Notice: Google Is Shutting Down Safety Signal on the Pixel Watch 2 and 3 LTE

This is a notice, not a review. If you own an LTE Pixel Watch 2 or Pixel Watch 3, read it.

Google is ending Safety Signal. Per Engadget, all access ends by December 12, and affected owners will get an email and a push notification, followed by a 30-day transition period. Safety Signal is the feature that let the LTE versions of these watches reach emergency tools over a cellular connection without a mobile plan of their own. Only the LTE Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3 are affected.

The tools themselves are not going away. Emergency SOS, fall detection and the other safety features keep working when the watch is connected over Wi-Fi, over Bluetooth to a nearby phone, or through an active mobile plan. What disappears is the fallback for when none of those is available. Google’s stated reason, as reported by other outlets, is “evolving our connectivity and safety capabilities.” Engadget does not say why, and neither it nor the other reports I found mention refunds or compensation.

My opinion, and it is only that: this is not the first time hardware that depends on a subscription or a cloud service has been hit by a change like this, and it is the reason I always avoid that kind of product. A device that needs someone else’s server to do its job works only for as long as that company wants it to.

If you own one of these watches, check Google’s notice for your account and decide whether a mobile plan or a different setup makes sense for you. The sources are linked below.