What you need
Lanturne needs three things: a watch for the person you look after, a phone to set that watch up the first time, and your own phone. This page says what each one has to be, so that you get the right thing the first time and nothing sits in a box waiting to be sent back.
The short version
| What it needs to be | |
| The watch | A Wear OS smartwatch, such as a Samsung Galaxy Watch or a Pixel Watch |
| A phone to set the watch up | An Android phone. The wearer's own phone is the usual choice |
| Your phone | An Android phone with the Lanturne app |
| Your emergency contact's phone, if you name one | An Android phone with the Lanturne app, signed in with the email address you added |
Lanturne does not run on an iPhone or an Apple Watch today. It is in English only, on the phone and on the watch.
One subscription covers you, the person who wears the watch, and one emergency contact. Your contact pays nothing.
Which watch to buy
We suggest the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7. It is the watch we build and test Lanturne on every day, so it is the one we know best, and it costs a good deal less than you might expect: refurbished Galaxy watches start at $89, and a Galaxy Watch 7 with LTE at $139. If a Wear OS watch is already on the wrist, that works too, and there is nothing to replace.
Buy the LTE version if you can. This is the one choice that changes what Lanturne can do for you. An LTE watch has its own mobile connection, so a fall on a walk or in the grocery store reaches you exactly as a fall in the kitchen would, wherever there is mobile signal. It costs a little more to buy, and it needs a small plan from your mobile carrier, which can usually be added to an existing account.
A watch without LTE works well at home on Wi-Fi. Away from home, it can only send an alert when it is near a Wi-Fi network it already knows, or when the phone it was set up with is close by, in a pocket or a bag.
Get the larger size. The Galaxy Watch 7 comes in 40 mm and 44 mm. The larger one has a bigger screen, so the time is easier to read and the HELP button is easier to find with a thumb.
Other Wear OS watches, such as a Pixel Watch, run Lanturne too. Check that the listing says Wear OS. Fitbit trackers, Garmin watches, Apple Watches and the low-cost "smart watches" that do not say Wear OS cannot run Lanturne, and no update will change that, so please do not buy one hoping it will.
A band that is easy to put on
A buckle is hard work for stiff fingers, and a watch that is hard to put on ends up on the nightstand. We suggest a stretchy fabric band with a magnetic end, such as the One Click elastic magnetic band. It slides over the hand and closes with a magnet, with no buckle and no pins to fiddle with. The listing says it fits the Galaxy Watch 7, 6, 5 and 4, including the Classic and Pro models. For a Pixel Watch or another Wear OS watch, look for a stretch band made for that exact model.
We do not sell watches or bands, and we earn nothing from what you buy. This is simply what we would choose for our own family.
What Lanturne looks like on the watch
The watch goes on working exactly as it always has. Lanturne adds a HELP button. To use it, the wearer pushes and holds it for three seconds. The watch then counts down from five, with a Cancel button in case it was pressed by mistake, and sends the alert. The watch says out loud what it is doing at each step, so nobody has to squint at the screen.
With the Lanturne watch face, which is optional, a Help button sits in the middle of the face and opens Lanturne with one tap.
You can be anywhere
The watch sends everything straight to Lanturne over the internet, and Lanturne sends the alert to your phone wherever you are. You can live in the next street or in another country, on any mobile network, and the alert arrives the same way.
- Your phone and the watch never need to be near each other. You pair them once, with a six-digit code that the watch shows and reads out loud.
- If your phone is switched off or lost, the watch keeps reporting. If you named an emergency contact, they get the alert after the wait you chose, and everything is waiting in the app when you sign back in.
How the watch gets online
The watch needs an internet connection, and any one of these four is enough.
Any one of these
- Wi-Fi it already knowsHome, your house, a care home.
- The phone it was set up withOver Bluetooth, while that phone is near.
- Any phone's hotspotiPhone or Android, joined once.
- Its own mobile planLTE watches only. Works with no phone at all.
Then
- LanturneReceives the report and sends the alert.
Your phone, wherever you are.
1Wi-Fi it already knows
The home network, your house, a care home. Once the watch has joined a network, it connects again on its own whenever it is in range.
2The phone it was set up with
A Wear OS watch can use the internet connection of the phone it is paired with, over Bluetooth, with nothing to switch on. If the wearer carries that phone, the watch stays connected wherever the phone has signal.
3A phone's hotspot, iPhone included
A Galaxy Watch can stay connected all day through the hotspot on any iPhone or Android phone. Join the hotspot from the watch once, and it connects again on its own whenever that phone's hotspot is on. The phone does not need Lanturne, so somebody who carries an iPhone can keep the watch online wherever they go. The watch still needs an Android phone for its first-time setup.
4Its own mobile plan
An LTE watch can have its own plan from a mobile carrier. This is the only option that keeps the watch connected when the person you look after is out without a phone.
If the watch cannot get online
This happens when the watch is away from any Wi-Fi it knows, has no mobile plan of its own, and the phone was left at home. The watch saves every HELP press, fall and check-in and sends them as soon as it is back online, so they reach you late rather than not at all. The watch also tells the wearer out loud that it has lost its signal. If it stays out of touch for longer than the wait you set in the app, you get an alert that the watch has gone silent.
If the person you look after often goes out without a phone, a watch with its own mobile plan is worth the monthly cost. That is the one situation where a watch without LTE can help the least, and we would rather you knew it before you buy than found it out afterwards.
Setting the watch up
A Wear OS watch has to be set up with an Android phone the first time it is switched on. It cannot be set up with an iPhone. The wearer's own Android phone is the usual choice, because if it is carried, it can also keep the watch online away from home.
Then follow the setup guide for the phone app, the pairing code and the settings to switch on. The watch settings page explains each setting and what to do if one turns off later.
Questions? Use the contact form at lanturne.com/contact. A person reads every message.
Lanturne is not a medical device and not an emergency service. It sends alerts to you and your emergency contact, and it does not contact emergency services.