Does Sense have emergency features?

[Rkkeller]

I am coming from the Apple side using AW and iPhone and now Sense and Android.

I have figured out some things, but I am getting older and also used my AW for protection, sick in bed to get help. and it is "sort of" like my Life Alert 😀  fallen and can't get up.  With my AW I can read/reply and even make "new" txt, emails and even phone calls from the watch.

Don't laugh, I actually "practice" using some of these things, so in an emergency, I know what to do.

I tried with the Sense and can't even figure out how to make a "new" txt message or make a "new" phone call or even anything like that???  I was in bad last night 🤣 fooling with it, trying to save myself if FAKE dying or having an issue and I would be dead now as I could not get the Sense to do anything to help me.  I would have to yell to the other room 😀 and hope Alexa hears me.  

I could not find a way to txt, call and even when I tried to activate the Google Assistant or Alexa on the Sense, it said to go to the phone as something must have turned off???  So again, I would have died, so is there any way to use a $300 Sense to do any kind of home safety or in an emergency?

Or is the only option Samsung now?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[lablover55]

has an alert to find your phone..

[Rkkeller · Accepted solution]

I ordered a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 just now on a Black Friday sale.  😀   It will come tomorrow and I will see if it has better emergency features and things like that.  Then after the weekend, I will pick one to send back I guess.

[Rkkeller]

Nothing against the Fitbit Sense, I guess it is my mistake as I did not research as much as I thought.  🤔  The notifications and things on the Sense are nothing like what I was used to and mostly plain txt, not much graphics at all, no images either?  No way to even start a txt, email, call or anything even though it is connected to our phones?   I am shocked this lack of anything on a $300 device, don't even think there is the simplest emergency or SOS type call?

Even though it is the same price just about as the new Galaxy Watch 4 and cheaper version of AW, it does not do close to what they can do.  I know my fault for not looking deeper, not trying to knock anything 😀  just you would think 3 devices costing about the same would do the same, not one lacking in one area so much.   Maybe cause I am getting older and more young people use these and don't need the features I do, but I am flabbergasted 🤣 the Sense does not do some of these basic things. 

[t.parker]

@Rkkeller it's not age. I started using safety features when got into trail running and very often I relied on autogenerated routes (like ones from Strava Explore). Despite researching first sometimes you just don't know where it's gonna throw you 🙂 If I run many km from home then such features come in handy (live tracking, beacon, sending messages to emergency contacts etc.). Users have been asking Fitbit for such features for many years (especially for fall detection).

[Rkkeller]

Thanks, it was one of the things I missed in my research.  I am sure the Sense is a great device and works well and all that.

Only for me, I need "some kind" of emergency/SOS or even a simple press and hold something to call an emergency.   Even a "generic txt" to 1 person you select with something like "I am having a problem and need you to call me right now"  or something simple like that.  Then they can "call you" once they get it and maybe you can answer on the Sense or something like that???

[James.P]

come to think of it..  I don't think here is such function on Sense. I enable voice assistance to make call and speak via Bluetooth to the watch. Assumption is the phone and Sense is within Bluetooth connectivity range.

Lastly, I had set sos call settings on my samsung s21 ultra phone.

[Guy_]

Hi, @Rkkeller - interesting post.

There are a few standard things to do first, such as setting up an ICE [In case of Emergency] contact and group on your phone. see here , also have a look for other options on the internet such as using your phone.

Then from your watch if you have fallen or need help you can simply use the button long press [if you set it up] to get Google Assistant or Alexa, or use your phone, if it is in reach, to call the emergency service or ordinary contact. Just needs some planning and testing; very good that you bring it up.

One of the annoying features is when you log out of the Fitbit App you need to reconnect your voice assistant each time you log back in, and more importantly, remember to do it [there is a real risk of forgetting if you have 2 watches and logout frequently to switch watches in the Fitbit App].

There is already a feature suggestion for an automatic fall detection.