- Android earthquake alerts are expanding to use
- The characteristic is compatible with phones in 98 countries
- It is included in the latest update of Google Play services
For several years, Android phones have been able to warn him about an imminent earthquake, so he has a few minutes to prepare those around him, and the characteristic is finally expanding to use smart watches of the operating system as well.
According to June 2025 launch notes for Google Play Services (through Android Authority), you will now receive “alerts about wear when an earthquake is expected to cause tremors.” Google Play Services is a separate update of Android, and must be applied to your phone and accommodation automatically in the next few days.
It makes earthquake warnings much more useful for Wear OS owners, especially those who like to leave their phones in pockets and bags (or who have clocks with cellular connections, and leave their phones completely).
Google has not said anything more officially about the new feature, but presumably all smart watches that currently obtain Wear updates will be eligible to obtain the early earthquake warning functionality too.
How it works
We do not know exactly how this will look at the best Android watches, but we know how it works on the phones. Google obtains your data from the reports of seismic sensors, as well as anonymous measurements of the accelerometer of billions of Android phones.
The expected earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.5 or more triggered an alert: the estimated magnitude and distance to the epicenter will be given, which appears on the screen, and can touch the alert for more information.
If significant agitation is expected, the alert will ignore any volume and will not bother the configuration on your phone and reproduce a strong sound. Tips on the screen will be received on how to protect yourself better against the avecine earthquake.
The Android earthquake alert system is currently active in 98 different countries in the world, and can check the list here. On pixel phones, alert configuration can be found in Security and emergency In configuration.
