Question 1

Do I need to bring my phone?

Accepted Answer

No. PaceGuard is a watch-only app. GPS, network, SOS and recording all happen on your wrist. Your phone can stay in the car, at home, or nowhere at all.

Question 2

Do I need a watch with LTE?

Accepted Answer

No, LTE is optional. Any connected smartwatch works. Wi-Fi at the trailhead, hut, refuge or campsite is enough — the watch queues fixes when offline and syncs them the moment it reconnects. LTE is nice for always-on connectivity, but it is not required.

Question 3

Which watches are supported?

Accepted Answer

Today: Wear OS 4 or newer — Pixel Watch, Galaxy Watch (4 and up), TicWatch, OnePlus Watch, Mobvoi and other modern Wear OS devices. Apple Watch (watchOS 26) and iPhone (iOS 26) are in review at the App Store — not downloadable yet.

Question 4

Which Apple Watches work?

Accepted Answer

Any Apple Watch running watchOS 26 or newer. The watch app is standalone — it records and shares over the watch’s own Wi-Fi or LTE connection, so your iPhone doesn’t have to be nearby. An iPhone app (iOS 26 or newer) is a second tracked device and carries the family dashboard.

Question 5

Do I need the iPhone app?

Accepted Answer

No. The Apple Watch app runs on its own: recording, live location and SOS all work straight from the wrist. The iPhone app adds a second tracked device and the family dashboard — worth installing, never required.

Question 6

How do I delete my account on iPhone?

Accepted Answer

In the iPhone app, open Settings → Delete account. That removes your account, location history and sessions everywhere, the same as deleting from the dashboard or writing to us. We don’t keep shadow copies.

Question 7

How does SOS work?

Accepted Answer

Trigger SOS from the map, a tile, a complication, or your watch’s side button. Your last known position is shared with the emergency contacts you chose. Opted-in PaceGuard users nearby can also be alerted via Community SOS.

Question 8

Can family members talk to each other?

Accepted Answer

Yes. On the Family and Family Plus plans, push-to-talk lets family members talk hands-free like a walkie-talkie straight from the wrist — no phone, no dialing — and you can navigate to a family member’s live position.

Question 9

Can I share my location with someone who isn’t in my family?

Accepted Answer

Yes — with Trips. From the Invitations tab on your dashboard, start a Trip and share the 6-digit code; the other person joins and you both see each other live and get each other’s SOS for as long as you set — 1 to 8 hours, 24 hours, or up to 3 days — then it ends on its own. Neither of you sees the other’s family. Free includes a 1-hour trip; paid plans get the full range.

Question 10

Can I control it with my voice?

Accepted Answer

Yes, hands-free from the wrist: say the word to drop a waypoint on your route, send an "I'm safe" check-in to your family, or start turn-by-turn navigation. Waypoints are on the paid plans; push-to-talk voice chat with your family is on Family and Family Plus.

Question 11

What does each recorded fix include?

Accepted Answer

More than a dot on a map. Every fix carries speed, heading, elevation and GPS accuracy, plus the watch battery level and charging state, and the connection state at that moment — so a replayed track shows exactly where your signal dropped and came back.

Question 12

Does PaceGuard show the weather?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Live conditions and a short hourly and daily forecast for your position are free — temperature, feels-like, wind and gusts, rain, UV and sunset. On a paid plan you can also frame an area on the dashboard and download an offline forecast the watch renders off-grid with no signal.

Question 13

Can I use the map offline?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on a paid plan. Frame the area on the dashboard Offline maps tab and the watch downloads those map tiles ahead of time — the map still draws with no cell or Wi-Fi coverage on the trail.

Question 14

Can I follow a route I planned elsewhere?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Upload a GPX, TCX, KML or GeoJSON route from AllTrails, Komoot or anywhere else on the dashboard Routes tab and send it straight to your watch to navigate, with distance, climb and descent. Paid plans only.

Question 15

Is there a free plan?

Accepted Answer

Yes. PaceGuard has a free plan for solo trail recording and history. Paid plans add live family sharing, SOS alerts, push-to-talk voice, and integrations.