June 16, 2025, 10:01 am | Read time: 2 minutes
If you’re heading to a rock concert with a smartwatch, it’s advisable to adjust a specific setting beforehand. Otherwise, you might encounter issues.
Concerts, whether indoors or open-air, are always a highly entertaining affair. Especially when the artists are so in their element that their energy transfers to the enthusiastic audience. Things can get particularly wild then. However, smartwatch owners should take a precaution before attending a rock concert. Otherwise, police interventions may occur.
Smartwatch at Rock Concert Can Trigger False Alarm
This is what the police in Leicestershire, England, recently discovered. Last weekend, according to a Facebook post by the department, nearly 700 more emergency calls were received than usual. The reason was the Download music festival, where metal bands performed. Apparently, many attendees wore smartwatches to the rock concerts–and these devices made numerous false emergency calls.
At rock concerts, things can sometimes get quite rough. For instance, in the so-called mosh pit, where fans push each other with force. Apparently, this custom is too wild for a smartwatch. Modern devices have automatic accident detection to inform emergency services in case of an emergency and potentially save lives. However, at the Download Festival, there was no serious emergency–the attendees were simply having a lot of fun.
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What the Police Recommend
As the police report, they had to respond to and assess all false emergency calls, eventually taking action themselves. In fact, they called back several times to get a better understanding of the situation on the ground and to ensure there was no actual emergency. As it turns out, the false calls prevented staff from taking real emergency calls.
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To prevent this from happening again, the police advise setting the smartwatch to airplane mode during a rock concert. Alternatively, owners should temporarily disable the automatic accident detection. If a real or false emergency call is made, it is advisable to answer calls from blocked numbers–it could be a callback from emergency services.