What you need to know
- Google is rolling out Loss of Pulse Detection to Pixel Watch 3 owners in the U.S. starting today.
- The feature, which is opt-in, will automatically check if your pulse is detected and call emergency services if it can’t be found.
- This life-saving tool will take a couple of weeks to become available for all Pixel Watch 3 users.
Google is now rolling out Loss of Pulse Detection, a new safety feature for the Pixel Watch 3, to U.S. users. The feature was originally marketed as a Pixel Watch 3 feature last year, and became available in other regions, but required FDA approval before it could work in the U.S.
Google earned that approval in February 2025, and Loss of Pulse Detection will become available in the country starting today, with a full rollout lasting a few weeks.
After earning FDA approval, the company announced Loss of Pulse Detection for U.S. users as part of the March Pixel Feature Drop. Originally, Google said it would “begin rolling it out in the U.S. at the end of March.” That deadline passed, but now the feature is shipping as of April 8, 2025.
Loss of Pulse Detection is a critical safety feature that Google explains can “detect when you’ve experienced a loss of pulse” and “automatically prompt a call to emergency services for potentially life-saving care if you’re unresponsive.” It adds a new element to Emergency SOS, which can be used to call emergency services quickly from your smartwatch.
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Loss of Pulse Detection is opt-in, so you’ll need to manually enable it when the feature becomes available on your device. To do so, open the Google Pixel Watch app on your phone and tap Safety and Emergency. Then, press Loss of Pulse Detection, and follow the on-screen prompts to enable the safety tool. After that, the feature will monitor your heart rate and try to detect when and if your pulse can’t be found.
Prior to launching in the U.S., Loss of Pulse Detection has been available in 14 countries. The feature first arrived on Pixel Watch 3 for users in the EU last year.
It’s rolling out starting today, but may take “a couple” of weeks before it arrives on all U.S. Pixel Watch 3 devices. The announcement comes as Google releases the April 2025 update for all Pixel Watch models.