Thank god for fall detection

[Thomas Davie]

Was taking out the garbage at 4:30 am.today. Driveway is about 500 ft long, downward slope. Got the recycle, clear bagged garbage to the road ok. Went back up the hill to my garage to get the cat litter/poop and made the mistake of trying to carry it all (~40 lbs) Made it 1/2 way down the hill and BAM.

Fell to my left side (instinctively to the left b/c my dialysis connection is on my right side). After making sure no broken bones I realized my watch detected a fall and did I need an ambulance; no, no, no. i started pressing the watchface in a panic and was able to avoid an ambulance.

But, thank god for fall detection.

Tom

 

[Bichon]

Falling while carrying cat poop down the driveway does not make quite as compelling a story as the one a few years ago when a guy fell in the mountains and fractured his back in three places, but in both cases it's reassuring to know that the Apple watch detected the fall, and was able to summon help (or in your case willing to summon help).

Glad you weren't seriously injured!

 

[jz0309]

Was taking out the garbage at 4:30 am.today. Driveway is about 500 ft long, downward slope. Got the recycle, clear bagged garbage to the road ok. Went back up the hill to my garage to get the cat litter/poop and made the mistake of trying to carry it all (~40 lbs) Made it 1/2 way down the hill and BAM.

Fell to my left side (instinctively to the left b/c my dialysis connection is on my right side). After making sure no broken bones I realized my watch detected a fall and did I need an ambulance; no, no, no. i started pressing the watchface in a panic and was able to avoid an ambulance.

But, thank god for fall detection.

Tom

great feature indeed, glad you're ok

 

[MisterSavage]

I unfortunately got to see it go off for my mom on a walk. It did make me feel better to know that she could have gotten help if she was alone.

 

[russell_314]

I’m glad you’re okay! It’s a really good feature that I’m sure saved quite a few lives

 

[mjs916]

It’s a great feature that you don’t hope to use!

I was on a bike ride and slipped on autumn leaves in corner at a good clip. Later, it was amusing to see the after ride summary show how quickly I went from 21 mph to 15 to 0 mph over a VERY short distance.

A truck of 4 men packing up to leave a construction site yelled to check on me but I got up and said I was a little scraped up but fine. I finally noticed my watch was going off warning me it would call EMS if I could not respond. I canceled the call and rode, very slowly and painfully home. I was thinking, wow, if that happened somewhere remote as I tend to ride that is nice to know it could have helped.

Fast forward to 7 months later and the torn rotator cuff I sustained that day finally healed!

 

[BSG75]

Glad it worked for you. My mother-in-law fell and broke her arm. Fall Detection didn't go off. However, when she moves her arm quickly it goes off. In her use case, it wasn't reliable.

 

[shakopeemn]

site yelled to check on me help me but I got up and said I was a little scraped up but fine. I finally noticed my watch was going off warning me it would call EMS if I could not respond. I canceled the call and rode, very slowly and painfully home. I was thinking, wow, if that happened somewhere remote as I tend to ride that is nice to know it could have helped.

Wondering. Does the fall / call for help work on a cellular watch without service?

 

[jz0309]

Wondering. Does the fall / call for help work on a cellular watch without service?

yes, at least in the US/Canada and afaik in some other countries but couldn't list them.
911 calls can be made from any cellular device with or without cell plan

 

[mjs916]

Wondering. Does the fall / call for help work on a cellular watch without service?

My watch is WiFi only. The fall detection triggered while my phone was in a pouch on my bike so the call would have gone through that way.

The other thing it did was make a loud “woop…woop…woop” siren until I canceled it, so I’m guessing that siren would be all you get without any cellular connection at all.

If anyone is more informed please feel free to chime in!

 

[Thomas Davie]

The watch I have os a cellular model.

Broke my right thumb, but good news is I am left handed and am already on medical retirement. It os a featuremI hope never to encounter again. Makes me glad that I have a 15PM phone and can access comms throught satellite service.

Tom

 

[jbachandouris]

Last time I fell I had a Vasovagel reaction to something the urologist did. I made it to the elevator and the nurse asked me if I needed it. Apparently she caught me as I woke up looking at the ceiling. The top number of my blood pressure was in the 60’s. No idea if watch detected it.

 

[cjsuk]

It doesn’t always work that well. I sneezed while bending over and it went off. I just got it before it decided I needed help.

 

[Larsvonhier]

It doesn’t always work that well. I sneezed while bending over and it went off. I just got it before it decided I needed help.

What´s favourable: False positives or false negatives?
(I get false pos. once in a while when pecking wood. On the other hand, it never missed a real fall.)

 

[darkpaw]

Thank Apple for fall detection, not a god. No god was involved in the creation of that feature

 

[The Apple Bitch]

Wondering. Does the fall / call for help work on a cellular watch without service?

That depends on the country's climate coverage and policy, in Sweden: Yes. But that's all I know.

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

Was taking out the garbage at 4:30 am.today. Driveway is about 500 ft long, downward slope. Got the recycle, clear bagged garbage to the road ok. Went back up the hill to my garage to get the cat litter/poop and made the mistake of trying to carry it all (~40 lbs) Made it 1/2 way down the hill and BAM.

Fell to my left side (instinctively to the left b/c my dialysis connection is on my right side). After making sure no broken bones I realized my watch detected a fall and did I need an ambulance; no, no, no. i started pressing the watchface in a panic and was able to avoid an ambulance.

But, thank god for fall detection.

Tom

Hope your dialysis is going well, Tom.

 

[ignatius345]

Was taking out the garbage at 4:30 am.today. Driveway is about 500 ft long, downward slope. Got the recycle, clear bagged garbage to the road ok. Went back up the hill to my garage to get the cat litter/poop and made the mistake of trying to carry it all (~40 lbs) Made it 1/2 way down the hill and BAM.

Fell to my left side (instinctively to the left b/c my dialysis connection is on my right side). After making sure no broken bones I realized my watch detected a fall and did I need an ambulance; no, no, no. i started pressing the watchface in a panic and was able to avoid an ambulance.

But, thank god for fall detection.

Tom

Been trying to get my grandmother to get one of these for this exact reason!

 

[Howard2k]

I subsidized a watch purchase for my mum for this reason. Great feature.

 

[ejb190]

I saw a video of a pastor who got a bit fired up during a sermon and slapped his hand down on the podium. He suddenly stopped, fiddled with his watch and sheepishly told his congregation that he set off the fall alert on his Apple Watch.

 

[WilliApple]

I had it on for a while, and I false triggered it after track meets when I would controllably and intentionally fall to try to rest and get energy.

 

[Timpetus]

Mine helped save my life when I was in a motorcycle accident. I was unconscious for a while and my watch, while the screen was shattered, worked long enough to call EMS and my wife and was even still working while in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. I might have been on the side of the freeway for a lot longer without it!

 

[BaggieBoy]

I get quite a few false detections when playing golf, luckily I've managed to cancel the alert before the notification has been sent.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I subsidized a watch purchase for my mum for this reason. Great feature.

How is she with charging it and all that? I want to get one for my mom, but she's the kind of person to not charge her phone, to say nothing of a watch.

 

[Howard2k]

She’s good, no issues.

How is she with charging it and all that? I want to get one for my mom, but she's the kind of person to not charge her phone, to say nothing of a watch.

Doesn’t seem to have been a problem. It’s been a few years now. I think she charges it overnight each night.