Google will end Safety Signal on the Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3 LTE models on December 12, 2026, according to an announcement the company posted in the Google Pixel Watch Help Community. After that date, the watches lose the always-on connection that let their emergency features work without a cellular plan.

Safety Signal gave the LTE versions of both watches a connection for emergency tools even when no carrier plan was active. Google says it will notify affected owners by email and with a push notification on the watch before the service ends.

Which Pixel Watch Features Depend on Safety Signal

On the Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3 LTE models, Safety Signal supplied the connection for these personal safety tools:

• calling emergency contacts from the watch
• Safety Check
• Emergency Sharing
• Emergency SOS
• Fall Detection

Access was tied to a subscription to Google's Health Premium service, with Google covering the connectivity instead of a mobile carrier.

Google is not removing any of these features from the watches. What disappears on December 12 is the connectivity Safety Signal provided. The emergency tools keep working as long as the watch has its own connection, either through a cellular plan or by staying connected to a paired phone.

References to the shutdown had already turned up in code before the announcement. The December 12 end date is now official.

What Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3 Owners Should Do

Owners who relied on Safety Signal to reach help without a phone nearby have about two months to pick a replacement:

1. Decide whether the watch can stay tethered to a paired phone. Emergency features keep working through that connection, and it is the cheaper option for most owners.
2. If the watch needs to work on its own, compare cellular plans for it. Google lists supported carriers on its Pixel Watch help page about mobile network providers.
3. Look out for the email and the on-watch notification from Google, which confirm the change for the affected device.

A separate cellular plan for the watch comes with a monthly carrier fee, which makes tethering the default choice for owners who usually carry their phone.

Newer hardware offers a different route. The Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Watch 5 support satellite connectivity, which lets wearers notify emergency contacts and emergency services when no traditional network signal is available. The wearer starts the connection and positions the watch until it locks on to a satellite.

Google has not commented beyond the announcement, including on whether Health Premium pricing changes for Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3 LTE owners after Safety Signal ends.