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The Hurricane Festival in Scheeßel and the Southside Festival in Neuhausen OB Eck are back, which will attract tens of thousands of music fans next weekend. For many, in addition to tent, sunscreen and rain poncho, the smartwatch is also part of the firm festival equipment. No wonder – she is practical, indicates news, tracks steps and can even call help in an emergency. But it is precisely this safety function that can become a problem at festivals.
What can be useful in the event of a fall in everyday life causes confusion at festivals: the creation of smartwatches such as the Apple Watch or similar models. She recognizes strong vibrations, for example through a fall, and automatically chooses the emergency call if the: the wearer does not react.
Wrong emergency calls from Moshpits & Wilde Dances
The problem: In moshpits or at concerts where they jump and pushed, precisely such movements are triggered. The clocks often misinterpret this as an emergency.
The police recently had to intervene in Great Britain, after several false alarms were received at the emergency center at the Download Festival, triggered by smartwatches in the Moshpit. The emergency services thus lost time and resources that could be decisive in a real emergency.
Police advise deactivation during concerts
In order to avoid false alarms and not unnecessarily burden the emergency services, German authorities also recommend: Smartwatches during intensive concert moments, especially in the moshpit, either switch off, to move them to flight mode or at least temporarily deactivate the emergency function.
Of course, the smartwatch remains a useful tool, from navigation to contactless pays to health surveillance. But technical help does not replace common sense. If you want to be on the safe side, you should familiarize yourself with the settings of your watch in advance and, if in doubt, only activate the automatic emergency function if it is really necessary.
Tip: This is how you deactivate the fall detection (Apple Watch)
- Open the watch app on your iPhone and tap “My watch”
- Go to “Emergency Call SOS”
- Deactivate the “Calvary” option (don’t worry – you can reactivate it again at any time.)