What you need to know
- Google waves goodbye to another features as it announces the end of support for Safety Signal looms for the LTE Pixel Watch 2 and Watch 3.
- Safety Signal included many important emergency features like Emergency SOS and Fall Detection without forcing a subscription plan on LTE Pixel Watch users.
- Google says Safety Signal will leave on December 12, and users will receive an email and notification about its end 30-days before.
Late this morning (Oct. 8), Google announced it’s terminating support for an emergency feature on a couple of its past-gen Pixel Watches.
The company detailed the upcoming “end of support” on its Pixel Watch community today. Google stated it will no longer support Safety Signal on the LTE versions of the Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3. It adds that this termination is the result of “evolving our connectivity and safety capabilities.”
Safety Signal will lose support on the Watch 2 and Watch 3 on December 12. For users who’ve relied on Safety Signal, the company says they will receive “advance notice via email and push notifications.” There will be a 30-day transition period once the email arrives. Users can continue to rely on Safety Signal “without a standalone carrier plan” until everything ends on Dec. 12.
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Google turns users toward its other emergency safety features like Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and Safety Check. However, with Safety Signal going away in two months, users will need to rely on a mobile plan or an eSIM when away from their phone.
There when you need them
Android Central’s Take
An unfortunate departure. Safety Signal gave people peace of mind without worrying about an extra fee for another service subscription. The only bright side is that these features are still here. You’ll just need a service plan or an eSIM through a supported carrier.
Safety Signal was a useful system. It was the umbrella that covered many of Google’s Pixel Watch emergency features without requiring a cell plan. We highlighted Safety Signal in our Pixel Watch 2 and Watch 3 overviews as it covered Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and more. The feature let users place “phone-free emergency calls or texts without having subscribed to a service plan.” The Google Fi connection on your LTE-enabled Watch 2 or Watch 3 is what would’ve handled these calls.
While it’s unfortunate, it might help that users know these features are still around (it’ll just take a little more effort). Nevertheless, Emergency SOS is there on your Pixel Watch to sound an alarm and reach out to your emergency contacts whenever there’s danger or an accident. While scary, this might save someone’s life. Google also added an extra step for Emergency SOS to avoid accidental calls. Fall Detection is another important feature that leverages its AI algorithms to determine the severity of a fall before asking if you require aid.
