What you need to know
- Your Pixel Watch will now require an extra step to trigger an Emergency SOS call following an update.
- After pressing the Pixel Watch crown five times, you'll need to hold the screen for three seconds to complete a call.
- This tweak is designed to avoid accidental triggers, and can be modified in your Pixel Watch settings manually.
Emergency SOS is a life-saving feature on wearables like the Google Pixel Watch, but it runs the risk of diverting resources from real emergencies due to accidental triggers. As such, Google announced last month that it would be adding an extra step to the Emergency SOS process in a community post. Now, this change appears to be widely available on Pixel Watch following an update.
An updated version of the Personal Safety app for Wear OS, carrying version number 2025.01.23.721858245.2-release-wear, brings the change to all Pixel Watch models in supported regions (via 9to5Google). The Google Play Store listing for the app has also been updated to reflect this tweak, and notes that the Personal Safety app for Android phones also has the extra step for Emergency SOS.
By default, pressing the Pixel Watch crown five times consecutively or more will call up the Emergency SOS screen — but you'll now need to touch and hold the Pixel Watch screen for three seconds to start a call with emergency services. If you don't complete the "press and hold" requirement within 20 seconds, the Emergency SOS screen will be closed automatically to avoid accidentally triggering a call.
The change is designed to make it "less likely to accidentally trigger an Emergency SOS call during activities like exercise, while ensuring fast and easy access to initiate a call when you need it the most," the company explained in the original community post.
Google is also making it optional to manually set your Pixel Watch to call emergency services after a five-second countdown, eliminating the "touch and hold" requirement. Users can change this by opening up the settings on their Pixel Watch, and navigating to Safety and emergency > Emergency SOS. From there, tap Ways to start SOS and choose Automatically call.
Per usual, the feature requires location sharing and a network connection, and is limited to supported countries and regions. You can learn more about Emergency SOS and how to use it here.
