Smart watches making false 911 calls at B.C. ski mountains, RCMP say

If your iPhone or Apple Watch detects a severe car crash, your device can help connect you to emergency services. (Apple)

Kelowna RCMP are the latest emergency responders to warn smart watch users about an increase in false 911 calls caused by their devices' SOS function.

The detachment issued a warning Wednesday, saying it had responded to six separate false 911 calls this ski season, all of them triggered by mountain-goers unaware of their watches' crash-detection features.

The most recent incident occurred Tuesday afternoon, Mounties said. Because there was no call-back number on the 911 call, police, fire and ambulance personnel were unnecessarily dispatched to the watch's GPS co-ordinates, at a local ski area.

"When a skier or snowboarder falls wearing their smart watch, the built-in SOS function contacts the RCMP and emergency services as if the person was at home and fell or if they were involved in a vehicle collision," the detachment said in its release.

To avoid false alarms, police recommend smart watch users temporarily turn off fall detection on their devices before going skiing or doing other sporting activities.

“Kelowna RCMP respond to all calls, but this potentially could cause police, fire or ambulance the inability to respond to a real emergency in a timely manner,” said Const. Mike Della-Paolera in the release.

Kelowna Mounties are not the only emergency responders who have warned about crash detection features causing wasted resources.

Last month, the British Columbia Search and Rescue Association said it had been in discussions with Apple about the problem, and asked users of Apple devices to download a firmware update designed to avoid false activations of crash detection from iPhones and some Apple watches. 

Kelowna RCMP did not specify whether Apple devices have been responsible for all six of their false call-outs this ski season.

SAR teams in Kimberley and Golden told CTV News Calgary last month that Apple devices had caused several false alarms for their responders.