Apple Watch

Man credits Apple Watch with saving his life after collapsing at home

Chance Miller | Jul 28 2026 - 11:49 am PT

A Cincinnati, Ohio man is crediting his Apple Watch with saving his life. As reported by local news outlet WKRC, Mohammad Islam says his Apple Watch’s fall detection feature kicked in to contact emergency services after he collapsed outside his home several weeks ago …

Islam says that he took the day off work after feeling “a little sick,” with symptoms including shortness of breath, a pain near his ear, and difficulty walking. Later that day, Islam collapsed while taking out the trash.

When Islam, who was home alone at the time, woke up, he realized his Apple Watch had detected that fall and contacted emergency services on his behalf:

“I don’t know how long I was there, and suddenly, my eyes opened up, and I was on the ground and sweating like crazy. I tried to get up but couldn’t. There was a chair, so I held it and [was able to sit] down. Then I heard the sirens coming in,” he said.

“I know that there was some kind of a feature in the Apple Watch that if you fall down. Because when I work in the yard or something and I bang my hand, it says, ‘Hey, did you fall down? Should we call? Should I ask about something that I said?’ No. So, it wasn’t in the back of my mind, but I did not know that it called 911,” Islam said.

Doctors at the University of Cincinnati discovered that Islam had blood clots in his lungs.

“I’m still trying to figure out what really happened. And why I’m alive. I mean, this is really a chance that, you know, if my watch wouldn’t have dialed 911 and the paramedic wouldn’t have come within five minutes or for ten minutes,” Islam added.

Fall detection is available on the Apple Watch Series 4 and later. It’s turned off by default if you’re under 65, but anyone can turn it on from the Watch app on the iPhone.

The feature works by intelligently detecting when a sudden fall occurs and automatically calling emergency services if the person doesn’t dismiss the alert within one minute of falling. If the person’s emergency contact information is filled out, that contact will be notified with a text message and a map of the watch’s location at the time of the fall.