One movement calls for help from your Garmin: press BACK three times, quickly. An orange SENDING ALARM countdown appears, and when it runs out your contacts are notified.

🆓 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.

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

Press BACK three times, quickly. An orange SENDING ALARM countdown appears. Let the three seconds run out and the alarm goes live.

The three presses must land within about a second and a half. During the countdown, any other button cancels it, so a mis-press costs you nothing.

A yellow ACTIVE band along the bottom of the screen confirms the alarm is live.

Triple-press BACK again. A green STOPPING ALARM countdown stands the alarm down. The yellow ACTIVE band disappears once the all clear reaches us, so give it a few seconds.

Your Garmin receives beacon messages during a session, so if a contact reaches out you will see it on the watch. You cannot reply from the Garmin app yet: to answer, use your phone.

I pressed BACK three times and no countdown appeared. The three presses have to land within about a second and a half. Spaced out, the count resets. Press faster rather than harder.

The countdown appeared and then vanished. Something cancelled it. During the countdown any button other than BACK cancels the alarm, which is deliberate so a pocket press cannot page your contacts. Start again and leave the watch alone for the three seconds.

Did it actually send? The yellow ACTIVE band along the bottom of the screen is your confirmation. No band means no live alarm.

I stood it down but the band is still there. The all clear travels with the next watch update, so give it a few seconds. The band clears once it reaches us.

How do I know my beacon is even on? Look for the green dot with a steady blue ring around 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 Garmin reaches us through your paired phone, so it needs to be on you in a waterproof pouch and in range. 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.