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Do you have to have the cellular Apple Watch in order to detect a fall and have it call emergency services?

Do you have to have the Apple Watch with cellular in order to detect a fall and have it call emergency services? My cell phone provider doesn't support cellular service on Apple Watches. :(

iPhone XR, iOS 13

Posted on Aug 17, 2020 1:36 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 17, 2020 2:42 PM

You don't have to have the GPS-Cellular Watch for fall detection. However, there are requirements for the GPS version to make an SOS call.

Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS + Cellular) and Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) can use a cellular connection for Emergency SOS. To use Emergency SOS on an Apple Watch without cellular, your iPhone needs to be nearby. If your iPhone isn’t nearby, your Apple Watch needs to be connected to a known Wi-Fi network and you must set up Wi-Fi Calling.

ASC - Late 2012 Mac mini, macOS 10.14.6; Watch, series 5 GPS/cellular, watchOS 6.2.8; iPad Air 2, ipadOS 13.6.1; iPhone 8+, iOS 13.6.1; TV 4th Gen, tvOS 13.4.8;  HomePods, audioOS 13.4.8 and Airport Express w/ Airplay 2

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 17, 2020 2:42 PM in response to jacquiefromsavannah

You don't have to have the GPS-Cellular Watch for fall detection. However, there are requirements for the GPS version to make an SOS call.

Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS + Cellular) and Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) can use a cellular connection for Emergency SOS. To use Emergency SOS on an Apple Watch without cellular, your iPhone needs to be nearby. If your iPhone isn’t nearby, your Apple Watch needs to be connected to a known Wi-Fi network and you must set up Wi-Fi Calling.

ASC - Late 2012 Mac mini, macOS 10.14.6; Watch, series 5 GPS/cellular, watchOS 6.2.8; iPad Air 2, ipadOS 13.6.1; iPhone 8+, iOS 13.6.1; TV 4th Gen, tvOS 13.4.8;  HomePods, audioOS 13.4.8 and Airport Express w/ Airplay 2

Do you have to have the cellular Apple Watch in order to detect a fall and have it call emergency services?

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