TechGadgetsNewsOlder Pixel watches are losing free cellular access to several safety featuresFeatures like Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and Safety Check will require an active mobile plan after December 12th.Features like Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and Safety Check will require an active mobile plan after December 12th.by Andrew LiszewskiOct 8, 2026, 5:40 PM UTCShareGiftPhoto by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeAndrew Liszewski is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.Google announced through a short community post today that the LTE versions of the Pixel Watch 2 and 3 are losing free access to Safety Signal that allowed features like Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and Safety Check to work through cellular networks without the need for a carrier plan. The connectivity was included as part of a Google Health Premium subscription, but after December 12th the free access will end requiring users to pay for a mobile plan to continue to use Safety Signal on an LTE network.Existing users with free access will be notified through notifications and an email. The Safety Signal features will still be available without a mobile plan during a 30-day transition period starting when the email is sent, but access ends after the mid-December cutoff.The various emergency features that Safety Signal covered will continue to work afterwards on the Pixel Watch 2 and 3 without a mobile plan, but only while the watch is connected to Wi-Fi or paired to a smartphone over Bluetooth.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Andrew LiszewskiGadgetsGoogleGoogle PixelNewsTechWearableMost PopularGoogle invests millions in Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts to create a ‘virtual cell’GTA VI leaks continue with a lengthy (and very nude) gameplay videoHow Microsoft built its MacBook Pro competitorSurface RTX Spark Dev Box is available for preorder for $5,999Teenage Engineering’s CEO says it’ll stop making synthsAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
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