Alarm on Apple Watch: Safety on Your Wrist

How does Linucare work on Apple Watch?

Linucare on Apple Watch works via a shortcut: you quickly open the Linucare app from the watch and activate the alarm inside the app. Once the alarm is activated, your chosen network — for example your spouse, children or a neighbour — is alerted immediately and can see your position with live GPS, so they know exactly where to go.

• The alarm gets through — recipients get a loud alarm tone, even when their phone is on silent or "do not disturb".
• Live GPS — helpers can navigate directly to your position.
• Overview — the app shows who has seen the alarm and agreed to help.
• Contact along the way — group calls and chat while help is on the way.
• Three alarm levels — low, medium and high priority, so recipients can see straight away how urgent it is.

If the first recipient doesn't answer within 30 seconds, Linucare automatically forwards the alarm to the next person in your network.

Linucare is not a monitoring centre: there is no operator between you and the help. The alarm goes directly to the people you have chosen yourself, and you can have an unlimited number of contacts and groups in your network. The app works anywhere there is a Wi-Fi or 4G connection.

See how the alarm is activated from Apple Watch

What can Apple Watch do on its own — and what does Linucare add?

Apple Watch has its own built-in fall detection. On Apple Watch SE, Series 4 or later, and Apple Watch Ultra, the watch can detect a hard fall — and if you have been immobile for about a minute, it can automatically call emergency services, provided the relevant settings are enabled on the watch.^[1] Linucare adds what the watch doesn't have: an alarm that goes directly to your own network with live GPS.

It is important to understand the difference: you always activate the Linucare alarm yourself — it is not triggered automatically by the watch's fall or heart-rate sensors. The watch's automatic fall detection is Apple's own feature and calls emergency services, not your Linucare network.

The two work well side by side. Apple's fall detection with automatic emergency calling is the ultimate safety net if something serious happens. The Linucare alarm is your direct line to your own people in all the situations where you need help from someone who knows you: feeling unsafe on a walk, needing a hand at home — or a situation where you would rather reach your daughter than emergency services.

When is the watch enough — and when is the safety button better?

Apple Watch suits you best if you already wear the watch every day and are used to charging it. For elderly people who want a simpler solution, the Linucare safety button is often the better choice: it runs on a replaceable CR2032 battery with up to 3 years of life, never needs charging, and is activated by two presses as standard — the activation method can be customised freely in the app.

The safety button can be worn with a wristband, lanyard or metal clip — or mounted in the home, for example in the bathroom or by the bedside. It is water-resistant, has a range of up to 50 metres between button and phone, and when pressed, the LED on the front shows the status: green for connected, yellow for no connection. The button uses the same app and the same network as the Apple Watch shortcut — the alarm ends up in the same safe hands.

See the Linucare safety button, or compare the options in our guide to the three types of personal alarms for the elderly. You can also get the full overview of safety solutions for private customers.