iW Fall Detection Away from Home Country; Airplane mode

[xenoako]

Since Apple says that a cellular iW is not capable of 'roaming cellular data', how does iW 'fall detection' work or not work when away from one's home country? Would it only work if iP is in BT range and connected to Wifi or using roaming cellular data?

In a related note, do you manually put your iW in airplane mode while flying or have the iW set to mirror you iP? I have done neither in the past, but during my recent trip to Rome wondered if iOS 15 had changed something.

 

[xenoako]

I posted these queries on FlyerTalk. The responses judge that fall detection works away from my home country by using BT connection to iP that is using Wifi or roaming cellular data. So would anyone know that the AW being on Wifi is sufficient or it must absolutely be in BT range of the iP?
No one has commented on whether it is necessary to put the iW in airplane mode when flying and away from my home country.
I leave in two weeks for ATH and am trying to be prepared.

 

[akidokraja]

I don’t think it is necessary to put it in airplane mode but it might save battery. I am going to Europe in a few months and also looking for same answers as you are. I am hoping that S7 will have longer battery life like S3 had even if they still claimed same 18 hrs. They didn’t announce it but I hope it will be longer lasting than S6.

 

[jz0309]

Whenever I flew internationally I have never touched my AW, just put the phone in airplane mode. Just have a charger with you in the cabin in case.
Why would fall detection not work? It has nothing to do with cellular, what will probably not work is emergency alert, have been trying and successful not to fall during travel so no first hand experience.

 

[xenoako]

I should have been more precise as my intention was to clarify what happens when one falls and in the USA a call goes out to 911 if there is no response after the fall.
I have not suffered a fall on international trips, but time zone changes and unfamiliar hotel rooms can be challenges. It was maybe 2 watches ago that Apple pushed that the emergency alert would work outside the USA. I wondered how it would work in the real world since there the cellular AW does not do roaming and I do leave my iPhone behind in various scenarios.
In terms of the battery, my 24 hour day from Rome to my home had my S6 SS at around 5% battery which I put it on a charger at home. My AW was not in airplane mode at any time.

 

[akidokraja]

I should have been more precise as my intention was to clarify what happens when one falls and in the USA a call goes out to 911 if there is no response after the fall.
I have not suffered a fall on international trips, but time zone changes and unfamiliar hotel rooms can be challenges. It was maybe 2 watches ago that Apple pushed that the emergency alert would work outside the USA. I wondered how it would work in the real world since there the cellular AW does not do roaming and I do leave my iPhone behind in various scenarios.
In terms of the battery, my 24 hour day from Rome to my home had my S6 SS at around 5% battery which I put it on a charger at home. My AW was not in airplane mode at any time.

I think I read somewhere that even if roaming doesn’t work emergency calls have to work. Similar to how you can take locked phone from us to Europe and still can call emergency services. I think even phone without SIM card can call emergency in any country in the world.