Apple Watch Newsletter | 3/7/26

• 💊 Turn off annoying Medication reminders.
• ⚡ Get weather alerts on your wrist.
• 🗓️ Quickly create calendar events.

There’s no guarantee that the features on your watch will end up saving the day. But understanding how they work and making sure they are set up properly increases the odds and offers peace of mind. Let’s go over Fall Detection, Crash Detection, Emergency SOS, Health Monitoring, Medical ID, and two model-specific features—Siren and Backtrack.

Setting Up & Using Emergency SOS

Apple's Emergency SOS feature allows you to contact emergency services without having to unlock your phone or watch. Make sure you have enabled this feature and know how to use it. Keep in mind that you can practice activating Emergency SOS without actually calling emergency services, but you’ll have to cancel the call before it actually goes through. If you don’t cancel in time, you can explain that you were just testing the feature, and hopefully they will be understanding—this happened to me.

Make Sure Fall Detection Actually Works

I’ve gotten a lot of complaints from Apple Watch users who fell and hurt themselves, but Fall Detection didn’t work to notify their contacts or emergency services. To fix this, make sure Wrist Detection is On under your Emergency SOS settings in the Watch app on your iPhone. This should always be on, not just during workouts. Next, make sure to also enable Wrist Detection in your Passcode settings. I do want to point out that I have had all of this enabled correctly and practiced “hard falls” from my sofa onto my beanbag, and Fall Detection didn’t always trigger. On the other hand, it did trigger when I patted the sofa to invite my dog to sit with me. So, like anything else, this isn’t a foolproof feature, but there’s no harm in enabling it. I have also heard from many iPhone Life readers that this feature worked for them, and they appreciated the sense of security it gave them.

Crash Detection Explained

Crash Detection, which came out after Fall Detection, is a similar feature triggered if you are in a car crash. Unfortunately, it can also be triggered on a roller coaster, when zip-lining, etc. You can turn on Crash Detection via the Watch app on your iPhone, and it can be turned off if accidentally triggered, just like Fall Detection. Please keep in mind that if you don’t have a cellular Apple Watch, your phone will have to be in Bluetooth range for the emergency call to go through.  

Health Monitoring Alerts

Your Apple Watch can track a lot of different vitals, including sleep and heart health, and certain models can even detect blood pressure concerns. I recommend carefully going through your Health app to see all the different vitals you can track and enable any alerts that are relevant to you. Your watch can let you know if it detects sleep apnea, heart rate spikes, and so much more. You just need to make sure to enable tracking on all of these features so that you can benefit from everything your watch can do.

Backtrack for GPS Watch Models

If you have a GPS Apple Watch model, you can enable the Backtrack feature. This is a great way to track your steps with the Compass app to avoid getting lost in unfamiliar places and avoid panic or confusion if you ever need to find your way back home. This feature got a thumbs up from an iPhone Life employee who used it while hiking in a forest!

Siren for Apple Watch Ultra Models

Apple Watch Ultra, Ultra 2, and Ultra 3 are the rugged Apple Watch models made for those who participate in outdoor activities. They all have the Siren feature, which emits an 86-decibel sound that can be heard from as far as 600 feet away. If you are lost, this can help alert rescuers to your location.

Did I miss your favorite Apple Watch security feature? Email OntheWatch@iphonelife.com and let me know!

The March Challenge has begun, and if you join now, you can still get credit for all the activity you’ve done since March 4th—as long as you’ve worn your Apple Watch during this time!

The monthly iPhone Life Challenge is a great way to come together as a community and motivate each other to reach our health goals by staying active. We’ll be doing a weekly accountability post for subscribers in our Insider Facebook group. Join to share struggles, trade tips, and support one another on our journeys.

To join the challenge, download the free Challenges app on your iPhone and enter the code KK38 when prompted. Need help? This article explains the steps and tells you more about the app.

Are you enjoying the challenge? Do you have any suggestions for how we can make it even better? Email OnTheWatch@iPhoneLife.com and let me know.