I got a panicked phone call from my mom, “Dad fell, you need to come.” “Call 911,” I directed then dropped what I was doing and got to them as fast as I could. As everyone knows a fall in your 80’s is serious business. Amazingly, my dad wasn’t seriously injured other than a gash that required some stitches. It definitely could have been much worse. My dad has always been into computers and tech gadgets so he has a later version of the Apple watch. It has fall detection and will notify chosen contacts that the watch wearer has taken a hard fall. It also sends the location. This is great if it is set up correctly. My dad’s wasn’t set up correctly and ended up sending the fall notification to anyone who had a label designated on their contact, i.e. friend, pastor, etc. In this article, I’m going to talk about how to set up emergency contacts so if something like a fall or other emergency occurs the proper people are notified.
How to Set Up Emergency Contacts on iPhone:
Step 1: Open the Health App
Locate and open the Health app on your iPhone. It typically comes pre-installed and has a white icon with a red heart as shown above.
Step 2: Tap on Your Profile- Once inside the Health app, find and tap on your profile icon. It’s usually located in the top-right corner of the screen. See the red arrow below.
Step 3: Access Medical ID
Inside your profile, you’ll see various options. Look for and tap on “Medical ID.” This is where you can store important medical information and emergency contacts.
Step 4: Edit Medical ID
If you haven’t set up your Medical ID yet, you’ll be prompted to do so. Tap on “Edit” in the top-right corner.
Step 5: Add Emergency Contacts
Scroll down until you find the “Emergency Contacts” section. Tap on “add emergency contact.”
Step 6: Select a Contact
You’ll be taken to your contacts list. Choose the contact you want to add as an emergency contact.
Step 7: Choose a Relationship
After selecting a contact, you’ll be asked to choose their relationship to you. This helps emergency responders understand the nature of your relationship with the contact.
Step 8: Repeat if Necessary
If you have multiple emergency contacts, repeat steps 5-7 until you’ve added everyone you want to include.
Step 9: Save Changes
Once you’ve added all your emergency contacts, tap “Done” in the top-right corner (circled in red below)to save your changes. Also, make sure that “show when locked” is turned on. See the yellow arrow below.
How to Use Fall Detection on Apple Watch:
Step 1: Enable Fall Detection
- Open the “Watch” app on your iPhone.
- Tap on the “My Watch” tab at the bottom of the screen. See photo below- the red arrow.
- Scroll down and tap on “Emergency SOS.” Yellow arrow in photo above
- Toggle the switch next to “Fall Detection” to enable it. You may be asked to confirm your decision. Choose Always on if you want it to notify anytime you fall.
Step 2: Understand How Fall Detection Works
- Fall Detection uses the accelerometer and gyroscope in your Apple Watch to detect a fall.
- If the watch senses that you’ve taken a hard fall, it will tap you on the wrist, sound an alarm, and display an alert.
- If you’re unable to respond to the alert within a minute, the watch will automatically call emergency services and notify your emergency contacts with your location.
Step 3: Wear Your Apple Watch Correctly
- For Fall Detection to work accurately, wear your Apple Watch snugly on your wrist with the heart rate sensor facing the back of your wrist.
Step 4: Experience a Fall
- In the event of a fall, your Apple Watch will detect the impact and evaluate the motion to determine if it’s a fall.
- If it detects a fall, the watch will tap you on the wrist, sound an alarm, and display an alert.
Step 5: Respond to the Alert
- If you’ve taken a fall but are okay, you can dismiss the alert by tapping “I’m OK.”
- If you’re injured and need help, wait for the alert to display and then tap “Emergency SOS.” This will initiate a call to emergency services.
Step 6: Confirm Emergency Call
- After tapping “Emergency SOS,” your watch will count down from three before placing a call to emergency services.
- If you’re unable to cancel the call within a few seconds, it will automatically connect you to emergency services.
Step 7: Wait for Help
- Emergency services will receive your call and be able to assist you based on your location information provided by your Apple Watch.
This is a great protection for seniors and it provides me with peace of mind knowing it is there to protect my parents.
