Google Pixel Watch can connect you to the emergency services if you need help. If you've unlocked your watch at least once since startup, you can also call an emergency contact without unlocking it.1 With Google Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3, all safety features, including the Safety Check7, are available to use with or without your phone nearby.
Google Pixel Watch Wi-Fi needs to be in range of your phone and connected with Bluetooth for your phone to call emergency services. You will not be able to talk to emergency services from your watch if your watch is not connected to a phone through Bluetooth.
Google Pixel Watch LTE needs an active LTE connection on your watch to call emergency services. Safety Signal is available on Google Pixel Watch 2 LTE with Fitbit Premium.
If you don't have an LTE operator on your watch, Safety Signal5 allows you to use safety features without your phone nearby. An active Fitbit Premium subscription will enable phone-free connectivity through Safety Signal. For more information, go to Use Safety Signal on Google Pixel Watch.
Certain regions require an active LTE operator or Safety Signal to support emergency calls placed from a Pixel Watch.
Turn on and use safety features on Pixel Watch
Learn how to turn on and use these different safety features:
Safety feature |
On Pixel Watch |
On Pixel Watch 2 |
On Pixel Watch 3 |
---|---|---|---|
Car Crash Detection | — | ✓ | ✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ | |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ | |
Emergency contact dialling |
— |
✓ |
✓ |
— |
✓ |
✓ | |
✓ (Wear OS 4 or newer) |
✓ |
✓ | |
✓ (Wear OS 4 or newer) |
✓ |
✓ | |
✓ (Wear OS 4 or newer) |
✓ |
✓ |
Car Crash Detection
Car Crash Detection is a Pixel Watch feature that can detect if you've been in a severe car crash. Call emergency services automatically, like 999 in the UK, notify emergency contacts and share your location.
How Car Crash Detection works
Your Pixel Watch can use info like your phone's location and motion sensors. Car Crash Detection requires location to work. If your phone detects a car crash, it can call emergency services for you. This call uses Android's Emergency Location Service and may send info about where you are and what happened. You can also use Emergency Sharing with Car Crash Detection, which will share your real-time location with your emergency contacts in situations where a crash is detected and there isn't any response from you.
Important:
- Both Car Crash Detection and Emergency Location Service can be used independently.
- If turned on, Emergency Location Service will work for all emergency calls (if available in an area) and sends your location information to the emergency services.
- When turned on, Car Crash Detection also uses Emergency Location Service whenever it places a call automatically during emergency situations.
- Car Crash Detection will continue to function even if Emergency Location Service is turned off.
When a crash is detected, Personal Safety on your watch will check in and a full-screen 60-second countdown will take over. Your watch will vibrate and an alarm will sound. This alarm will also break through both Do Not Disturb and Bedtime mode. You can always cancel the countdown by tapping 'I'm OK'. You can also immediately start a call to emergency services by tapping 'Call 999' (or any other default number for emergency services depending on the country), which will automatically default to the official government emergency services area in the country or region.
Important:
- Your watch will attempt to place a call to emergency services on your behalf. During the call, it will play an audio message that provides your location information in the event that your watch detects a potential crash and there is no response from you, so that precise information can be provided to emergency services.
- Depending on the situation, if you wish to talk to emergency services personally, the automated message can be stopped by tapping 'Call 999' (or any other default number for emergency services of the country or region in which you are located).
Notes:
- Your watch may not be able to detect all crashes.
- High-impact activities could also trigger Car Crash Detection.
- In some cases, your Pixel Watch might not be able to call the emergency services. For example, your phone might be connected to a weak mobile network.
- Car Crash Detection will not work in aeroplane mode, or when Battery Saver is on.
Set up Car Crash Detection
On Google Pixel Watch
- On your Google Pixel Watch, press the crown.
- Tap Personal Safety.
- Tap Car Crash Detection.
Through the Personal Safety app on the paired phone
- On your phone, tap to open the Personal Safety app.
- Tap Features.
- Tap Car Crash Detection.
Through the Google Pixel Watch app
- On your phone, tap to open the Google Pixel Watch app .
- Tap Safety and emergency.
- Tap Car Crash Detection.
Interoperability
Car Crash Detection works with Pixel watches and Pixel phones if paired via Bluetooth. When actively paired, both devices will check in with you and you can respond to either device once.
Note: When your watch is not connected with its paired phone via Bluetooth and nearby, then Car Crash Detection will run on each device independently, assuming that both devices are powered on.
Supported regions and languages
Car Crash Detection is available in the following languages:
- Danish
- Dutch
- English
- French
- French (Canada)
- Italian
- Japanese
- Mandarin Chinese
- Norwegian
- Spanish
- Swedish
For the following countries or regions:
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- Denmark
- France
- India
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Norway
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Singapore
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- UK
- US
Emergency SOS
Emergency SOS signals can help in an emergency. Activate Emergency SOS by quickly pressing the crown five consecutive times. This will either call emergency services or an emergency contact of your choosing.
You can talk to the emergency responders as usual. If your phone has Emergency Location Service turned on and the emergency responder in your region is set up with ELS, they may also receive your location. For Google Pixel Watch LTE, Emergency Location Service is on by default. To check that your ELS is turned on for your watch, press the crown and tap Personal Safety Emergency Location Service turn on Use emergency location service.
Set up Emergency SOS
On Google Pixel Watch
- On your Google Pixel Watch, swipe down.
- Tap Settings Safety and emergency Emergency SOS.
- Turn on features like emergency gesture, alarm and selecting a primary contact.
In the Google Pixel Watch app
- On your phone, open the Google Pixel Watch app .
- Tap Watch preferences Safety and emergency Emergency SOS.
- Turn on Emergency gesture.
Turn off Emergency SOS
On Google Pixel Watch
- On your Google Pixel Watch, press the crown.
- Scroll down and tap Personal Safety Emergency SOS.
- Turn off Emergency gesture.
In the Google Pixel Watch app
- On your phone, open the Google Pixel Watch app .
- Tap Watch preferences Safety and emergency Emergency SOS.
- Turn off Emergency gesture.
Add emergency contacts
Add multiple emergency contacts and choose one primary emergency contact.
- On your Google Pixel Watch, swipe down.
- Tap Settings Personal Safety Emergency SOS.
- Tap Add contact. Choose to allow or deny access to the contacts saved in your phone.
- Tap the contact's name and then their number.
- To choose a primary emergency contact, tap Emergency services or a contact in the list of added emergency contacts. Their name card will now be highlighted.
You can also add emergency contacts in the Personal Safety app on your Pixel phone.
Remove emergency contacts
- On your Google Pixel Watch, swipe down.
- Tap Settings Personal Safety Emergency SOS Edit contacts.
- Next to the contact that you want to remove, tap Delete .
Accidental calls
Fall Detection
Only in Pixel-supported countries. Not available in Germany.
When a hard fall is detected, your Google Pixel Watch will wait about 30 seconds and then will vibrate, ring loudly and ask if you want to call emergency services for help.2 If you don't move, don't respond to or don't dismiss the alert, your watch will vibrate, sound an alarm and wait 60 seconds before placing a call to emergency services with an automated voice message letting them know that your Pixel Watch has detected a fall. If you have granted permission to share your location, your Google Pixel Watch will share your location with the emergency services.
Set up Fall Detection
On Google Pixel Watch
- On your Google Pixel Watch, press the crown.
- Tap Personal Safety Fall Detection.
- Turn on Fall Detection.
In the Google Pixel Watch app
- On your phone, open the Google Pixel Watch app .
- Tap Watch preferences Safety and emergency Fall Detection.
- Turn on Fall Detection.
How Fall Detection helps emergency services get to you
When a hard fall is detected and you don't respond to the alert after 60 seconds, Pixel Watch can share your location in the automated voice message played to emergency services during the call.
- On your Google Pixel Watch, press the crown.
- Tap Personal Safety Fall Detection Update now.
Automated voice message example
Use the Google Pixel Watch app to read an example of the automated audio message that shares your device's location.
- On your phone, open the Google Pixel Watch app .
- Tap Safety and emergency Fall Detection What the emergency operator hears.
Help to improve Fall Detection
On Google Pixel Watch
- On your Google Pixel Watch, press the crown.
- Tap Personal Safety Fall Detection.
- Turn on Help to improve Fall Detection.
In the Google Pixel Watch app
- On your phone, open the Google Pixel Watch app .
- Tap Watch preferences Safety and emergency Personal Safety.
- Turn on Help to improve Fall Detection.
Emergency Sharing
Emergency sharing sends your real-time location and updates to your emergency contacts.
- On your Google Pixel Watch, press the crown.
- Tap Personal Safety Emergency Sharing.
- Select the contacts who you want to share your location with and tap Share real-time location.
- To stop Emergency Sharing, tap Stop Emergency Sharing Stop Emergency Sharing .
Emergency Sharing settings
Set up the information to be shared with your emergency contacts.
- On your Google Pixel Watch, press the crown.
- Tap Personal Safety Your info Emergency info access.
- Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Settings.
- Select the information that you want to share with your emergency contacts during an emergency share.
- Turn on or off multi-device location sharing.8
Safety Check
Allows your watch to set a check-in timer to ensure that you're safe. If you don't confirm that you're OK at the set time, Safety Check will automatically share your location with your emergency contacts.
- On your Google Pixel Watch, press the crown.
- Tap Personal Safety Safety Check.
- Select your activity.
- Set the timer duration.
- Select the contacts who you want to share your location with and tap Start timer.
- To stop Safety Check, tap End safety check or Stop Safety Check Stop Safety Check .
Medical information
- On your phone, open the Personal Safety app.
- Tap Your info Medical information.
- Fill in your medical information. To help in an emergency, people can view this info even with a locked watch.
Share emergency info with emergency services
Use the Personal Safety app to send info to emergency services.
On your phone:
- Open your Personal Safety app.
- Tap Your info Emergency info access Share during emergency call.
On your watch:
- Open your Personal Safety app.
- Scroll to emergency info.
- Tap Emergency info access Share during emergency call.
1 Google Pixel Watch operates using radio signals, which cannot guarantee connection in all conditions. Never rely solely on any wireless device for emergency communications.
2 Fall detection works by using motion sensors on your Pixel Watch. Bear in mind that high-impact activities may trigger fall detection. Fall detection can't detect all falls.
3 Emergency SOS: Emergency SOS requires location to be enabled, and 4G LTE service or an Internet connection. Emergency SOS is dependent upon network connectivity and other factors, and may not be reliable for emergency communications or available in all countries or languages. Go to g.co/pixelwatch/personalsafety for more details.
4 Fall Detection: Fall Detection is not available in all countries and depends on network connectivity and other factors. Your watch may not be reliable for emergency communications. Fall Detection may not detect all falls. To call emergency services on a Google Pixel Watch without 4G LTE, your paired phone must be nearby. Users must grant location permission for Fall Detection to share location externally. Data rates may apply. Go to g.co/pixelwatch/personalsafety for more details.
5 Safety Signal: Not available on Pixel Watch 2 or 3 (Wi-Fi) or in all countries. Safety Signal requires location to be enabled and, in cases of emergency, provides Fitbit Premium subscribers without a 4G LTE watch line with access to a 4G LTE network for the use of safety features only. When your watch is not connected to your phone, Safety Signal does not support Wi-Fi calling.
6 Emergency Sharing: Data rates may apply. Emergency Sharing requires location to be enabled, and 4G LTE service or an Internet connection. Emergency Sharing is dependent upon network connectivity and other factors, and may not be reliable for emergency communications or available in all countries or languages. Go to g.co/pixelwatch/personalsafety for more details.
7 Safety Check: Data rates may apply. Safety Check requires location to be enabled, and 4G LTE service or an Internet connection. Safety Check is dependent upon network connectivity and other factors, and may not be reliable for emergency communications or available in all countries or languages. Go to g.co/pixelwatch/personalsafety for more details.
8 When multi-device location sharing is turned on for your device, we will use that device's location as a backup in the event that you start an emergency share on another device, but that device can no longer share its location.
Emergency SOS requires location to be enabled, and 4G LTE service or an Internet connection. Fall Detection and Emergency SOS are dependent upon network connectivity and other factors, and may not be reliable for emergency communications or available in all areas or languages. Fall Detection may not detect all falls. Auto-dialling to emergency services is not available in all countries. Go to g.co/pixelwatch/personalsafety for more details.