Apple has announced Crash Detection — a new feature launching with the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, Apple Watch Series 8, second-generation Apple Watch SE and new Apple Watch Ultra — which uses an algorithm paired with new sensors that detect when a user has been involved in a serious crash, and automatically calls the emergency services.
Crash Detection is designed to detect severe car crashes – such as front-impact, side-impact and rear-end collisions and rollovers – involving saloons, minivans, 4X4s, pickup trucks and other passenger cars. When a severe car crash is detected, the user’s iPhone or Apple Watch sounds an alarm and displays an alert, which will automatically call the emergency services after a short period of time.
On supported iPhone and Apple Watch models, Crash Detection is turned on by default. However, in some cases, users have found that the Crash Detection feature mistakenly dials the emergency services, like when they are riding a roller coaster, leading to some wanting to disable the feature on their devices.
How to turn off Crash Detection on iPhone
- Open the Settings app and tap Emergency SOS
- Switch the Call After Serious Crash slider to the off position
When you turn off these alerts and calls on one of your paired devices, you automatically turn them off on your other paired devices.
How to turn off Crash Detection on Apple Watch
- On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app
- In the My Watch tab, tap Emergency SOS
- Turn off Call After Severe Crash
If your iPhone or Apple Watch detects a severe car crash and contacts emergency services, it will include your device location as latitude and longitude coordinates. The call will share your location regardless of whether you have enabled Location Services.
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