Fall detection false trigger

Naah. A false alarm is not a big problem. You have sixty seconds to click "I did not fall."

Happened to me, too. Good thing my husband heard the alarm and canceled the call to 911! I was in a different room by then. I contacted Apple but they said they had never heard of the problem before. Maybe this will be fixed in an update?

I am also finding false fall positives on my Series 4 - and it is repeatable.

First, I have triggered fall detection multiple times when in putting on the watch, it slips out of my hand as I am putting it on. It falls to the floor and triggers fall detection.

Second, the Watch repeatably will trigger fall detection when I am gesturing during making presentations.

I had that happen once - took watch off and placed on dresser before going into the shower - and also luckily my wife heard the notification and brought me the Watch to ask what to do.

But, that happened within the first few days of getting the series 4 Watch and has not happened since, so perhaps there is a calibration period for the accelerometer that is what detects the "falls". (Hope so anyway.)

I've have my series 4 for less than 2 weeks and this is exactly how my first fall detection was triggered last night. I almost ignored the wrist buzz, good thing I didn't so I was able to cancel the 911 call. If this happens again I may return it. Fall detection was one reason to buy it (along with a host of even better reasons).

Maybe another example of oversold technology from Apple.

I have had this problem many times, more than 15.

Each time I tell the watch I have not fallen. I was hoping that the watch would gradually learn my movements, but so far that has not been the case. I upgraded to a series 4 watch. I intended to purchase one for my 93 year old father as I want him to have the fall detection. However I don't think he would notice the alarm on his wrist indicating that the watch thinks he has fallen and stop it from calling EMS. At present I am not purchasing one for him as I think there would be many false alarms transmitted.

Too bad as this is a very useful feature. Apple either fix this, or make the alarm situation more obvious.

Thanks,

nancy

I can certainly identify with what you’re experiencing. I’m a senior and I purchased this Series 4 watch for mainly the fall detection feature. The first series 4 watch began almost immediately with the fall detection being activated randomly. I was referred to the senior advisor and all the troubleshooting steps were taken to no avail. I was still within that 30 day timeframe and the Watch was replaced. I received the second series 4 and within days the same issue. With reluctance I returned the watch . Maybe when software is pushed out to alleviate the problem, I will purchase the watch for the third time. Sorry to hear you are experiencing this problem.

I'm not at all confident that the watch will pick up when I fall. It hasn't done it yet and it hasn't done it for my closest friend, to date, who also has an Apple Watch 4. That said we both continue to get plenty of false alarms. I particularly get them while in the kitchen during chopping and smashing actions when the arm with the watch on does short, rapid, downward motions, where my arm moves less than 10 inches. There doesn't seem to be any learning going on.

I know of 38 watch 4 replacements just in my home town alone from people who know I follow Apple devices closely. Assuming there is nothing special going on here, that's astounding. Of the 38, "only" 12 were over fall detection. One person is on their 3rd watch. The others were due to problems linking their iPhone to the watch or battery woes.

Personally I had an initial problem linking my watch to my iPhone, but after a reset on the iPhone and turning the watch off then on, I had no problem. As to my battery, I get two full days between charges. I don't think you can ask for more from the battery. Other than fall detection it's worked great. I have had some app problems, but they are clearly the apps having problems, not the watch. Most have been fixed by updates, two were made worse by updates and I've deleted them and found alternatives.

I got on this thread quite a while ago after researching my first false positive when I closed the car door with my hand on the door.

I also considered fall detection a significant factor for the purchase, thinking it might pay off when the weather permits bicycle riding. The series 4 ECG thing was just a kicker.

So, until last week that one detection was the only false positive. Then, while shoveling some snow, I pushed the shovel under some hard frozen ice in the street and my wrist was buzzing. Canceling the fall detection was hindered by gloves and jackets.

I'd like Apple to publicize something about the algorithm used to distinguish motion from a fall. It seems like the depth and frequency of the signal both seem important. I can see how distinguishing fall signal from noise and motion is non-trivial.

In spite of my two false alarms, I'm keeping it enabled.

And, all this discussion has me wondering... what other worn devices that do fall have detection are there and what is their false positive rate? Anybody have anything? A quick Google search found mostly button operated devices and figuring which actually detect and alert without intervention was going to take time.

Anyway, it has been valuable to hear from people who have more serious issues and how Apple responded.

That kind of arm movement along with the clapping of hands over the head are two arm movements that are the most likely from what I can tell in generating a false alarm about falling. The watch continues to not detect real falls. I'm going into the genius bar this week.

It happened to me today. All I did was get up from my chair and walk a few steps to the kitchen.

I guess I'll have to call Apple support thought it was a software bug but still happens with latest watch OS. Really strange happens every time I chop garlic.

I have had my watch for 3 days and have gotten 2 false fall alerts. It appears to happen when I just rest my arm on a countertop.

So far the replacement watch has worked perfectly. If any problem occurs I'll let you know.