash detection on your phone and smartwatch

Ken Colburn
| Exclusively for The Republic

Question: How do I check if my device has crash detection available?

Answer: The recent tragedy involving a car that fell off a cliff was captured in real time by the Apple Watch that the person in the vehicle was wearing.

Authorities said the automated call included coordinates and an approximate search radius, which helped rescuers locate the crash site more quickly.

The vehicle fell off a 300-meter cliff at night, which would have made locating the crash site much more difficult if not for the information provided by the Apple Watch.

Enabling this feature on devices that offer it could be the difference between life and death, as time is of the essence in many emergencies.

How it works

Newer smartphones and smartwatches use a variety of motion sensors, such as an accelerometer and gyroscope, which, when combined with ambient sound from a microphone, can detect if a user has been in a car accident.

The orientation of the device can be detected using a magnetometer, while the barometer can detect changes in atmospheric pressure caused by airbag deployment or breaking glass in a crash.

All these sensors, combined with an algorithm that can quickly process data, enable an automatic call for help.

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Apple Smartphones and Smartwatches

If you have an iPhone 14 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 8, SE, or Ultra with watchOS 9 or later, Crash Detection is available and turned on by default.

If you want to make sure the feature is active, on your iPhone go to the Settings app, tap “Emergency SOS” and make sure “Call in Case of Serious Accident” is turned on (green).

Once you’re on that page, click “Set up emergency contacts in Health” if you also want to notify a friend or family member. Click “Edit” in the upper right corner to add emergency contacts

This will also update your Apple Watch, which you can check by going to Settings > SOS.

For more details about this feature, please see the help page.

Google Pixel Smartphones and Watches

If you have a Pixel 4a or newer, the Personal Safety app is preloaded. You can also add it through the Play Store on Pixel 3a or older models.

The “Car crash detection” feature is not enabled by default because it requires a more complex setup process that requires granting access to location services and other privacy-related items.

The easiest way to get started is to go to “Settings” and search for “Car Accident Detection.”

Pixel Watch 2 users can enable and use the security features described here.

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Samsung devices

As of this writing, Samsung does not offer a fall detection feature, but fall detection is available on their smartwatches.

False positive results

It is entirely possible to activate accident detection in non-emergency situations, which is why each device will warn the user before an emergency call is made. Vigorous hand movements, such as overly enthusiastic clapping during a sporting event while wearing a smartwatch, is one example posted on various internet forums.

If you simply click “Cancel” (Apple and Samsung) or say “I’m fine” (Google) during the 30-60 second countdown, the device will not call emergency services.

Ken Colburn is the founder and CEO of Data Doctors Computer Services, datadoctors.com. Ask any technical question at facebook.com/DataDoctors or on Twitter @TheDataDoc.