The Apple Watch Series 4 and beyond have a feature called Fall Detection. This uses the gyroscope and accelerometer to detect if you’ve fallen, and more importantly, if you’ve fallen and cannot get back up.

By default, Fall Detection is disabled for users under the age of 65.

Follow along to learn how to enable this feature.

Apple Watch: How to enable Fall Detection

  • On iPhone, open the Watch app.
  • Scroll down and tap on Emergency SOS.
  • When toggling on Fall Detection, Apple warns that more physically active users may trigger Fall Detection even when you haven’t fallen. This is due to high impact activity, and may appear as a fall.
  • Tap on Confirm if you’re okay with that.

Fall Detection sounded much cooler when Apple originally announced it, but it’s understandable that Apple keeps it off, especially if they can’t guarantee that it works every time.

For more help getting the most out of your Apple devices, check out our how to guide as well as the following articles:

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  • Apple Watch: How to turn off Haptic Crown
  • iPhone & iPad: How to setup Bedtime on iOS and get more sleep
  • How to view AirPods battery percentage from your Apple Watch
  • How to get a refund for the App Store or iTunes
  • How to get off the iOS public beta
  • Apple Watch: How to sync audiobooks with Audible
  • How to set up Apple TV, iPad, and HomePod as HomeKit hubs