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Can a cellular Apple Watch call Emergency Services (911) without a plan?

Specifically, I want to know if fall detection will call 9-1-1 even if you don't have a cell plan for your Apple Watch.


I haven't been able to find a definitive answer on this from Apple. It seems they do not want to answer it. In this post from August 2021, the "Apple Recommended" answer from @fieryjack does not answer the question at all (and even gives false information, suggesting a cellular Watch needs to be within Bluetooth range of your iPhone to make the call, which isn't true if you have a cellular Watch): can a cellular apple watch call 911 on th… - Apple Community


@fieryjack
If the phone has an activated sim then the watch will use that to call 911,as long as the watch is within bluetooth range of the phone.


Posted on Aug 23, 2022 10:34 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 26, 2022 9:33 AM

If your watch has no cell plan then it’s the same as a GPS only watch and will make SOS calls to 911. Your phone needs to be nearby and connected to your watch

  • If this is at home or other, your watch can use wifi calling (if your iPhone cellular carrier supports Wi-Fi calling - enable that), even when your paired iPhone isn’t with you or is turned off. Your Apple Watch just has to be within range of a Wi-Fi network that your iPhone has connected to in the past.

Make phone calls on Apple Watch


2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 26, 2022 9:33 AM in response to Jessiah87

If your watch has no cell plan then it’s the same as a GPS only watch and will make SOS calls to 911. Your phone needs to be nearby and connected to your watch

  • If this is at home or other, your watch can use wifi calling (if your iPhone cellular carrier supports Wi-Fi calling - enable that), even when your paired iPhone isn’t with you or is turned off. Your Apple Watch just has to be within range of a Wi-Fi network that your iPhone has connected to in the past.

Make phone calls on Apple Watch


Can a cellular Apple Watch call Emergency Services (911) without a plan?

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