Google ending free cellular access for Pixel Watch safety features

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 8 Oct, 20:43 · Archive

Google is withdrawing free cellular access to safety features on older Pixel Watch models from 12 December.

Google is withdrawing free cellular access to Safety Signal, a feature that allowed emergency services like SOS, Fall Detection and Safety Check to work over LTE networks without requiring a paid mobile plan. The change affects the LTE versions of the Pixel Watch 2 and 3.

From 12 December, users will no longer have free access to Safety Signal over cellular networks. After this date, they will need to pay for an active carrier plan to use these emergency features on LTE. The company will notify existing users through email and push notifications before the change takes effect.

Google is offering a 30-day transition period starting from when users receive their notification email, during which Safety Signal will remain available for free. After the mid-December cutoff, the emergency features will still work on these watches, but only when connected to Wi-Fi or paired to a smartphone over Bluetooth, or if the watch has an active cellular plan.

How it is being reported

• Google is doing away with Safety Signal on Pixel WatchAccess to the emergency feature for LTE-connected wearables will end by December.Engadget · 8 Oct, 20:16
• Older Pixel watches are losing free cellular access to several safety featuresGoogle announced through a short community post today that the LTE versions of the Pixel Watch 2 and 3 are losing free access to Safety Signal that allowed features like Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and Safety Check to work through cellular networks without the need for a carrier plan. The connectivity was included as part […]The Verge · 8 Oct, 18:40

In this story: Google · Pixel Watch 2 · Pixel Watch 3

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