Apple's Crash Detection Triggers 100 False Alarms in Japanese Alps Emergency Services

Emergency responders in Japan near skiing areas are troubled by the numerous “Crash Detection” alerts they are receiving from iPhone 14 users.

According to Apple Insider, there is an influx of emergency calls at Japanese fire departments near skiing areas as iPhone 14 models are triggering false crash detection alerts.

There were 23,919 emergency calls received between December 16, 2022, and January 23, 2023, at the Fire Department of Kita-Alps Nagano, of which 134 were false.

The crash detection feature activated most false alerts while the iPhone 14 owners visited a skiing area. Although iPhone users can turn this feature off, a firefighter said, "we can’t ask users to turn it off,” as it is beneficial in actual serious emergencies.

According to the report, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has asked iPhone users to update the local fire departments in case their iPhone sends a false emergency alert.

The feature aims to notify emergency responders if and when the iPhone user is involved in a collision. Previously triggered false alerts were caused by skiing in the United States and roller coasters. Still, iPhone users can turn this feature off if they want to via Emergency SOS settings.

A countdown will commence on the iPhone user’s device if it believes a crash occurred first, with a load warning siren followed by an automated call to emergency services. Unfortunately, during adrenaline activities such as skiing and rollercoasters, the user may not hear the warning siren and is unaware of what is happening and therefore don’t cancel the call.

However, there are talks that Apple will be engaging with local emergency services that face regular false Crash Detection calls to reduce the issue. “Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models” notes indicated the iOS 16.1.2 release by the company at the end of December 2022.

Even though many false emergency calls have caused problems, there have been numerous stories that Crash Detection has helped save lives and worked as intended.

The Crash Detection capability is available on iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE (2nd-generation), and Apple Watch Ultra. While the general recommendation is to leave the feature enabled, if you want to turn it off, go to Settings -> Emergency SOS -> and disable the toggle for the ‘Call After Serious Crash’ setting.

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