“My watch thinks I’m dead”

Its call center and others alerted Apple to the problem. In mid-January, the company sent four representatives to observe Ms. Dummer and her team for a day; she said they had a lot of examples to show.

In a written statement, Alex Kirschner,an Apple spokesperson said, “We are aware that in specific scenarios, these features have triggered emergency services when a user has not suffered a serious car accident or a sudden fall. The company noted that when an accident is detected, the watch buzzes and sends an audible warning alerting the user that a call has been made to 911, and it provides 10 seconds to cancel the call.

Apple also said software updates late last year were intended to “optimize” the technology and reduce false calls. Mr. Kirschner added: “Collision detection and fall detection are designed to help users when they need it most, and it has already helped save several lives.

Apple maintains a collection of incidents in which both technologies have come to the rescue. In one case, an Apple Watch alerted authorities after an Indianapolis driver crashed into a telephone pole and the device called for assistance. In another, a watch called for help after a New Jersey man fell off a steep cliff while hiking.

In Colorado, call dispatchers struggled to recall a case when a watch rescued a skier in distress. (Ms. Dummer added that her team “very rarely” received fake 911 calls from other companies’ devices, such as Android phones.)

The problem extends beyond skiers. “My watch regularly thinks I’ve had an accident,” said Stacey Torman, who works for Salesforce in London and teaches spin classes there. She can be safe on the bike, urging her class to increase their energy or waving her arms in praise, when her Apple Watch senses danger.

“I want to celebrate, but my watch really doesn’t want me to celebrate,” she said. Oh great, she thinks, “now my watch thinks I’m dead.”