Owners of older Pixel Watches could lose a major security feature
Google is reportedly preparing to remove an important security feature from its older Pixel Watch LTE models. Although the company hasn’t announced anything officially, officials at Android Authority have spotted a few strings of text in the code of the latest version of the Pixel Watch app, which indicate that Google is planning to stop supporting the Safety Signal feature. The text strings read: “Security signal disappears” and “This feature will no longer be available soon.” The feature is offered as part of the Google Health Premium subscription on Pixel Watch 2 LTE and Watch 3 LTE models in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany.
Safety Signal basically offers cellular connectivity in some safety-related features at Google’s expense when you don’t have an active carrier plan on the smartwatch. This can be very useful in emergency situations when you don’t have access to your phone and can’t easily call for help. It remains to be seen when exactly this feature will disappear from Pixel Watch models and whether Google plans to replace it with another similar feature. The most recent versions of the Google smartwatch – the Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Watch 5 – don’t have to worry about the security signal, as they don’t support the feature and instead come with SOS satellite connectivity as a replacement. The same functionality cannot be offered on older models due to hardware limitations.
What is the use of the safety signal?
As mentioned, Safety Signal is useful when you don’t have an active carrier plan on your Pixel Watch but need cellular connectivity in an emergency. It works with several built-in safety features, such as calls to and from emergency contacts, safety check, emergency sharing, emergency SOS and fall detection. However, you cannot use it for normal cellular or data access. Many Pixel Watch users mention on Reddit that this was a big reason for them to opt for the LTE version of Google’s smartwatch over the Wi-Fi-only variant and express disappointment that it seems to be disappearing. Users are also unhappy because Safety Signal is part of the Google Health Premium subscription and they will lose a feature they already pay for.
If you’re worried about losing Safety Signal, the only way to ensure you stay connected to a cell tower in an emergency is to always have an active cellular plan for your smartwatch—unless, of course, Google offers an alternative when it inevitably announces that Safety Signal is shutting down. That said, it’s unclear why Google is removing support for this feature. While the Pixel Watch 2 will lose software support in October 2026, the Pixel Watch 3 is still officially supported, suggesting that may not be the reason.
