911

Skiers are inadvertently dialing 911 thanks to the Crash Detection technology included in the iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14, and new Apple Watch models, claims Utah news outlet KSL.

In a county in Utah, emergency dispatchers told a local media source that they are experiencing an increase in unintentional 911 calls from skiers who own new Apple products equipped with the company’s crash-detection system.

Crash Detection is a brand-new security feature that Apple unveiled in September. The 2022 Apple Watch devices and the iPhone 14 editions all have cutting-edge sensors that enable Crash Detection to function. The feature has been rigorously tested, and Apple has so far released updates to make it better.

However, it appears that the iPhone 14 or the newest Apple Watch when skiing could accidentally trigger Crash Detection. If it detects a crash, Apple’s crash-detection system alerts users with a message and a sound.

The message can be ignored, but if it is not done so within 20 seconds, the system sends an automated message with the user’s GPS coordinates and phone number to the nearest emergency contact center.

Summit County Dispatch Center supervisor Suzie Butterfield told KSL, “We will get a call in that says the owner of this Apple Watch or iPhone has either had a severe crash or they’ve been involved in a car accident.

They won’t respond to you when you first start talking because I don’t even think they knew that they did it, but on callback … they’re usually like, ‘Oh I’m sorry, I was skiing. Everything’s fine.”

Furthermore, Butterfield claimed that she gets 3 to 5 emergency calls every day from an Apple device. She didn’t receive any calls related to any actual crashes.

That indicates that Crash Detection made the call after mistaking skiing for a car accident. However, Butterfield views this technology as a tool rather than a hindrance. She warned that a skier could hit a tree and be rendered unconscious while remaining invisible to other skiers. She also cautioned skiers against disabling Crash Detection on their Apple Watch and iPhone 14.

Rollercoasters have also been known to activate the Crash Detection technology in the new iPhone and Apple Watch models. The Dollywood theme park has posted cautions for two of its most furious roller coasters, informing Apple users that the ride’s “dynamic movement” may cause their Apple watches or iPhones to initiate an emergency call.

Recently Apple released an update to iOS 16.1.2 that contains “Crash Detection optimizations.” Apple has not explained what this means, although it probably aims to reduce unintentional activation in situations when there hasn’t actually been a car accident.

Apple released the first beta of iOS 16.2 to devs in October, and the company announced that customers would be able to submit a complaint to the company when Emergency SOS has been inadvertently enabled in the future iOS version, iOS 16.2. Users can remark on the removal of the Emergency SOS function in the iOS 16.2 beta from Apple.