Apple Watch saves life, man says it automatically called emergency service after he collapsed at home
A man in the US credits his Apple Watch with saving his life after its Fall Detection feature automatically called emergency services when he collapsed outside his home. Here's the full story.
An Ohio man has given credit to his Apple Watch for saving his life after it detected a fall and contacted emergency services on his behalf. According to local news outlet WKRC, Mohammad Islam had taken the day off work after feeling unwell, and ended up collapsing outside his home while taking out the trash.
What happened
Islam said he had been experiencing shortness of breath, pain near his ear, and difficulty walking earlier that day. He was home alone when he collapsed. He doesn't know how long he was on the ground before he came to his senses. "I don't know how long I was there, and suddenly, my eyes opened up, and I was on the ground and sweating like crazy. I tried to get up but couldn't. There was a chair, so I held it and was able to sit down. Then I heard the sirens coming in," he told WKRC.
It was only then that Islam realised his Apple Watch had detected the fall and called emergency services on his behalf. Doctors at the University of Cincinnati later discovered that he had blood clots in his lungs. "I'm still trying to figure out what really happened, and why I'm alive," Islam said, crediting the quick paramedic response to his watch's automatic call for help.
How Apple Watch's fall detection works
Islam's experience highlights Apple's Fall Detection feature, available on Apple Watch SE and later, Apple Watch Series 4 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra. When the watch senses a hard fall, it taps the wearer's wrist, sounds an alarm, and displays an alert asking if they're alright. If the wearer is still moving, the watch simply waits for them to respond and won't call for help automatically.
But if the watch detects the person has been immobile for about a minute, it starts a 30-second countdown, tapping the wrist and sounding an alert that gets progressively louder. If there's no response by the time the countdown ends, the watch automatically calls emergency services, shares the wearer's exact location, and sends a message to their emergency contacts letting them know a fall was detected. This feature is turned on by default for anyone aged 55 or older, though anyone between 18 and 54 can switch it on manually through the Watch app on their iPhone, under Emergency SOS settings.
An Ohio man has given credit to his Apple Watch for saving his life after it detected a fall and contacted emergency services on his behalf. According to local news outlet WKRC, Mohammad Islam had taken the day off work after feeling unwell, and ended up collapsing outside his home while taking out the trash.
What happened
Islam said he had been experiencing shortness of breath, pain near his ear, and difficulty walking earlier that day. He was home alone when he collapsed. He doesn't know how long he was on the ground before he came to his senses. "I don't know how long I was there, and suddenly, my eyes opened up, and I was on the ground and sweating like crazy. I tried to get up but couldn't. There was a chair, so I held it and was able to sit down. Then I heard the sirens coming in," he told WKRC.
It was only then that Islam realised his Apple Watch had detected the fall and called emergency services on his behalf. Doctors at the University of Cincinnati later discovered that he had blood clots in his lungs. "I'm still trying to figure out what really happened, and why I'm alive," Islam said, crediting the quick paramedic response to his watch's automatic call for help.
How Apple Watch's fall detection works
Islam's experience highlights Apple's Fall Detection feature, available on Apple Watch SE and later, Apple Watch Series 4 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra. When the watch senses a hard fall, it taps the wearer's wrist, sounds an alarm, and displays an alert asking if they're alright. If the wearer is still moving, the watch simply waits for them to respond and won't call for help automatically.
But if the watch detects the person has been immobile for about a minute, it starts a 30-second countdown, tapping the wrist and sounding an alert that gets progressively louder. If there's no response by the time the countdown ends, the watch automatically calls emergency services, shares the wearer's exact location, and sends a message to their emergency contacts letting them know a fall was detected. This feature is turned on by default for anyone aged 55 or older, though anyone between 18 and 54 can switch it on manually through the Watch app on their iPhone, under Emergency SOS settings.
An Ohio man has given credit to his Apple Watch for saving his life after it detected a fall and contacted emergency services on his behalf. According to local news outlet WKRC, Mohammad Islam had taken the day off work after feeling unwell, and ended up collapsing outside his home while taking out the trash.
What happened
Islam said he had been experiencing shortness of breath, pain near his ear, and difficulty walking earlier that day. He was home alone when he collapsed. He doesn't know how long he was on the ground before he came to his senses. "I don't know how long I was there, and suddenly, my eyes opened up, and I was on the ground and sweating like crazy. I tried to get up but couldn't. There was a chair, so I held it and was able to sit down. Then I heard the sirens coming in," he told WKRC.
It was only then that Islam realised his Apple Watch had detected the fall and called emergency services on his behalf. Doctors at the University of Cincinnati later discovered that he had blood clots in his lungs. "I'm still trying to figure out what really happened, and why I'm alive," Islam said, crediting the quick paramedic response to his watch's automatic call for help.
How Apple Watch's fall detection works
Islam's experience highlights Apple's Fall Detection feature, available on Apple Watch SE and later, Apple Watch Series 4 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra. When the watch senses a hard fall, it taps the wearer's wrist, sounds an alarm, and displays an alert asking if they're alright. If the wearer is still moving, the watch simply waits for them to respond and won't call for help automatically.
But if the watch detects the person has been immobile for about a minute, it starts a 30-second countdown, tapping the wrist and sounding an alert that gets progressively louder. If there's no response by the time the countdown ends, the watch automatically calls emergency services, shares the wearer's exact location, and sends a message to their emergency contacts letting them know a fall was detected. This feature is turned on by default for anyone aged 55 or older, though anyone between 18 and 54 can switch it on manually through the Watch app on their iPhone, under Emergency SOS settings.
