One movement calls for help from your Galaxy Watch: press the back button five times, quickly. It works with the screen locked, with gloves on and spray on the glass.

🆓 Free for everyone - Beacon Safety is free on every plan.
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🌐 Internet connection required - Your watch needs connectivity, either through eSIM or a paired phone nearby, so the alert can reach your friends.

⌚ This is the back-button watch - These steps cover Wear OS watches with a back button, which includes every Galaxy Watch. If yours has no back button, such as a Pixel Watch, read Beacon Safety on your Pixel Watch instead.

🎓 Do the training once - Profile → Beacon Safety walks you through every gesture below on your own watch, so the first time you do it is not in an emergency.

Press the back button five times, quickly. The alarm goes live straight away and your contacts are notified.

Do not unlock the screen first. The button works either way, which is the whole point of putting the alarm on a button.

Press the back button five times again. Same five quick presses. Your contacts get the all clear.

Press the back button twice to start talking, then say "start alarm".

To stand it down, press back twice again and say "stop alarm" or "cancel alarm". Both work, in your own language too.

Surfr locks the touchscreen while you ride, so waves and spray cannot tap anything.

Slide your finger in a circle around the edge of the screen, or turn the bezel if yours rotates. It also unlocks by itself the moment your session ends.

I pressed five times and nothing happened. The presses have to land in quick succession. If you space them out the count resets and starts again. Press faster rather than harder.

Tapping the screen does nothing. That is the water lock doing its job, not a fault. Slide a finger around the edge of the screen to unlock, or turn the bezel. The alarm button works whether the screen is locked or not, so you never have to unlock first in an emergency.

How do I know my beacon is even on? Look for the green dot with a blue ring pulsing out of it. That means active, and your contacts can see you. No blue ring means it is not active. A red ring means the connection dropped, so your contacts cannot see you.

There is no blue ring at all. The beacon only runs when it is switched on and you have completed the training for this watch. Check Profile → Beacon Safety.

The alarm went off but nobody was told. Your watch was offline. An alarm has to reach your contacts, so you need an eSIM plan or your paired phone on you in a waterproof pouch. No connection means no protection.

My contact never got the alert. Emergency contacts come from your Surfr friends, and the follow has to go both ways. If either of you unfollowed since, they are no longer on your list. Open Profile → Beacon Safety to check who is on it, and ask them whether Surfr notifications are switched on.

For what Beacon Safety is, who sees your session, and what it does not do, read Beacon Safety.