Google’s Pixel Watch Fall Detection Finally Arrives

After years of waiting, Google finally debuted its first Pixel Watch late last year. It’s a quality watch with a lot of bells and whistles, but one big advertised feature, fall detection, was listed as “coming in 2023.” With the new March Pixel Watch update, fall detection is finally here.

Yes, Google’s fancy Wear OS 3 watch arrived in October, and even though Google showed off fall detection on stage, it’s still unavailable. This potentially life-saving feature is included in the new March update rolling out over the next week.

Google likely wanted more time to perfect the system so it didn’t go off when it shouldn’t, something we’ve seen happen on other watches. For what it’s worth, fall detection is readily available on the Apple Watch Series 8.

So, what can you expect now that Google’s Pixel Watch fall detection is finally here? You can easily set it up with the Pixel Watch companion app on your phone or navigate to the “Personal Safety” app on the watch itself.

Then, once everything is set up, if the watch detects a hard fall and no movement for 30 seconds, it’ll vibrate, notify you on your watch and phone, and sound an alarm. Moving within 30 seconds will likely stop the countdown and let you tap “I’m OK” to dismiss it.

You can quickly dismiss the prompt (as shown above) if you don’t need help. However, if there’s no response after “about a minute,” the Pixel Watch will automatically place a phone call to emergency services using whatever phone it’s connected to. Google also designed an automated voice message that’ll share your location with emergency services.

Google’s new Pixel Watch fall detection should start rolling out within the next 24-48 hours. If you don’t see it on your device, head to Settings > System > About > Versions to check for updates. Then, update all watch apps to ensure you’re on the latest version. Or, grab a Pixel Watch from the link below.

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